Tag Archives: Bandai

#1170: Trunks

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

TRUNKS (PREMIUM COLOR)

S.H. FIGUARTS

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For day 4 of my post-Christmas reviews, I’ll be taking at something slightly different. Not totally different, since it’s Dragon Ball Z, from which I’ve already looked at three figures from that ‘verse.  It’s just been over a year and a half since my last one of those. There’s a definite theme to my DBZ collection, with all of them being key players in “The Android Saga,” which happens to be the one arc of the series I really followed from start to finish.  Today’s figure, Trunks, follows that theme, being one of two major protagonists introduced during said arc.  Let’s take a look at him!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

trunks2Trunks was initially released as one of the earlier figures in the DBZ-subset of S.H. Figuarts.  He proved to be one of the most popular figures in the line (not surprising, since Trunks has long had a sizable fanbase), giving quite the hefty aftermarket value.  To make it a bit easier for fans to get some of the earlier, more prominent characters, Bandai’s started putting out “Premium Color” variants, which  tweak the paint jobs of the figures ever so slightly, but otherwise serve as pretty straight re-releases.  The re-released Trunks hit early last year.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation.  Trunks went through a number of different looks on the show, but this figure is based on Future Trunks’ initial appearance during “The Android Saga,” which is of course prior to the appearance of Present Trunks, who started off as a baby…it’s a little confusing, so don’t try to think about it too much.  The trunks3point is, this is Trunks’ original look, and in many ways his best look.  It’s certainly the most definitive.  His sculpt does an admirable job of translating his animated appearance into three-dimensions.  It’s not a pitch-perfect recreation of him, but seems more like an idealized sort of “what he would look like if the animation could always be totally consistent” sort of version of him.  As an animated figure, he’s a lot more stylized and has less fine detail work than, say, one of the Super Sentai figures.  That being said, there’s still a lot of really sharp detailing to be found on this guy, especially on the hair and jacket.  In his default, packaged form, Trunks is sporting his non-Super-Saiyan hair and a basic face with an intense stare, which are definitely solid pieces, and a very good choice for the default version of the character.  He also includes a second non-Super-Saiyan face, this time sporting trunks5gritted teeth, which can be swapped out in a similar fashion to what was seen with Androids 17 and 18.  There’s also a separate Super-Saiyan head, which has three faces of its own (intense stare, gritted teeth, and screaming).  All of them swap out with relative ease (though they’re a little difficult to get popped in place the first time; be careful of all those points on the hair, they really hurt!).  Trunks’ paintwork is all pretty solid.  The earlier version had more variation in some of the colors, but I find this one is a bit sharper overall, which just looks all around better to me.  The colors look to match up pretty well to his onscreen counterpart, and fit well with the other figures I’ve gotten.  In addition to the previously mentioned extra head and faces, Trunks also includes five pairs of hands (fists, gripping, flat, wide-spread, and gesturing), his sword, a scabbard to go with it, and a “dummy” hilt to go in the scabbard so that you don’t risk breaking the sword.  The extras are all a lot of fun, though my figure did wind up with a broken peg where the scabbard plugs into the shoulder.  Make sure to be extra careful when removing that!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I almost bought Trunks’ original release way back when he was still new.  I was in NYC with my family, and Midtown Comics had one.  However, at that point I had yet to get into the import game and just couldn’t conceive of paying a whole $35 for one figure.  How foolish I was.  Obviously, by the time I picked up the Androids, Trunks was going for a lot more than $35, so I wasn’t getting him then.  I knew he was getting a re-issue, but somehow its actual release slipped under my radar.  I ended up spotting him at Barnes & Noble around Thanksgiving while out with my family.  I offhandedly mentioned wanting the figure but not having the money and thought nothing more of it.  A few weeks later, I went back to the store to buy a gift for my brother and Trunks was gone, and I just figured he wasn’t meant for me.  Cut to Christmas morning, opening my first gift from my parents, and there this guy is.  As it turns out, my mom took note of my interest, and while I was grabbing something from the B&N cafe, she went back and purchased this guy.  She’s a crafty one!  I’ve quite pleased with this guy, and happy to have finally gotten him.  Of course, now my resolve to hold off on getting more of these guys is being worn down…

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#1169: Akazonae Royal Guard

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

AKAZONAE ROYAL GUARD

MEISHO MOVIE REALIZATION (BANDAI)

