Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3109: Baze Malbus

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

BAZE MALBUS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Baze Malbus has a bravado that provides a marked contrast to the spiritual centeredness of his best friend and moral compass, Chirrut Îmwe.”

Hey, look at that, we’re back to Star Wars.   It was bound to happen eventually, I suppose.  Back in February, I took my first look at Hasbro’s re-visit of Rogue One in Black Series format.  I’ve already looked at the main line’s one new figure, Bodhi, and a pair of the re-issues that hit alongside him.  Today, I’m following that up with another re-issue.  But it’s okay, because it’s one I didn’t get the first time around.  So, it’s like it’s all-new, right?  Sure!  Alright, here’s Baze Malbus.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Baze Malbus is figure 5 in the Rogue One set of Black Series Phase IV.  He reissues the #37 figure from Phase III of the line, which hit alongside Chirrut during the latter part of the original Rogue One run.  The figure stands a hair shy of 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  As I discussed in Chirrut’s review, the Rogue One era figures, especially the later ones, don’t represent the line at its best in terms of articulation schemes.  Hasbro was definitely still learning how to adapt the schemes to differing designs, so there are a good number of figures where the joints just aren’t optimized for the sculpts they’re attached to.  Baze is definitely one of those cases.  The shaping of the hair reduces the neck motion to little more than a swivel, the structuring of the chest armor makes the mid-torso joint mostly immobile, the hips are unable to get much motion at all to the sides, and the ankles can only go forward the slightest bit, making keeping the rather back-heavy figure standing something of a challenge.  The arms do at least get some okay movement, giving him the ability to at the very least hold his weapon half-way decently.  It may not seem like much, but it’s actually rather significant for this era of figure.  Baze’s sculpt was unique when he was first released, and has thus far only been used for this particular release since.  Issues with the articulation aside, it’s not a bad one.  The joints aren’t quite as clunky looking as they were on Chirrut, and the general level of detailing is pretty sharp.  The head sports a pretty strong likeness of Jiang Wen in the role, and is probably the nicest of the original Rogue One era sculpts.  The outfit is a good mix of clean and smooth armor with very broken in cloth pieces.  The boots are slightly on the softer side, but other than that, everything looks alright.  Baze’s paint work marks the primary change-up for this release.  The face gets the printing, and the head in general just gets a bit more detailing.  Some of the other colors on the palette have also been tweaked a bit, and he’s just generally a little bolder and more well defined than the prior release.  It makes an incredible difference, especially on the face, elevating the sculpt a whole lot in the process.  Baze is packed with his heavy repeater cannon, its ammo belt and canister, and a small taser which can be stowed on the back of his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my review of Chirrut, the assortment that included these two was never particularly plentiful, so I only saw Baze and Chirrut once at retail each, and not even at the same time.  I’ve had a few more chances to get one or the other in the following years, but with it looking like the team wasn’t going to be finished, and not being able to even get the two of them at the same time, I didn’t have much drive to actually grab either of them.  With the team actually set to be completed, it’s easier to justify them both.  While Baze still exhibits some of the articulation troubles I had with Chirrut, he’s overall a stronger figure, and one that benefits far more from the improvements of this release.  And, hey, now I’ve got the full team.  How about 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.

#3108: Ultimate Ash

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

ULTIMATE ASH

THE EVIL DEAD: 40TH ANNIVERSARY (NECA)

