Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#2555: Mysterio

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

MYSTERIO

MARVEL LEGENDS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“A cloud of smoke heralds the arrival of the villainous mastermind who uses the art of illusion against Spider-Man — Marvel’s Mysterio!”

Man, remember when the Lizard Series Mysterio was so easy to get and not stupid expensive and really illusive?  No?  Oh, that’s right, because that was never really the case.  From the moment he was released, that figure was always the first one pulled from any case and remained well above regular retail pricing for pretty much his entire shelf life, if you can really call it that.  I eventually got one, but it certainly wasn’t easy.  Since it was so darn hard to get him, it’s probably not a huge surprise that Hasbro’s already got a repaint of him out, just two years later.  I’m taking a look at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mysterio is his own standalone release for the Retro Collection sub-line of Marvel Legends, released to coincide with the recent Spider-Man-themed assortment.  Given how popular the last release was, singling him out was definitely the right call.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s *almost* identical to the prior comics Mysterio.  It was a pretty decent sculpt, and also a largely unique sculpt, so seeing Hasbro get some more mileage out of it makes sense.  It certainly looks impressive.  I’m still not overly fond of quite how the cape/helmet piece attaches, but I’ve had time to make my piece with that.  The only change to this figure’s sculpt is one that’s not evident at an outward glance: the head under the dome, which on the original figure was a skull/tentacle-illusion thing, has now been replaced by a sort of holographic Quentin Beck head (a repurposed Multiple Man head, for those that are curious).  I can dig both ideas, but I think I personally prefer the Beck head.  Beyond the un-helmeted head, the major change-up for this release is the paint work, which is, simply put, just a lot better this time around.  The helmet is now mostly opaque, allowing it to more properly capture the classic Mysterio look, and the jumpsuit’s impressive quilted sculpt is now much better showcased by the more intense accent work going on it.  Also, the gloves, boots, and clasps on the cape are all gold instead of light green, which is a slightly later look for the character but one that I think works better in toy form, as they add some extra pop to the figure.  Additionally, this figure avoids the clashing plastic colors of the last release, which again help him to just look a bit cleaner. Mysterio includes the two effects pieces for his feet, which are essentially the same between the two releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the difficulty of getting the last release, this one was, comparatively, much easier to acquire.  I wasn’t sure I was even going to get him at first, but I really liked the new look in person, and I definitely wanted that Beck head.  Ultimately, both figures have their merits, but this release is definitely the superior offering, and I’m glad to have it.

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

#2553: Princess Leia Organa – Ewok Celebration Outfit

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — EWOK CELEBRATION OUTFIT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“An accident during a furious speeder bike chase leaves the princess without a way of finding her Rebel companions. Befriended by Endor’s Ewok civilization, Leia is once again united with her friends, but under different circumstances.”

You know what’s just really the best variant of a main character in an action-oriented action figure line?  An outfit that never sees a single moment of action!  Or, at least, that’s what numerous Star Wars toy lines would have me believe.  Sometimes it works out, of course, and we get cool looks that *could* see some action, if you really wanted them to.  Sometimes we get looks that even *do* see action in later EU tales (Luke’s jacketed look from the end of A New Hope springs to mind).  Sometimes, however, you get today’s focus.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia in Ewok Celebration Outfit joined Kenner’s Power of the Force II line in 1998.  This wasn’t the first time this look got a figure, or even the first time it was in PotF; a slightly different version was released alongside a re-packed Wickett figure as part of the Princess Leia Collection in 1997.  Like all the other Leia Collection figures, however, that figure used a lot of cloth pieces, making it stand out a bit from the core line’s releases.  This one instead was an all plastic variant.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  Both the neck and the hip joints are greatly restricted by the figure’s design, but on the plus side, the arms and waist are free and clear.  So there’s that, I guess.  These restrictions do not help with the already very non-action feel of the figure.  Also not helping is the figure’s pose, which is…I don’t know exactly what it is.  The legs are close together and sort of prim and proper looking, but there the arms are just slightly elevated…because?  I don’t know.  I got nothing.  The paint work is all very brown.  It’s accurate, but not super thrilling or eye-catching.  At least it’s well applied.  Leia is packed with a small blaster (hinting at her doing something more exciting than standing around, which doesn’t really track with the rest of the figure) and a freeze frame slide.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been much for this particular Leia design, as I always have preferred her more practical get-ups, and her Endor tactical set-up is just a much better design to me.  This figure is one of those ones I have seen many times over the years, and I certainly knew I was going to have to get it some day now that I’m doing this whole complete run of the line thing.  I wasn’t really in much of a hurry, and really only snagged it because it was right in front of me.  Thrilling, I know.  Almost as thrilling as the figure itself, right?