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Alright, we got the Aliens, we got the Super Heroes, so for Day 3 of the post-Christmas reviews, why not look at another cornerstone of my collecting habits: Star Wars!  In fact, this one is a double whammy, being both Star Wars *and* a high-end Bandia figure.  Huzzah!  The main Star Wars toy license for North America is held by Hasbro, who are pretty big into exclusivity and no-competition deals.  Because of this, no other toy company can release Star Wars figures under a certain price in the US, which is why the Star Wars Pop!s are bobble heads, and the Star Wars Sideshow figures carry a hefty price tag.  There are a few workarounds, however.  Bandai’s recently been putting out a line of concept figures, envisioning certain Star Wars characters as they might appear were they in a Samurai film, rather than a Sci-Fi one.  They’ve done a handful of the various Imperial Troopers and today I’ll be looking at my personal favorite, the Akazanae Royal Guard.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

royalguardmr2The Akazonae Royal Guard was released as the sixth figure in Bandai’s Star Wars: Meisho Movie Realization line.  He was originally slated as the fourth release, but was pushed back to follow variants of the Trooper and Darth Vader, and he ultimately hit just this past summer.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall (which was actually a bit larger than I was expecting, but I’m certainly not complaining) and he has 43 points of articulation.  The articulation has a bit of a learning curve to it.  It seems rather stiff at first, but once you get the hang of it, he’s actually a lot of fun to mess around with.  His sculpt is mostly unique to him, but it does appear that he shares at least some parts of the legs with the Storm and Sandtroopers, which is certainly reasonable from a consistency standpoint.  As far as the sculpt goes, he’s a bit tricky to review, what with not actually being based on any specific design.  With that being said, the sculpt is definitely a top-notch piece of work, and it does a good job of combining the Royal Guard’s film design with actual, functioning Samurai armor.  He’s a touch more ornate than previous figures (barring maybe Darth Vader), as he well should be, being an elite royal guard and all.  There’s lots of fun, little details sprinkled throughout the figure, and he incorporates some really nice layer work.  Also, I appreciate that, when configured certain ways, this figure can almost pass for just a slightly more armored version of the standard Royal Guard.  Were he not just a bit larger-royalguardmr3scaled, I’d probably just throw this guy in with my Black Series figures.  You might think that the paint work on this guy might be lax, being pretty much entirely red and all, but he’s actually got some pretty incredible work.  The actual hard armored parts have a nice, semi-gloss sheen, which contrasts nicely with the duller finish of the rest of the figure.  He’s also got a few different shades of red, which keep the whole look interesting.  He’s also got some really great accent work; there’s a black wash on a lot of the armored pieces, giving it a nice worn-in sort of feel.  There’s also some blue/indigo piping on a few sections, which adds a nice bit of flair, and really helps to break up all the red.  All around, this is just a very vibrant, very bold figure, especially when compared to the other figures in the line.  The Royal Guard includes a Katana, a scabbard, a large staff, three pairs of hands (in fists, loose, and tight grip), and a tabard that can be swapped out with the insignia on the front of his armor, thus creating a more classic Royal Guard look.  It’s a fun assortment of pieces, and provides a number of cool different looks.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Royal Guard was a Christmas present from my boy Tim.  I’d actually checked the figure out a few times, and it was the first of the Movie Realization figures to really speak to me.  Tim and I had a few conversations about the figure back when it was solicited, and it seems he took note of that.  I really like this figure, a whole lot.  There’s just so much about the design that really works, and I definitely feel he’s the strongest of the Movie Realization line, despite being one of the more minor designs presented therein.  There’s just so many fun ways to pose him and have him interact with others, and now I’m seriously considering picking up one or two of the others in the line at some point (a very dangerous venture indeed).  Thanks, Tim…

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#1028: Freddie Mercury

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

FREDDIE MERCURY

S.H. FIGUARTS

Freddie1

“…I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy. Because I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Anyway the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me….”