In 1981, after a series of glorified home movies, and otherwise widely unseen product, Sam Raimi and a bunch of his friends put together a full-length feature.  A horror movie about a group of friends trapped in a haunted cabin in the woods, and an extremely low-budget affair to boot, The Evil Dead gained quite a bit of notoriety for its cast and crew, especially Raimi, and the film’s star, Bruce Campbell, who made his first turn as Ash Williams, the man who would become the face of a franchise.  While there’s been toy coverage for the ultimate badass that Ash would become, we’ve never gotten anything based on his debut appearance.  In honor of the film’s 40th anniversary (well, last year, anyway), NECA’s gone back to the beginning, with a full on “Ultimate” treatment for Ash, circa the first film.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultimate Ash is a single release figure, under NECA’s general Evil Dead banner, but the very first to be officially branded as The Evil Dead, aka the first movie.  The figure was first released in limited quantities to Target as part of their “Haulathon” event, before getting a wider release through specialty stores the following month.  This figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Ash’s articulation scheme matches up with the modern NECA set-up.  It’s generally pretty decent, but there are certainly some areas where he could stand to have a little more range of motion.  For the most part, it does what it needs to, however.  Ash’s sculpt is an all-new affair, based specifically on Bruce Campbell’s much less action hero-y portrayal of the character from the first movie.  It does a pretty respectable job on that front.  The details match up well with the look from the movie, and the sculpting is all pretty sharp and on point.  There are three heads included with this release, each with a slightly different expression.  Given how expressive Campbell is in all of the Evil Dead films, it’s nice that NECA continues to give us a full range of extra heads to fully showcase this.  Of the three, I particularly like the more frightened head, which I feel best fits the first movie version of the character, but all three of them have a pretty respectable likeness of a very young Campbell.  Ash’s paint work is generally alright.  Nothing too fancy going on here.  Ash is based on his appearance early on in the film, before he really gets all messy from killing his possessed friends.  Knowing NECA, a bloody version will more than likely follow, but this one keeps with the clean look.  Given that all of the Evil Dead 2 figures had him in various states of dirtiness, having this one be totally clean actually makes it a bit more distinctive.  Ash is packed with a sizable assortment of accessories, befitting the “Ultimate” status of this figure.  He gets three alternate right hands (basic grip, trigger finger, and lantern holding), a lantern, chainsaw, rifle, axe, and the tape recorder he and his friends find in the cabin.  He lacks the book of the dead, which feels like an odd omission; maybe that’s a piece they’re saving for that inevitable bloody variant.  As it stands, not a bad assortment of extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve addressed before, my first introduction to the Evil Dead films was via Bruce Campbell’s behind-the-scenes discussions regarding them in If Chins Could Kill.  I really enjoyed the book, and figured I might as well actually watch the films discussed there in.  I watched them in order, and notably caught The Evil Dead after midnight, which certainly made for a slightly more restless night.  I love the low-budget roots of the film, and I’ve been hoping to see some sort of toy coverage for a while now.  This guy finally gives us that, and he does it well.  He’s quite a lot of fun, even if he’s not the distinctive version of Ash that most people remember.

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

#3107: Migs Mayfeld – Morak

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

MIGS MAYFELD — MORAK

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A hot-headed ex-Imperial sharpshooter, Migs Mayfeld was once the leader of a gang of criminals. Mayfeld’s old ties help The Mandalorian on his mission to rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon”