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0015: Kanan Jarrus

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

KANAN JARRUS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Oh boy, it’s a FiQ Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!  Man, it sure has been a long time since I’ve done one of these, hasn’t it?  Well, don’t get too attached; it’s not likely to become a regular feature again or anything like that.  As I discussed in my review of Hera earlier today, Hasbro’s doing a set of reissues on their Rebels figures from The Black Series.  I snagged Hera, because I missed the prior release, and I’ve skipped Ezra and Chopper, since they’re indistinguishable from the original releases.  I did, however, snag the Kanan re-issue, despite purchasing and reviewing the original release.

So, when The Black Series was launched, the focus was most prominently on the Original Trilogy characters (with one or two Prequel characters here and there, but definitely secondary).  As the line has continued, it’s become a bit more inclusive, adding The Force Awakens, of course, but also some Clone Wars and Rebels characters (and in the most recent series, even a proper EU character).  Today, I’ll be looking at one of those Rebels figures, namely Kanan Jarrus!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kanan was released in the sixth series of the third round of Star Wars: The Black Series (i.e. the sixth series of Force Awakens Black Series).  He’s figure #19 in the line, which I believe makes him the first Rebels figure numerically.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  This figure takes Kanan’s animated design and sort of real-world-izes it.  It’s a good plan on Hasbro’s part; with the smaller scale figures, you’re guaranteed to get a larger quantity of them, so the stylized look won’t stand out as much, but for the larger figures, where animated releases will be far more spaced out, it’s far better to have them fit with the rest of the established line.  This way Kanan can get right to mowing through Stormtroopers without waiting for a proper Rebels Trooper release.  Overall, I think Kanan’s sculpt does a reasonable job of taking Kanan’s animated design and translating into how he might look in a live action film.  It’s not perfect, and I do really think Hasbro would have been smart to base Kanan on his voice actor Freddie Prinze, Jr in terms of likeness and build.  While it certainly looks like Kanan, he still ends up being a little more cartoony than a real person; his eyes (and head in general, really) are rather large, and his torso and arms seem very scrawny.  They’re certainly not as exaggerated as his animated counterpart, but when compared to some of the other figures from the line, he does look ever so slightly famished.  On the plus side, the texture work on the figure’s clothes is pretty outstanding, even better than a few of the other Black Series figures.  I like that each article of clothing has its own texture.  As far as the paint work goes, Kanan matches up with most of the more recent Black Series releases.  He’s a notable improvement over some of the prior figures, and most of the work is pretty sharp.  He could probably stand to have a little more accent work in a few spots, but what’s there works.  There is this weird clump scratched paint on his neck thing, almost like he was scratched before the paint had completely dried, but that’s the only real nit.  Kanan is packed with sidearm blaster, as well as his lightsaber, the hilt of which is designed got separate into two pieces that clip onto his belt, just like on the show.  It’s not the world’s largest accessory complement, but it’s better than several other figures in the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, Kanan was released prior to me getting into Rebels, which means I saw him a number of times and passed him up, since I didn’t know the character (yes, I know I bought all of the Rogue One and Force Awakens stuff before seeing the movies and “knowing the characters.”  You’re very smart.  Now shut up).  By the time I got into the show and actually wanted this guy, he had pretty much disappeared from shelves.  Fortunately for me, there are still some cases of series 6 making their way out there, and one such case had hit the Target where I found the second series of Rogue One figures, allowing me to grab this guy at the same time.  Karan has his flaws, but so did a lot of figures in this particular series, and at least his don’t prevent him from being a fun action figure.