So, hey, how about something different? Up to this point, I’ve looked at figures based on super heroes, science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, movies, and video games. That’s all well and good, because that’s a pretty diverse selection. But you know what’s missing? Music. Yeah, this site could stand to have a little bit of music! If we’re going to do the whole music thing, why not start with one of the greatest frontmen of all-time from one of the greatest bands of all time? Yes, it’s Freddie Mercury, lead-vocalist of Queen!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Freddie2Freddie was released as part of Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line earlier this year. It’s not the first time Freddie’s had a figure; NECA put out a couple of figures of him about 10 years ago. However, those were back before NECA really got into the articulation thing, so they were little more than glorified statues. This figure goes completely the other direction in that regard, with 30 points of articulation. The range of motion on those joints is also pretty killer; though the elbows and knees are technically just single joints, they have the same range as double joints. What’s Freddie4more, the articulation is worked into the sculpt very nicely, so none of the joints really stick out or anything. Freddie stands about 5 ¾ inches tall, which puts him in proper 1/12 scale. Obviously, he fits in pretty well with the rest of the S.H. Figuarts line (though maybe not quite stylistically), but he also fits in pretty decently with the likes of Star Wars: The Black Series and Funko’s various Legacy Collection lines. Freddie is based on his appearance from his 1986 performance at Wembley Stadium, which is a pretty good choice, since it’s definitely one of his most recognizable. It’s also pretty visually interesting, which is always paramount when it comes to action figures. The sculpt on Freddie is quite nicely handled. He’s a bit more realistically proportioned and detailed than some Figuarts figures, which I definitely appreciate. The likeness is quite good on the basic head, which is impressive, since likenesses aren’t typically a Figuarts thing. While the general details are more on the realistic side, there’s definitely still a bit of a stylization to the overall look of the figure, mostly in the harsh creases on the clothing. It’s not so stylized that he looks artificial, but it’s enough to add just a bit of dynamism to the figure. The paintwork on Freddie is some of the best I’ve seen on a Figuarts figure. It’s not that previous figures had bad paint (because they didn’t), but more that they never attempted to be an actual, real life person, which this one does. And it does it rather well. Sure, it’s not Hot Toys or anything, but it’s also half the size and a quarter of the Freddie7price. The paint on the clothes is nice and bold, and makes him stand out nicely, while the paint on the face is subtle and lifelike, so he doesn’t just look like a cartoon version of Freddie. They even added a little of paint to represent his chest hairs. That’s attention to detail. Part of the appeal of Figuarts is the amount of extras included with each figure. Freddie is no exception. He includes two extra singing heads, four pairs of hands (fists, tight grip, loose grip, and open), a microphone on a stand, and a mic on its own. The heads are definitely the star attraction here, and they offer a ton of fun when it comes to posing. The extra hands allow for a number different looks as well, and the mics are very good recreations of the real thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Freddie was a birthday present from my parents. He’s one of the ones I specifically requested, as I’ve actually been eyeing up this figure since it was announced back in October. He’s definitely outside my usual arena of collecting, but you’ve got to go outside your comfort zone sometimes, right? Especially when it comes to a figure this good. Freddie is definitely the best Figurarts figure I’ve gotten, which is no easy feat, let me tell you. This is certainly one of my favorite figures of the year!

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#0987: Dynamole

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

DYNAMOLE

THE TICK

Dynamole1

SPOOOOOON!!!!!!!!

Does anyone else love The Tick?  Because, let me tell you something: I love The Tick.  I super-duper love The Tick.  I love the comics, I love the cartoon, and I even love the short-lived live action show.  Through his many adaptations over the years, the Tick and his supporting cast have been privy to a number of different styles of toys and action figures over the years.  None of them have quite lived up to the awesomeness of the source material, but I think they’ve all at least tried.  In the 90s, when the cartoon was on the air, Bandai America tried their hand at a few different lines, including a smaller scale line of figurines that covered a large number of cast members, both major and minor.  On the more minor side of things is Dynamole, a minion of the villainous Chairface Chippendale.  Not necessarily one of the most exciting characters from the show (or even the most interesting bomber on the show.  That would be the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight!), but he was part of the ensemble none the less.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dynamole2Dynamole was part of the first (and only) series of Bandai’s small-scale The Tick line.  He stands about 3 inches tall (making him to be too large to be in scale with most of the other figures in the line, a common issue with Bandai America’s products) and zero, count ‘em, zero, points of articulation.  This guy and all the figures in this particular line were deliberately designed as figurines, not as full functioning action figures, so none of them got any movement.  The pose you see here is the pose that you get…for eternity.  He’s also permanently attached to a stand, one would assume for additional stability.  Dynamole’s pose is fairly generic, standing straight up and down sort of look, with his right arm bent outwards and his index figure pointing out as if he’s about to press a button or something.  Presumably, it’s a detonator of some sort.  The actual quality of the sculpt is overall pretty decent, if nothing particularly noteworthy.  He looks like the character from the show, which is the important thing.  The details could stand to be a little more defined in several spots, but it’s hard to tell if that’s truly an issue with the sculpt or if it’s to do with the paint.  Speaking of the paint, while the colors are pretty decent, the actual application is incredibly thick, and the details only tend to be in the same approximate area as the sculpted elements.  The paint is also incredibly glossy, which is a slightly odd choice, since I don’t believe Dynamole is supposed to be slimey or shiny or anything.  Kinda weird.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Somehow, I managed to miss out on most of the cartoon-based Tick merchandise when it was still new.  I ended up finding Dynamole and most of the other figures from this particular line at a nearby antique store a few years back.  I mostly got Dynamole because I was buying the set, and I mostly bought the set because it was the most expansive selection of characters from the show that was readily available.  Ultimately, Dynamole isn’t a super exciting figure, but he’s interesting enough, and looks decent with the rest of the set.