We’ve been seeing some lulls as of late in some of Hasbro’s major lines.  Not all at the same time, of course; they’ve been kind of rotating a bit.  Hasbro’s still having some noted issues with proper distribution, and all that, resulting in some lines being few and far between on their releases.  I looked at one Black Series figure over a month ago, which was actually one that had been sitting in my “to review” pile for several months.  Before that, my last three Black Series reviews have all been reissues of one form or another.  How about something new for a change?  Well, newish.  Migs Mayfeld was first introduced in The Mandalorian‘s first season, as point man for the group performing the heist in “The Prisoner.”  He was portrayed by stand-up comic Bill Burr, noted for his (likely comedically exaggerated) dislike of the franchise, and was, at least in his first appearance, really just playing himself…IN SPACE.  The character returned during the show’s second season, in the episode “The Believer,” which gave the character a surprisingly effective emotional journey, and gave Burr a chance to deliver an incredibly nuanced performance, far outside of his usual range.  This second appearance rather resonated with viewers, making it the natural choice for the character’s first figure treatment, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Migs Mayfeld (Morak) is figure 15 in the Mandalorian sub-set of Black Series‘ Phase IV incarnation.  He’s one of three Mando-themed figures in this particular assortment…not that I’ve actually had the chance to see the whole assortment, or anything, of course.  Just Mayfeld.  Mayfeld is based on his disguised appearance from “The Believer,” after he and Mando steal Transport Driver armor to infiltrate the Imperial base on Morak.  It’s what he’s wearing during what’s really the character’s most definitive scene, and it also means that he can double as a Transport Driver, should you want such a thing.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Since Mayfeld is disguised as an Imperial, it makes sense for the figure to re-use some Imperial tooling.  While the Transport Driver isn’t strictly speaking one we’ve gotten before, it’s show design was heavily built from the Mudtrooper design we saw in Solo.  Subsequently, a good portion of this figure is making use of the Mudtrooper Han parts.  It’s a solid sculpt, and not one that really got out there, so it’s a fairly sensible re-use.  Apart from the collar of the undershirt not being the same, and there being some lingering holes in the back meant for the hoses from the Mudtrooper mask, it’s a close enough sculpt to work.  He gets a new skirt piece, with his slightly tweaked belt and holster, as well as a new head and removable helmet.  The helmet is on in the package, so you can’t actually see the Burr sculpt at all until its opened.  You almost have to wonder is Burr requested that, since it’s out of the ordinary for how such figures are usually packaged.  The helmet is supposed to be the same one that the Tank Pilots were sporting, and it matches up pretty well, while still being removable.  Under the helmet is the proper Mayfeld sculpt.  It’s a pretty solid one, if perhaps a touch too large for the body.  The likeness to Burr is fairly strong, and it’s great that he’s got an expression that really breaks from the usual emotionless appearances we tend to see on these.  Mayfeld’s paint work is generally decent, with one notable thing that I hesitate to really call an “issue;” it’s more of a discrepancy.  The armor on his right arm is red, as it was on the Han figure, denoting a higher rank.  However, Mayfeld’s armor in the episode is without this extra coloring; it’s Mando who gets the extra detail on his armor.  So, this one gets extra paint that he shouldn’t technically have, which is the opposite direction that such issues tend to go with paint.  At this point, I wonder if Hasbro might intend to just give the inevitable disguised Mando the green arm, just so that you can swap them both for the proper set-up.  That said, VC made the same mistake on Mayfeld, and Mando was still sporting the red as well, so perhaps Mayfeld is just cursed to be given a promotion.  Worse things have happened.  Mayfeld is packed with the previously mentioned removable helmet, as well as a small blaster pistol, which is a pretty key accessory for him.  It’s kinda light, but it also covers the basics, so I’m not too bummed about it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mayfeld was a character that I had no issues with in his first appearance, but not one I was particularly intrigued by, or eager to see more of.  That said, his reappearance in “The Believer” was genuinely one of my favorite parts of the second season.  So, the announcement that he was getting a figure based specifically on that episode was cool by me.  Plus, it’s a Bill Burr figure, which is kinda cool in and of itself.  The figure turned out pretty well overall.  The issue with the coloring on the arm is honestly pretty forgivable, and I think he otherwise handles things well.  Now, the wait for the inevitable Mando to go with him begins.

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

#3106: Darth Vader – TIE Fighter Gunner Station

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

DARTH VADER — TIE FIGHTER GUNNER STATION

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Back in the far off times of 2018, I reviewed two figures from the “Gunner Station” sub-branding of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line.  The gunner stations served as a more concise and themed continuation of the Deluxe sized figures for the line, and Luke and Han in their respective stations from the Millennium Falcon‘s dogfight in A New Hope were a pretty logical choice.  I guess Hasbro felt that they hadn’t quite heavy hitter-ed it up enough, though, so there was one more figure in the set.  It’s a Darth Vader, whose “Gunner Station” comes in the form of the cockpit of his TIE Fighter.  Yeah, it’s definitely a bit of a stretch.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darth Vader with the TIE Fighter Gunner Station was added to Power of the Force in 1998, alongside the previously reviewed Han and Luke.  Where the other two have designs very much dialed into a very specific moment of the first film, this version of Vader continues the PotF Vader trend up to this point of being a loose amalgamation of Vader’s look in all three of the films.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has a whopping 8 points of articulation.  Yes, in addition to the usual articulation for the line, this Vader also got knees.  It’s so much movement, you guys!  Structurally, he’s very similar to the other Vaders of the early run for the line, with the notable difference of having the knee joints, as well as a slightly more rigid stance.  Han and Luke both had some slight sculpting improvements from earlier releases, and this figure also came out the same year as the one with the removable helmet, which sported a far improved sculpt of its own.  So, this one feels a little behind the times, comparatively.  Beyond that, I guess he’s alright.  He keeps all the detail work, and swaps out the plastic cape of the prior figure for a cloth one, which is admittedly better for sitting in a cockpit.  The figure’s color work is generally pretty basic, with mostly molded black.  There are a few smaller accents, which follow the look from the movie closely enough, and keep him from being *too* drab.  Vader includes no smaller accessories, so there’s not lightsaber or anything.  He instead gets the Gunner Station thing.  It’s meant to look like the cockpit of his TIE Figher, which I guess it does alright.  There’s no upper half, of course, nor are there wings or anything.  There’s part of the window, and a weird handle thing, so that you can, like, hold it as a gun or something?  I’m a little confused about the exact intended use, to be honest.  It gets some missiles, which you can launch from the front of the “vehicle.”  And that’s really about it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is one of those items that’s so nonsensical and far reaching, that I actually don’t think I even realized it existed when I was a kid.  I remember the other two, of course, but this one just slipped from my radar, at least until I had reason to really look into it again, after digging more into the whole line.  I got one when it got traded into All Time, because, well, I didn’t have it, and it’s also just really cheap.  It’s an odd piece.  It just feels very forced, like they really just wanted another Vader on the market, but didn’t know exactly how to get to that point logically.