That review was from December of 2016, and actually isn’t that bad.  Hey, my writing actually holds up; good for me, right?  In my original review, I was overall pretty positive on this figure.  I did remark that the Kanan seemed a little bit on the scrawny side in terms of build, and that I wasn’t all that big on the way the head looked.  I definitely was hoping for more of a Freddie Prinze Jr likeness on that head.  All of the Rebels figures barring Ezra predated the addition of the face-printing to the line, but Kanan in particular hit during one of Black Series‘ low points on the paint front.  A major appeal of this latest release of the figure is updating Kanan to this new style.  While the figure is effectively identical to the original release from the neck down, the face is an incredible change-up for the figure.  Simply put, he just looks better.  Like, so much better.  Better enough for me to feel totally okay with dropping the price of a standard figure so that I could get this update.  I liked Kanan’s original figure well enough, but this update makes me like him way more, and he feels much more at home with the rest of the line as its evolved.

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

#2551: Hera Syndulla

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

HERA SYNDULLA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“The captain and heart of the Ghost crew, Hera Syndulla was a gifted pilot and leader. The Twi’lek could bring out the best in her team, making them believe in themselves.”

Star Wars: Rebels hit at a rough spot for merchandising on Star Wars.  The 3D re-release of Phantom Menace and its ensuing tie-ins practically killed Star Wars at retail in its entirety, necessitating a major re-work and as major scaling back.  Rebels was treated to a line of basic figures at the smaller scale, just as The Black Series was launching at the 6-inch scale.  Black Series was very OT focused at itself, so the Ghost crew had to make due with slowly being added to the line one-by-one.  Of course, having them mixed in with a bunch of other product launches didn’t exactly make them the easiest figures to get ahold of.  I myself missed my first shot at Hera, who originally dropped during the Last Jedi launch.  Fortunately for me (and the many other fans who missed out on her initial release), Hasbro’s decided to just go ahead and reissue the whole crew in one shot.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hera Syndulla is part of Hasbro’s latest relaunch of Star Wars: The Black Series figures.  Gone is the red packaging and the line-wide numbering, replaced by mural-building subgroups of figures.  The seven figure Rebels subgroup’s packaging can be lined up for a full cast shot.  Hera’s fifth in that line-up, but there seems to not be any correlation between placement and release, as she and Kanan are in the second “batch” to show up at retail, at least around here.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Hera was fortunate to hit right as Hasbro was really getting a handle on articulating these figures, so she winds up with a pretty solid range of motion.  The elbows get more than 90 degrees, and I dig the ball jointed waist.  The only part I’m not super crazy about is the neck, but even that’s not terrible.  Hera’s sculpt is by far my favorite of the humanoid Rebels characters in this line (Chopper still takes the top overall, though), as they really found their footing on that line between cartoon and reality, and made a sculpt that really captures the main essence of her show design, while also managing to look properly at home with the figures from the live-action films.  I also really love how much detail work they’ve managed to inject into her costume.  The paint work on the figure is mostly pretty basic, but seems to stick pretty close to how Hera’s supposed to look.  It’s worth noting that this figure adds the face-printing, which the initial release just narrowly missed.  It’s not quite as essential for her, but it still adds a nice touch to the overall look of the figure, and certainly looks more lifelike.  Hera’s only accessory is a rather small, but also rather well-detailed blaster pistol, which can be held, or stashed in her ankle holster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I saw Hera’s original release one time, and just didn’t have the money for it at the time.  Given how scarce she wound up being, I definitely regretted that, especially as the rest of the crew started to show up.  As soon as this re-issue was confirmed, I was totally on board.  She’s a really solid figure in-hand, and honestly my favorite of this little subset.  I’m very glad to finally have one.

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

#2548: Brett

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

BRETT

ALIEN: 40TH ANNIVERSARY (NECA)

“Parker, what do you think? Your staff just follows you around and says ‘right’. Just like a regular parrot.”