#0974: Chojin Sentai Jetman Black Condor

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

CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN BLACK CONDOR

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

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“Jeto-jeto-jetoman! Danananana!”

Chojin Sentai Jetman Theme Song (paraphrased)

So, here’s a figure with a pretty cool backstory. Back in 1993, when Saban was looking at importing a Super Sentai series to the US, they had two possible options:  Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger or Chojin Sentai Jetman. Zyuranger was chosen for a number of reasons (the inclusion of a sixth ranger and the popularity of dinosaurs at the time being the most commonly cited) and eventually became Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. However, Jetman was a pretty serious contender, thanks to it being one of the most popular incarnations of the Super Sentai franchise. It was also inspired by Gatchaman (better known as G-Force or Battle of the Planets in the US), which gives it some pretty awesome pedigree. Today, I’ll be looking at the guy who was almost the first Black Power Ranger, Black Condor (who is under no circumstances to be confused with DC Comics’ Freedom Fighter Black Condor).

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BlackCondor3Black Condor was released as part of the Super Sentai sub-set of Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts, towards the end of 2012. He’s the second of the two Jetman figures Bandai released in the line, with the first being Red Hawk. The figure is about 5 ¾ inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation. Zyuranger and Jetman’s designs weren’t too far removed from each other, and as such, this figure feels pretty similar to the Mighty Morphin’ figures I looked at a ways back. The Jetman designs are a bit sleeker, and a bit stronger, if I’m honest, and definitely feel right at home with some of the earlier Ultraman designs. This figure’s sculpt does a very nice job of capturing the look of Black Condor from the show. Like other Figuarts, the proportions have been skewed ever so slightly BlackCondor2to fit in with the rest of the line stylistically, but this guy’s not particularly far off. The overall appearance is very faithful, and the helmet in particular is the spitting image of what was seen on the show. I especially like all the little seams in the costume, as it really sells the realism of the show, and adds a nice bit of depth to a figure that could otherwise be far too simple. I also feel it’s worth noting that this particular design works a bit better with the usual Figuarts articulation scheme than the Zyuranger designs did, so he doesn’t have any compromises in terms of his design for the sake of movement. Black Condor’s paintwork is nice and crisp. The BlackCondor4color choices are bold, and the application is quite sharp. The difference between the finish of the helmet and the rest of the suit is especially cool. This is probably the best paintwork I’ve seen on one of these figures, and that’s saying something, because these guys all have some pretty top-notch paint. Black Condor includes quite an impressive array of accessories. He’s got his Bird Blaster and Bringer Sword (in both compact and extended forms), plus the combined form of those two, the Jet Hand Cannon. He also has BlackCondor7holsters for both weapons, as well as his Wing Gauntlet (with open and closed wing pieces), an alternate backplate with a set of wings attached, and five pairs of interchangeable hands in fist, trigger finger, gripping, quotation fingers, and flat-handed positions. These pieces are all pretty fun extras. I think the Wing Gauntlet’s my favorite piece included, even if the wing pieces are the wrong color (they should be black).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember Bio Rider? Remember how that was Tim’s fault? Yeah, well I’m blaming him for this one too. Okay, maybe that’s not fair. I’ve actually had my eye on this figure since back when I got the Figuarts Mighty Morphin’ figures. His design just really speaks to me. Since I had some gift card money, I finally got him. In the meantime, I’ve actually watched some of the source material and found it to be quite entertaining, and Black Condor in particular is super cool. I’m definitely happy to have this figure, and I wouldn’t mind if Bandai got around to releasing the missing members of the team.