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

#3104: Knuckles

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

KNUCKLES

SONIC 2 (JAKKS PACIFIC)

Video game movies are always a tricky prospect.  There’s a whole lot of room for error in any adaptation to a new medium, but games to movies has classically proven particularly troublesome, typically resulting in films that not only fail as adaptations of the source material, but also as movies on their own.  Released just before the start of the pandemic in 2020, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie started off with some trouble, namely the uncanny valley surrounding the title character’s design.  However, by the time the final product hit theaters, audiences were surprised to find that…it was actually a pretty solid movie?  Like, both as an adaptation, and just on its own merits?  I was certainly surprised. With the success of the first film, its sequel was fast tracked (at least as fast-tracked as anything can be during the pandemic era), and it just hit about a month ago.  It’s even more fun than the first one, and introduces a few more of Sonic’s usual supporting cast.  This includes my personal favorite character, Knuckles, voiced within the film by Idris Elba.  It’s pretty great, you guys.  Let’s have a look at the figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Knuckles is one of the four figures that make up the first series of Jakks Pacific’s Sonic 2 movie tie-in line.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 21 points of articulation.  Knuckles is sporting a pretty impressive selection of articulation, given the scale/price point.  The joints do have a tendency to get stuck, at least on mine, but with enough working, they pose pretty nicely.  The sculpt is an all-new affair, based on Knuckles’ design from the movie.  His movie design is quite faithful to his classic video game appearance, just brought a little bit more in line with the first film’s take on Sonic.  The figure follows the movie model quite well, making for a pretty spot-on recreation.  The sculpt gets some pretty solid detailing, especially on the texturing for his fur.  The color work on Knuckles maintains the design from the movie pretty well.  It’s rather basic, of course, but that’s kind of expected.  The red is all molded, as is much of the white, but what paint work is present is generally well-applied.  There was a bit of iffy coverage on the white patch on the torso on the figures I looked at, but my copy generally looks pretty good.  Knuckles is packed with a snow board (which is also included with Sonic).  Not the most Knuckles-esque extra, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first Sonic movie was a pleasant surprise for me, and I was excited by what more the sequel could offer.  The confirmation of Knuckles, followed up by Idris Elba’s casting, made me quite hyped for it.  I’ve been eying the Jakks Pacific stuff for a bit, wanting to grab a decent Knuckles.  This particular release finally cemented the deal for me.  He’s a pretty fun little figure.

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

But hang on just a second here!  We’re not quite done with today’s feature.  Since I’m admittedly a little outside of the target demographic for these figures, I’ve decided to bring in a little bit of help from my good buddy Matthew, who’s a little more in the realm of being a kid, because…well, um, he is.  He’s not quite so versed on the reading and writing thing himself just yet, but he took some pictures, and he’s supplied me with his thoughts on the rest of the series, which I’ve done my best to transcribe.  Take it away Matthew!

This is Matthew!  Just so that you know, you heard about me from the other paragraph.  These are my figures from Sonic 2.  Tails, Sonic, and Eggman…no, Dr. Robotnik.  I went to the theatre to watch this movie, and it was really good.  If you have not watched it, please do, and then check out Ethan’s website [hey, this kid’s a pretty good promoter–Ethan].  You should go to All Time Toys if you want these.  That’s where I got them.