What good is a manager without some staff to manage?  Parker’s definitely the brains of the Nostromo’s maintenance division, but he’s kept company by his slightly slower on the uptake subordinate, Samuel Brett.  Played by veteran character actor Harry Dean Stanton, Brett has the misfortune of becoming the titular creature’s first victim, but is never the less a memorable part of the film’s cast.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Brett joins Parker as part of the second series of NECA’s Alien: 40th Anniversary line, where the two ship alongside a variant of the main alien.  If Parker’s been scarce as a toy, Brett’s only been scarcer, with only a Minimate preceding this release.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Much like Parker, Brett’s got a lot of articulation, but the range isn’t quite all there.  It’s a little better here than on Parker, and the double joints on the elbows help a little more with posing.  That being said, those double joints aren’t really much to look at, and do end up being more than a little bit jarring in regards to the flow of the sculpt.  The actual quality of the sculpt’s not bad, but I’m not sure it’s quite as strong as Parker’s, which is interesting, because my opinions on the two were swapped based on the prototypes.  Something seems to have happened in the production process, however, and the likeness in particular on this guy took a real hit.  It’s not terrible, but it’s not nearly as spot-on as it looked to be in early shots.  The rest of the body’s not bad, apart from the previously mentioned issue with the wonky elbow joints breaking things up. The detail work is crisp, and there’s a lot of effort that’s been put into making him look properly disheveled.  The only part that’s not really got that disheveled look is the bottom of the shirt, which just ends up looking a bit too neat and even by my mark.  Brett’s paint work is overall pretty decent.  There’s a reasonable amount of accent work going on in the uniform, which helps the make the sculpted details pop.  The head gets the worst work again, unfortunately, with the eyes in particular just seeming…off.  Like, possibly misaligned?  It looked like this on all of the figures I had to pick from, so it seems like a line wide issue of some sort.  Brett’s packed with a motion detector and the same cattle prod that came with Parker.  He can hold them both a bit better than Parker could hold his accessories, so that’s a plus.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Parker was definitely my most wanted member of the Nostromo crew, but Brett wasn’t too far behind him, so I was quite happy when they were confirmed together for this line-up.  I find Brett’s got more issues that hold him back than Parker, but ultimately he’s still a good figure, and I’m glad we got them both.

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

#2547: Parker

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

PARKER

ALIEN: 40TH ANNIVERSARY (NECA)

One of Alien‘s enduring contributions to the sci-fi lexicon was moving space-faring characters away from being just purely scientists and military experts, running around in spandex jumpsuits and carrying fancy laser guns and the like, speaking in perfect english, and rarely ever showing any actual normal emotions.  The crew of the Nostromo were a decidedly blue collar bunch, a band of career space truckers not even remotely qualified to be the ones handling first contact with a hostile species.  Their interactions with these strange situations, coupled with their own very realistic interactions and dialogues with each other, gave the film a far more believable and realist feel, and had the side effect of also making the tragedies that befall each of them even more impactful.  Perhaps two of the most interesting characters in the film are the Nostromo‘s engineers, Dennis Parker and his subordinate Brett, two men stuck at the bottom of the Nostromo‘s totem pole.  Parker in particular is one of the film’s most central characters*, his very reactionary and fiery responses to the growing threat serving as a consistent counterpoint to Ripley’s coldly rational approach.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Parker is part of Series 2 of NECA’s Alien: 40th Anniversary line, which celebrates Alien‘s 40th anniversary, albeit a year late.  NECA’s gotta NECA.  Oh, also Series 2 is the only one available through specialty markets, with Series 1 going to Target and 3 going to Walmart.  Why they decided to split up the line between three different venues is anyone’s guess, and I feel it’s only going to further the growing frustration with NECA’s distribution practices and the relative difficulty of following any of their lines right now.  Not helping matters is the difficulty of getting even this specialty assortment, which appears to have been rather scarce.  But, I’m getting away from the actual review.  Back on topic.  Parker here is getting his third ever action figure, following the old Galoob Action Fleet version and the Minimate.  The figure stands 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  While he’s got a lot of articulation, the range is definitely more on the limited side with this guy.  I had some trouble getting him to properly hold the flamethrower on my figure.  It’s certainly nothing terrible, but he’s not quite up the same level as the Marines.  It’s possible he might have a little more range if I pushed a little more on those joints, but I’m hesitant to do that, given NECA’s usual track record on such things.  Parker’s sculpt is all new, and it’s a pretty impressive piece of work.  The likeness of Yaphet Kotto is definitely a very strong one, and the detailing on his uniform is nice and crisp…well, nice and crisp in the appropriate, disheveled way.  The only thing that seems slightly off to me is the figure’s torso, which appears to be a bit too long to be a proper proportionate match for the rest of the sculpt.  It’s not really far off, but it’s enough to stick out.  Parker’s paint work is pretty decently handled.  His face isn’t quite on par with some of Hasbro’s more recent work, but it’s still quite lifelike, and the detailing on the uniform aids in showcasing the depth of the sculpt.  Parker is packed with a flamethrower (the same one originally included with Ripley), the cattle prod he and Brett whipped up, and a second right hand with a slightly different grip.  The hand perplexes me a bit, because it’s a tighter grip than the standard, but not enough to actually let him hold either of the accessories any better, which makes me question why it was included.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Parker’s my favorite character from the film, and I’ve been hoping to see him added to this line pretty much since NECA started doing the Nostromo crew back in 2015.  I’m glad to have finally gotten the figure, and he’s a pretty solid addition to the overall line.