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#0967: Bio Rider

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

BIO RIDER

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

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The term “Tokusatsu” refers to Japanese live-action films or TV dramas that make use of considerable amounts of special effects. The term includes things such as Godzilla and Ultraman, as well as Super Sentai (more commonly known in the U.S. as Power Rangers). It also includes Kamen Rider, which is the source of the subject of today’s review. This marks the second time I’ve looked at a Kamen Rider figure on this site, so hey, it’s still kind of new and exciting! I’ll admit up front: my knowledge of Kamen Rider stuff is passing at best, so I’m counting on what I’ve read online to fill in the blanks. So, without further ado, here’s Bio Rider!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BioRider2Bio Rider is part of the rather extensive Kamen Rider sub-set of Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line. He was released in the latter part of 2014. Bio Rider hails from the Kamen Rider Black RX show (which was the show that was adapted into Saban’s Masked Rider in the mid-90s), where he was a power-up ability for the title character, referred to as “Bio Rider” in Japan, but “Masked Rider Super Blue” in the U.S. I feel like Japan kind of won on the naming front. The figure stands about 5 ½ inches tall and has 45 points of articulation. While Bio Rider and RX share some common design themes, the two designs were actually pretty divergent from each other. Bio Rider is by and large a much sleeker design, and he sort of has an almost art deco air about him. It’s a much stronger design than the basic RX look, but I suppose an argument could be made that it loses some of more signature Kamen Rider elements. The figure’s sculpt does a pretty good job of capturing Bio Rider’s design from the show. He’s not a pitch-perfect recreation: the helmet’s a little squatter, especially in the face, and the eyes are more round. But, it’s still pretty darn close. The details on his suit are pretty amazingly done. He actually looks like he’s wearing a rubber suit, just like on the show. There are even small creases on the thighs to show that they crumple when he moves his legs. That’s quite an attention to detail! Bio Rider has quite a unique color scheme for a Kamen Rider. They tend to be predominantly green and black, but Bio Rider is a nice blue and silver combo, which looks pretty sweet. The actual paint application is some of the sharpest work I’ve seen on just about any figure. There’s no bleed over or slop that I can tell, and the color choices really pop. Also, not paint, but the lenses and buckle of the belt are both molded in translucent red, which works in conjunction with the sculpted texture on the underside, giving him a cool bit of depth. In terms of accessories, Bio Rider includes his Bio Blade weapon, as well as hands in fist, tight grip, loose grip, relaxed, open gesture, and karate chop positions. That’s a bit lighter than some of the Figuarts figures I’ve reviewed, but Bio Rider was actually a slightly less expensive figure, and it’s still not a bad assortment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is Tim’s fault. See, I’ve looked at some of the Figuarts Kamen Riders before, but managed to steer clear of them. But, then Tim went and bought himself a Kamen Rider, and suddenly I found lacking. So, using an Amazon gift card (given to me by Tim’s parents! That’s strike two for Tim!), I ordered this guy. I’m not 100% sure what called me to this guy. Maybe it was the color scheme, or perhaps the sleek design. I must admit, I was amused to find out that he was actually from the one incarnation of Kamen Rider I’ve actually seen, given that wasn’t a purposeful decision. This is a really fun figure, and I’m definitely glad I got him. I foresee more Kamen Riders in my future.

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#0932: Masked Rider

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

MASKED RIDER

SABAN’S MASKED RIDER (BANDAI)