I want to tell everyone my favorite figure, which is the one in the middle.  It is Sonic.  I like blue.  My room is blue.  And they painted it right on this figure.  I like the board of Sonic [his accessory–E], it is really cool.  Just forewarning, he falls apart really easily, so be careful when you get them.  The feet come off…when I said that, the feet just came off.  Especially be careful with the hands and shoes.  But I do like how the joints move when he’s not coming apart.  I’m done talking about Sonic.  I wanna talk about Tails now.

Presenting the one on the left hand side: Tails!  One thing did not come with him: the backpack.  And just so that you know, if you have watched the movie, I’m just telling you a part of it, because he has a backpack in the movie.  I like that he has his gadget thing.  All his parts still come off like Sonic’s can too.  I don’t like the tail because it makes Tails fall over if you haven’t put down his feet properly.  If you have him on the Eiffel Tower tipping, he will fall over.  I’m done talking about Tails.

Presenting Dr. Robotnik! I like that he has an egg.  I do not like Dr. Robotnik.  I like the toy.  Not the guy.  Why I do not like the guy, is because I do not like his beard.  His mustache I mean.  I love his mustache.  I mean I hate his mustache.  I do not like that he’s evil.  And he likes drinking coffee.  And that’s why he comes with a coffee cup.  Because he’s Dr. Robotnik.  And he loves coffee cup.  He could even eat a coffee cup with coffee in it.

I hope you like the website.  And if you want the toys, you should go to All Time Toys.  Good bye!

#3103: Winter Soldier – Flashback

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

WINTER SOLDIER — FLASHBACK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Though Bucky Barnes has fought to become himself again, in his darkest nightmares his greatest fear comes to life…that he is still the Winter Soldier!”

Oh man, is this two whole Marvel Legends reviews?  In a row?  Don’t get too used to it, guys.  But hey, it’s some Legends.  And I do love reviewing me some Legends.  Some of my earliest Marvel Legends reviews here on the site were of the tie-in product for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  It’s still one of my favorite MCU films, and, despite plenty of retrospective MCU coverage in Legends since, we’ve not actually gotten any additional TWS figures since that initial run.  Kinda crazy, really.  8 years later, we’ve got one more, though this one comes under the guise of technically being a tie-in to last year’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.  Hey, I’m hardly going to complain about weird loopholes if they mean I get more TWS figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winter Soldier (Flashback) is a one-off Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends release.  He’s loosely tied in with the Sam and Steve Caps two-pack, as they both are using the same code-name, and are clearly meant to at least somewhat compliment each other.  Winter Soldier started hitting retail in roughly the last month or so.  Officially, this figure is based on the flashback dream Bucky has in the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but unofficially, he’s definitely meant to be Winter Soldier from the highway fight in TWS, since that’s the most distinctive use of this particular look.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure is re-using the mold from the original Mandroid Series Winter Soldier.  It’s a pretty sensible re-use.  Slightly old-style articulation scheme aside, it’s a really good sculpt, which does a respectable job of capturing the character’s outfit as seen in the movie.  The detailing is all nice and crisp, and he just really looks the part.  He’s also not nearly as undersized as the Caps of the same era, which really works in his favor.  He gets two all-new head sculpts, replacing the original two, which were working from pre-production designs.  These one’s give us the proper half-mask and fully unmasked looks.  They’re both pretty solid sculpts, and certainly improvements to the original release.  Of the two, the masked look is the stronger sculpt, I feel.  The half-mask looks really cool, and the sculpting is really sharp.  The unmasked head is okay, though the likeness isn’t quite there; I think his chin is a bit too large for Sebastian Stan.  Adding to the updated head sculpts is an updated paint scheme.  The jacket is properly darkened, matching the final film, rather than the concept art that the original was based on.  The heads both have the printing on the face, and the metallic arm is now much cleaner, closer to the way things look in the movie.  While the prior Winter Soldier’s only accessory was a big, goofy red thing that was supposedly a gun-type-thing.  This time around he’s got actual guns…well, closer to actual guns, anyway.  There’s an assault rifle type thing, and two pistols, which sort of have some Beretta 93r elements…if you squint.  He’s also got a knife, which is key for that cool knife flip trick from the movie.  The guns aren’t real, but they at least look the part more so than the original, and I’m honestly going to have him wielding the knife all the time, anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really loved the old Winter Soldier at the time of its release, but he was always slightly hindered by some of the odd factors that went along with him.  I also always really wished he had the half mask, which is by far his coolest look in the movie.  I’d been hoping for some sort of an update, what with all of the Marvel Studios stuff Hasbro’s been doing.  It’s been quite a wait for this one, and there are still some minor nits, but I really love how this figure turned out, and he’s pretty much exactly what I’ve been hoping for since 2014.