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

*Re-reading some of my old reviews, I see that in my review of the Parker Minimate, I referred to him as “not a character who’s key to the plot.”  I’m not sure why I said that, and I’m gonna have to call out 2015 Ethan for his totally incorrect and bogus assessment of the character there.  What gives, man?

#2546: R2-D2

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

R2-D2

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“While repairing his new droid R2-D2, young Luke Skywalker unwittingly short circuits its recording system, causing a holographic image of the young Princess Leia to appear. She implores the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then disappears as quickly as she emerged.”

When Hasbro took full charge of Power of the Force for the line’s final year, they were busy running the Phantom Menace tie-in line right alongside it, resulting in a much smaller assortment of offerings.  In addition, it was a grouping that felt far more like a “best of” assortment than anything, offering mostly revised versions of the franchise’s core characters, with more scene specific accessories that would eventually become Hasbro’s bread and butter for the smaller scale line.  Among these figures was today’s focus, a variant of R2-D2.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

R2-D2 was released in 1999, as part of the first of the two CommTech assortments that wrapped up Power of the Force‘s run.  It was the fourth, and final, standard-release R2 in the line.  The figure stands 3 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  He’s notable for being the first R2 to add in the “ankle” articulation on the legs, which would become common place for the line going forward.  It was quite handy for posing him, and meant that he could, for the first time, properly use his third leg function, a function that was added back in here after being removed from the two prior variants.  It’s definitely a cool element.  R2’s sculpt was all-new, and is really the best R2 sculpt to come out of the line.  It’s not leaps and bounds above the others or anything, but it does seem a little sharper, and those extra joints certainly don’t hinder it.  His paint work has some nice light weathering on the lower portion, signifying that he’s a New Hope version of the character, an he’s still all sandy.  Also quite notable is the decision to go with a flat silver paint on the dome, instead of a chromed appearance.  The chromed look was cool, but not actually accurate to the films in the slightest.  This change-over was definitely notable, because it marked Lucasfilm’s licensing relenting on some hard-lined rules for the toys that had been in place since the ’70s, and had been the reason for the chrome on all earlier versions of the character.  R2 was packed with a small holographic figurine of Princess Leia, to showcase his message from her in the first film.  It’s a cool little piece, and one of the better extras for an R2.  He also gets the CommTech stand, for those that care about such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve discussed before, I only felt the need to own one R2 growing up, and that was the first PotF2 figure.  This one just wasn’t in the cards.  However, I’ve been trying to piece together this crazy full set I’m working on, which means picking up all of the various variants.  I gotta say, this R2’s really good.  I have to go back on my last R2 review and say that this one was really the best in the line.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy.  They’ve got a decent back stock of Power of the Force, and other cool toys both old and new, so please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2544: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

“Soundwave latches onto an orbiting satellite in his own satellite mode to listen in on communications about the location of a shard of the Allspark.”