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The success of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was somewhat of a shock to most. Like just about any unexpected success, it spawned a legion of knock-offs, all dedicated to aping the formula and capturing as much of that success as possible. Saban, the producers of Power Rangers, got in on the game themselves. They licensed the popular Japanese series Kamen Rider (specifically Kamen Rider Black RX) and, using pretty much the same formula they’d used with Power Rangers, created the somewhat blandly-named Masked Rider. It was not the breakaway-hit that Power Rangers had been, but it did get one 40-episode season, which isn’t so bad. It also got a line of toys from Bandai America, one of which is the subject of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MaskedRider2Masked Rider was released in 1996 as part of Bandai’s Saban’s Masked Rider line (Man, I wish I could get a few more possessives in there…) He was part of the smaller, 5-inch scale line, and is just the basic Masked Rider figure; no fancy gimmick or adjectives for this guy. The figure stands 5 ½ inches tall and has 12 points of articulation. While it might look like he’s got a neck joint, he actually doesn’t; the head is forever stuck staring straight-ahead. Now, why they gave his neck what looks like a super obvious joint where there in fact isn’t one is anyone’s guess. My personal guess is that it’s Bandai America, and they’ve never been particularly concerned with making particularly good action figures, but I could be wrong. The rest of the sculpt seems to support my theory there; it’s not that it’s a bad sculpt, but it doesn’t really look all that much like Masked Rider’s on-screen look, especially not in terms of proportions. His head, shoulders, and hands are way oversized, and the rest of his body quite undersized. His torso is also too squat and his legs too long. Overall, he looks like no human being ever should. In addition, none of the joints are particularly well worked-in, meaning the sculpt has a lot of stop and start going on, and he as a whole looks as if he’s been assembled from several different people. At the very least, the figure’s paint isn’t terrible. All the colors match his show-appearance, and everything is mostly pretty clean. There are a few spots with slop, but they’re mostly minor.  Masked Rider’s only accessory was his sword.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was younger, I watched pretty much the entirety of the “Fox Kids” lineup, which included the original run of Masked Rider. I enjoyed the show at the time (since I was rather into Power Rangers as well, and this show wasn’t all that different), so I got this guy while on a mall trip with my Grandmother. Neither the show nor this figure has held up very well. Still, he’s sort of a neat artifact of a time when I was a bit less discerning in my collecting habits, and if nothing else, the figure still amuses me.

#0916: Tygra

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

TYGRA

THUNDERCATS (2011)

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They say that good things come in threes. Wait, no, I think they say bad things come in threes. Hmmm… Well, here’s my third Thundercats review. There may be some debate about which of those statements this review proves. Today, we’ll be looking at my personal favorite member of the Thundercats, Tygra, who isn’t to be confused with one of my favorite Avengers, Tigra. They’re very different.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tygra2Tygra was released in Series 1 of Bandai’s small-scale Thundercats line. The figure is a little over 4 inches tall and he has 21 points of articulation. He loses the waist movement that Lion-O had and trades it for swivels right below the knees, which feels like a pretty fair trade off. The figure’s based on Tygra’s main, armored look from the show, as opposed to that totally clear, less armored look that I already reviewed. Tygra had one of the more radical redesigns of the main Thundercats, presumably to make him stand out a bit more from Lion-O, but it keeps most of the spirit of the classic Tygra design. Tygra’s sculpt is totally different from the one included with the Tower of Omens, even the head, which seems like a natural place for reuse. It does a pretty nice job of translating the design into three dimensions, though his hair’s a little more Wolverine-like than it was on the show. The sculpt is perhaps not as good a job as the Lion-O figure, but good nonetheless. His proportions are certainly well-handled; Tygra is appropriately a little heftier than Lion-O, offering some nice variety to the line. The belt is an add-on piece, which is a little bulkier than I’d like; on the plus side, it’s removable. The paint on Tygra is alright. Nothing really stands out as particularly bad, but the application isn’t super exciting. A figure with this sort of color palette would definitely benefit from some accent work or something. Tygra is packed with his signature whip, which is made out of soft rubber, and is a little difficult at this scale. He’s also got his blaster, which can be holstered on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I liked the Tygra included with the Tower of Omens, but a totally clear figure is hardly a definitive version of the character. And, seeing as Tygra’s my favorite of the Thundercats, I kind of wanted a regular version of him. It was actually Yesterday’s Fun having this particular figure that prompted me to pick up the Lion-O figure I reviewed yesterday. Lion-O is the better figure of the two, but Tygra’s certainly no slouch. I’m glad to have him!

 

#0915: Lion-O

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

LION-O

THUNDERCATS (2011)

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Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats! Ho!