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.

#3101: Han Solo with Smuggler Flight Pack

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

HAN SOLO with SMUGGLER FLIGHT PACK

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Many labels can be applied to Corellian-born Han Solo: pirate, gambler, smuggler and Rebel hero. It is doubtful that the last title would have applied at all had he not agreed to transport Ben Kenobi, Luke Skywaker and two droids to Alderaan in his Corellian freighter, Millennium Falcon. After unwittingly becoming part of a mission to rescue Princess Leia, Solo was drawn more and more into the cause of the Rebel Alliance, becoming one of the most significant figures involved in the rebellion against the Empire. He played an essential role in the Battle of Yavin, and led the strike-team on Endor’s moon that facilitated the destruction of the new Death Star. He escaped form countless dilemmas simply because of his daring and skill as a blasterslinger and pilot – talents he retained form his days as a smuggler/gambler. He also retained a couple of other things, one of them being his trusty smuggler pack, a tool which served him extremely well during inner-atmospheric piracy jobs.

Designed and built by Solo with the help of Chewbacca, this item is basically a weapons-jet pack with a huge mechanical grappling claw attached at its base for massive lifting and cargo transport. It was assembled from old swoop parts, discarded starfighter pieces, and construction-machinery robotics. Much like the Millennium Falcon itself, the pack does not appear impressive or dangerous – concerning its appearance Solo often becomes defensive: “Well it isn’t supposed to look pretty!” However, the swoop engines provide break-neck propulsion while two repulsors engage a silent hover mode that allows atmospheric flotation up to a maximum of one-hundred meters depending on the cargo. The pack allows Solo some flexibility; he can dock the Falcon and then speed in below sensors with the smuggler pack, picking up any cargo or booty before transferring it back to his ship. Twin laser cannons, appropriated from a badly damaged stock light freighter, swing over his shoulders to create a high-powered defense module. The grappling claw has magnetized pinchers which can be de-magnetized at the flip of a switch. It is extremely durable and able to lift objects weighing up to fifteen metric tons.”

Well, with a bio like that, I hardly need much of an intro here, now do I?  Especially after more or less covering the weird Deluxe line-up thing for Power of the Force II with last week’s review.  So, you know, this one’s very similar to that, but it’s Han instead of Luke.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo with Smuggler’s Flight Pack was part of the first Deluxe Series of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line, added in 1996.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Much as was the case with the Stormtrooper and Luke, Han’s sculpt is quite similar to the Series 1 Han.  Not exactly one of the line’s finest or anything, but it’s got this sort of charming quality to it, I suppose.  The only change of note between the two releases is the addition of a second vest to the torso.  You know, in case the single vest wasn’t enough, right?  Gotta add that second.  But certainly don’t add any extra sleeves.  That would be too much.  His color work is more or less the same as the earlier release.  There’s some orange and silver added for the new vest.  Doesn’t feel super Star Wars-y, but it’s not un-Star Wars-y, either.  The application’s pretty clean and consistent, so that’s good.  The big selling point for all of these was the big gimmick accessory, and that’s consistent with Han here.  He’s got his “Smuggler’s Flight Pack,” which the bio presents as a pre-existing thing that’s sort of a signature of Han, despite the whole “not showing up anywhere other than this toy ever in the whole canon of Star Wars” thing.  But, you know, there it is.  It’s big, it’s goofy, and it makes it virtually impossible to keep the figure standing.  I guess it’s kind of fun, but it also really doesn’t feel like a Han sort of thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Deluxe Han really never appealed much to me as a kid.  It’s only recently that I’ve really started picking them up, and it’s really only because of ease of access.  Han came into All Time as part of a larger collection, and the seal on the bubble had broken, so he was a rather easy grab.  He’s goofy, and odd, but he’s still an intriguing look at that road not travelled.