The Michael Bay Transformers movies and I have a tenuous relationship at best.  I’ve only actually seen two of them in theaters, those being the first one and Dark of the Moon.  I have notably never seen Revenge of the Fallen, and I can’t say I regret that fact.  With the exception of a single Jazz figure from the first movie, I tend to avoid the Bay-themed figures.  That said, today I’m looking at a Bay figure, from Revenge of the Fallen no less.  I know.  It’s okay, lest you think I’ve completely lost all sanity, it’s Soundwave.  So, you know, I’m not totally losing my sense of self.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is figure 62 in the Studio Series line-up.  He’s another offering from the 10th wave of Deluxe Class figures, right alongside Cliffjumper.  This is Soundwave’s second Studio Series figure, following the Dark of the Moon version from earlier in the year.  In his robot mode, Soundwave stands bout 5 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.  Of all the Studio figures I’ve picked up, Soundwave’s definitely the least posable.  A lot of that comes from the nature of the design, which is kind of clunky, spikey, and restrictive.  Also, speaking of the design, Soundwave’s has an interesting quirk: it’s not seen at all in the movie.  In RotF, Soundwave remains in his alt-mode the whole time, with no proper robot mode.  This figure is based on one that went un-used for the film proper.  It’s honestly not a terrible design, and winds up looking less generic and bland compared to other Bay designs. It’s certainly preferable to his DotM design.  Soundwave’s alt-mode, which is really his main mode when you get right down to it, is a satellite.  As far as updated alt-modes for Soundwave go, it’s not a bad one.  Certainly, it’s a far more sensible choice for him than a Mercades, right?  Doing that to him would just be silly, right?  Right, Michael?  The transformation on Sounwave is really pretty simple, with just 10 steps.  It’s pretty intuitive, mostly because it’s so basic.  You fold his legs back behind his head and clip a few things into new spots.  Not exactly rocket science…because it’s actually satellite science, so a-ha!  Soundwave is packed with a stand to keep him aloft while he’s in his satellite mode, which is certainly handy.  Sadly, he does *not* come with Ravage, despite his DotM release getting Laserbeak.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t like the Bay films so much, but I do like Soundwave.  This led to me being very tempted by his earlier figure this year, despite my dislike of that figure’s alt-mode.  However, once I knew that this version was coming, I had an easier time passing on that release, and just letting this one be my movie Soundwave.  He’s not quite as impressive as either of the other two I looked at this week, but he looks nifty enough on the shelf, and I can’t say I regret buying him.  Great, now I have two Bayformers…

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

#2543: Blitzwing

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

BLITZWING

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

“Blitzwing interrogates Bumblebee about the whereabouts of the Autobots”

Bumblebee fell into the same sort of territory as X-Men: First Class and Batman Begins, as a film that was really a reboot, but was pitched as prequel of sorts to a prior series of movies, just in case it didn’t quite work out in its own right.  Since it was designed as a prequel, most of its characters needed to be characters not already used in the pre-existing franchise films, resulting in a slightly more eclectic selection.  Rather than one of the more prominent jet Decepticons, like, say, Starscream, the film instead made use of the slightly less prominent Blitzwing, a former triple-changer repurposed into Bumblebee’s first foe, who bears an uncanny resemblance to another robot with a real history of being all back-stabby.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blitzwing is figure 65 in the Studio Series line-up.  He’s a Voyager Class release, part of Wave 10, alongside Constructicon Skipjack and a re-pack of Scrapper.  He’s the second of the Bumblebee figures at this size, following Optimus.  Blitzwing is specifically designed to pair off with the previously released Offroad Bumblebee, as they both feature in the same sequence of the movie.  In his robot mode, Blitzwing stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  He’s got a slightly higher articulation count than Cliffjumper, befitting his larger size.  He’s a touch more limited on range on the neck, torso, and legs, but the arms are pretty decent.  Notably, he’s got a joint in the middle of his right hand, but *not* his left.  This facilitates him being able to pick up Bumblebee as in the movie, but it’s kind of odd it’s only on one hand.  Presumably, it didn’t cost out for both hands.  Blitzwing’s mold is an all-new affair, and it’s honestly not quite as solid a recreation of his film design as some of the other more recent Bumblebee figures.  He’s not *majorly* off, but his general robot mode appearance is a little more clunky and rudimentary than the film’s design. The torso in particular is a fair bit boxier than the movie appeance.  Probably not aiding in his accuracy in robot mode is his alt-mode.  In the film, Blitzwing turns into an F-4 Phantom II, but much like Shatter, Blitzwing’s alt-mode isn’t an officially licensed recreation.  So, he’s a bit of an approximation of things…sort of.  It looks about the same if you squint, I guess.  At the very least, it has a pretty good, generic “fighter jet” sort of feel about it.  To the untrained eye, it’s really not bad.  The transformation process is also a pretty intuitive one again, making it a pretty easy, and not too fiddly transformation.  Also, no really obvious undercarriages either, which is always a plus.  Blitzwing is packed with both a gun arm attachment and a spike blade to swap out for his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Much like Cliffjumper, Blitzwing is one of those figures I’ve been hoping to get since pretty much as soon as I saw the film.  Then began the waiting game until he was actually released, which only ramped up after I’d gotten the Jeep Bumblebee.  Ultimately, he’s not quite as sleek or polished as some of the others I’ve picked up recently, but he’s still pretty strong, and certainly a fun figure in his own right.

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

#2542: Cliffjumper

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

CLIFFJUMPER

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

 

The Bumblebee movie did a lot to actually get me invested in Transformers movies (and honestly Transformers as a whole).  While the film proper has a pretty streamlined core cast of characters, and we still got a lot of very G1-sequel designs, and a couple a really cool smaller roles for some fan favorites.  I’m a pretty big Cliffjumper fan, and I’ve always been really fascinated by his reputation as a Bumblebee repaint, so seeing him pop up with a small but important role was really nifty.  Him getting a figure out of it?  Even better.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cliffjumper is figure 64 in Hasbro’s Transformers Studio Series line.  He’s a Deluxe Class offering, hitting in the same assortment as RotF Soundwave, Topspin, and refreshes of jet Shatter and Jeep Bumblebee.  He’s also the seventh Bumblebee-based figure to join the line.  In his robot mode, the figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and has 16 workable points of articulation.  At his core, Cliffjumper is based on the same body as Jeep Bumblebee.  Given the similarities between the film models for the  two of them, it’s not a huge shock, nor is it a bad idea on Hasbro’s part.   It certainly helps that Jeep Bumblebee was a really good figure in his own right, so I really don’t mind seeing those parts again.  He gets a health helping of new parts to differentiate him, the most obvious being the head, of course, which is a good match for his film model.  He also gets a new chest plate, as well as some other tweaked exterior panels.  These are largely to accommodate his new alt model.  Rather than a Jeep or Beetle, Cliff turns into a Cybertronian car of some sort.  We don’t actually see Cliff in his alt mode in the film, so he’s actually using Bumblebee’s from the opening scene.  Given the similarities between their robot modes, the two presumably share a Cybertronian mode in-universe, and this is a good way of getting both the mode and the character in the line.  I’m curious if we’ll see it re-decoed into Bee as well.  Whatever the case, it’s a pretty decent transformation, and like Bumblebee, it’s not too fiddly.   Cliffjumper is packed with the same blaster attachment as Bumblebee, which works out pretty well for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The oddity that is my ability to fixate on small things I want toys or meant that I pretty much wanted a Cliffjumper as soon as seeing his scene in the film.  I wasn’t really expecting a quick turnaround or anything, and I didn’t really get one, so that’s good.  It’s nice to actually have him in figure form.  Sure, he’s not  exactly innovative or anything, but he’s fun, and I’m glad to have him fill out the cast.

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