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.

#3099: In Space Pink Ranger

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

IN SPACE PINK RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Okay, let’s wrap up this Power Rangers focus in the best possible fashion, by circling back around to Power Rangers In Space, aka my favorite Power Rangers incarnation.  Following up on yesterday’s discussion of Turbo, as well as Tuesday’s discussion of change-overs for the Rangers, I guess I could talk about how exactly the In Space came to be.  After the replacement of half of the Rangers in MMPR‘s later run, and the later replacement of Kimberly and Aisha in their roles of Pink and Yellow respectively, the remaining cast transferred over to Zeo, and then again to Turbo, minus Rocky, whose actor left due to a pay dispute.  The rest of the MMPR/Zeo cast left at Turbo‘s mid-point, and were replaced with four newcomers.  They would continue on to In Space, keeping the roles until that show wrapped, and brought to an end the “Zordon Era” of the show.  Of particular note was Patrica Ja Lee’s Cassie Chan, the Pink Ranger of Turbo and In Space, and almost the replacement Pink Ranger for Lost Galaxy, until contract negotiations fell through.  Alas, I suppose it just means she went out on a high note, and we’re looking at that particular high note today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The In Space Pink Ranger is another part of Series 10 of Hasbro’s Lightning Collection line.  Cassie marks the sixth and final member of the In Space line-up to be added to the line, making her the second figure in this assortment to round out her respective team, as well as the second of two In Space-branded figures in this line-up, since Phantom was moved over to In Space.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  Unsurprisingly, In Space Pink shares her construction with In Space Yellow.  As with their male counterparts, its a total parts share, without even a new helmet sculpt.  It’s true to the show designs, of course, and the sculpt for Yellow was pretty strong on its own, and it’s still strong here.  The color work on this release changes up, of course.  The base layout remains the same, but with pink in place of yellow, as well as the adjustment to the shaping on the edge of her visor.  As with the recent Pink Ranger two-pack, there’s a mismatch between the shades of pink of the torso and the limbs.  It’s not ideal, but it’s also not the end of the world, I suppose.  The figure has two sets of hands, her Astro Blaster, her Satellite Stunner, an effects piece for the Stunner, and an unmasked head for Cassie.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been chipping away at the In Space Rangers, and it’s been getting more exciting the closer I’ve gotten.  Getting Cassie is rather similar to getting Tanya in her Zeo gear, in that she herself isn’t the most thrilling of the characters or designs, but she’s a solid by the numbers figure, and she finishes out her team on a high-note.  Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted all of the In Space Rangers in one cohesive style, but I’ve never gotten the chance until now.  I’m really happy about this one.  I really love this particular set.  A lot.

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

#3098: In Space Phantom Ranger

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

IN SPACE PHANTOM RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION

I’ve discussed my two favorite Power Rangers shows, Zeo and In Space, here on the site before.  What I haven’t really discussed is the season that fell between them, Power Rangers Turbo.  Turbo is…well, it’s an interesting product.  It’s generally not looked at very fondly by…well, much of anyone.  There are a multitude of reasons for this, notably the clashing tone between the psuedo-parody stylings of Gekisou Sentai Carranger and Turbo‘s own darker and edgier approach, to say nothing of the addition of a less than well received kid-Ranger, and the fact that most of the cast left halfway through the season.  The season saw a rather heft drop in ratings, and the entire franchise was almost wrapped up, until In Space came along and picked things back up.  Turbo was not without its positive elements, of course.  While Turbo didn’t *technically* have a sixth ranger, at least in the sense that surrounding seasons did, there were two contenders for the role.  The one with “ranger” in his title always felt like the more logical choice for me, of course, but what do I know.  Whatever the case, Turbo‘s Phantom Ranger is generally seen as one of its most redeeming parts, so him being the first Turbo thing in Lightning Collection is far from a surprise.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Phantom Ranger is part of Series 10 of the Lightning Collection.  Curiously, he’s not billed under the Turbo banner, and is instead an In Space release.  Phantom Ranger does have a few appearances in Space, so it’s not the craziest thing.  It’s just slightly weird that they’re avoiding Turbo entirely on this one.  It also results in two In Space figures in one assortment, though I’m hardly going to complain about such a thing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Phantom Ranger is sporting an all-new sculpt, appropriate given his rather non-standard design.  The articulation scheme is pretty impressive, especially given the bulkiness of some of the armored parts.  Additionally, since this release isn’t built on older parts, he’s got the pinless construction on the elbow and knee joints.  Beyond just the posability, the quality of the sculpt here is pretty top-notch.  He sticks closely to the Phantom Ranger’s on-screen appearance, and has a nice contrast of clean and sleek armored sections, and well-textured undersuit detailing.  It’s a very strong mix.  The paint work on this guy is generally pretty basic.  Largely, he’s a lot of black, but he’s at least got a variance of finishes to the blacks, so it’s not too drab.  The other accenting colors are quite sharply applied, which gives the whole thing a very polished appearance.  Phantom Ranger is packed with two pairs of hands, a Turbo Navigator, a blasting effect, and the impact effect piece we previously saw on the Z Putty.  The blast effect is compatible both with his Turbo Navigator’s barrel, as well as the Phantom Ruby on his chest.  It’s cool that they made both of those work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite my investment in the two seasons on either side of Turbo‘s run, Turbo itself was one that largely never clicked with me.  I remember seeing the movie in theaters, largely on the basis of it being Power Rangers, and me being 5.  I mostly remember Phantom here for his appearances on In Space, where I very much enjoyed him.  I had his toy as a kid, again based on those later appearances, and he was one of those designs I’d really wanted to see updated for this line.  He’s truly a fantastic offering, and takes the spotlight in an assortment that finishes my two favorite teams, so that really speaks to his quality.

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

#3097: Zeo Yellow Ranger

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

ZEO YELLOW RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Hey, how about some more Power Rangers stuff?  It’s been a little while, and I got important stuff to talk about.  I’ve been doing a fair bit of alternating as of late between my two favorite Rangers shows, Zeo and In Space.  When last I discussed Zeo, I talked about the cast change-over mid-Mighty Morphin.  Most of that cast carried over to Zeo, but Karan Ashley’s Aisha Campbell, who had replaced Trini as the Yellow Ranger, did not.  Since Ashley wanted to leave the show, Aisha was written out at the end of MMPR, and replaced with Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan, who would stay in the role of Yellow Ranger for all of Zeo, and the first half of Turbo.  Today, I’m focusing on her Zeo incarnation.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zeo Yellow Ranger is part of Series 10 of Hasbro’s Power Rangers: Lightning Collection line.  Tanya is a rather notable release, as she’s the final member of the Zeo team to join the line.  Hey, it’s a finished time that’s not MMPR!  Nifty!  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  Tanya’s construction is largely identical to that of Zeo Pink, which was expected, and is also a pretty sensible choice.  Their designs and builds are fairly close (they don’t even require a new waist piece, since Ohranger was a rare Super Sentai that actually had a female Yellow in the original footage) and it follows the model employed with the male Rangers in the set.  The elbows are still rather restricted in their movement, but the articulation is otherwise still pretty solid, and the detailing on the sculpt remains a pretty solid recreation of the suit design from the show.  She’s got an all-new helmet sculpt, depicting her unique visor shape.  The two slits aren’t as practical as Adam’s rectangle or Kat’s oval, but I guess it’s okay.  It’s a pretty straight forward sculpt, which is in line with the rest of Rangers from the set, and the new visor differentiates her pretty well from the others.  Tanya’s paint work is pretty straight forward.  The application is all pretty clean and sharp, and the plastic yellows match more closely than the colors on Pink.  In general, it looks quite sharp.  Zeo Yellow is packed with her Zeonizer, capsule sword, Power Clubs, two sets of hands, an effect piece, and an unmasked Tanya head.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At this point, it’s a matter of momentum on a lot of these figures.  I can’t very well quit the Zeo team five members into a six person team, right?  So, you know, I was pretty happy about her getting a spot in this particular set, so that I could finally finish up the team.  I started building this team in 2020, and two years later, I’ve wrapped it up.  I’m pretty happy about that.  Tanya’s not the star of the show or anything, but she’s a strong finish to a strong set.  Pretty dope.

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