Hey, how ‘bout some more Thundercats? You guys like that, right? Sure you do. And, if we’re gonna look at some Thundercats, it might as well be their stalwart leader, Lion-O. Yeah, let’s look at Lion-O!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LionO2Lion-O was released in the first series of Bandai’s smaller-scale Thundercats line. He, like the rest of the line, is based on his main appearance from the 2011 incarnation of the Thundercats cartoon. The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has 20 points of articulation. Lion-O’s sculpt is unique to this figure, and it does a rather admirable job of translating the modern Lion-O design into three dimensions. The general proportions have been tweaked ever so slightly (his arms are a bit bulkier than they were in the show), but as a whole, he really looks like the does on the show, which is a pretty cool look. The articulation isn’t clunky, and is worked into the sculpt pretty well, aside from a few spots where joints stand out a bit. The quality of the paintwork isn’t quite as good as the sculpt, but it isn’t bad. The base colors all match up with the source material and everything is applied pretty cleanly. The only real issues are that a few spots are missing their paint apps, and the joints are totally different colors from the plastic around them. Lion-o included both long and short versions of the Sword of Omens (the short one can even be stowed at the top of his gauntlet), as well as a clip-on Gauntlet of Omens.  Thundercats was very ominous, wasn’t it?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I bought the Tower of Omens, I had no other Thundercats figures. My dad took one look at it and said “you know you’re gonna end up with a whole collection of Thundercats, right?” I swore up and down that that wouldn’t be the case. And then I was at Yesterday’s Fun, and they had a whole shelf of these guys, and I kinda caved. I’m down on Bandai America most of the time, but Lion-O is a surprisingly solid figure, and is probably the best Bandai America figure I’ve ever bought.

#0914: Tower of Omens

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

TOWER OF OMENS (W/ TYGRA)

THUNDERCATS (2011)

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Since fairly early on in the world of action figures, toy makers have recognized the need for said figures to have somewhere they could hangout. Why not create some cool locales for those figures? Well, they did, and that’s where we got playsets. Playsets made their first big splash in the 1970s (with Mego making some of the coolest), and really hit their stride in the ‘80s. They continued into the ‘90s (so I had quite a number of them), but have more or less gone away in recent years, due to the rising costs of manufacturing. They haven’t totally disappeared, though, and today I’ll be looking at the Tower of Omens playset from the recent Thundercats re-launch.

THE PLAYSET ITSELF

TowerOfOmen6The Tower of Omens was released as the largest item in Bandai’s Thundercats line from 2011. It’s based on the design of the Tower from the most recent cartoon, and is nominally meant to go with Bandai’s 3 ¾-inch line of figures, though it’s been scaled down a fair bit to make it more economically feasible. There are two main pieces to this set: the main tower and the gate. The tower is about 18 inches tall. It’s topped by a beacon sort of thing, which features the Thundercats logo on each side. The red of the beacon is translucent, but there’s apparently a light-up feature, but I didn’t put in any batteries to try it out. The top level of the tower pops open on either side, providing a flat surface for the TowerOfOmen2figures to stand on (though not a whole lot), and the front panel of the tower can be removed and placed on either side to act as a slide, though the effect is middling at best. At the base of the tower, there are four pillars, which I think are supposed to act as extra support, but just end up falling off a lot. The interior of the tower has an elevator. There aren’t any fancy mechanisms here; you just move it by hand through use of the handle on the back. The gate stands a little less than half the height of the tower, but it’s about 16 inches wide. It appears to be a bit closer to proper scale, but is still a bit undersized. The actual doorway is a pretty solid piece, and features some excellent sculpting, especially on the cat head. The Thundercats line tried to work in a weird magnetic gimmick wherever possible; on this set, when you TowerOfOmen5place the back of a figure up to the “nose” of the doorway, the doors pop open. It’s kind of a neat feature, but the doors have a tendency to get stuck open. The actual gate portion is made up of two fairly flimsy pieces attached to either side of the doorway. It looks okay from the front, but is hollow on the other side. Also, the gate falls apart a lot; were I planning to use this for any long stretch of time, I’d probably find some way of permanently affixing the gate to the doors. There’s not a whole lot of paint on this set; it’s predominately just molded in a dull brownish sort of color. However, there’s some pretty sweet metallic blue accent work, which adds some nice pop to the set. In addition to the two main pieces, the set includes a catapult, a three-wheeled vehicle, and a Tygra figure. The catapult is kinda boring, since there isn’t a spring-feature or anything. Also, the two boulders included are TowerOfOmen7each only half a rock. The vehicle is sort of interesting, but rather goofy. The front has a missile launcher, and there’s another magnet gimmick, where the cat head on the back pops up when a figure is placed in the driver’s seat. The Tygra figure’s actually pretty cool. The figure’s 3 ¾ inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. He’s a different sculpt from the normal Tygra; there’s less articulation and his outfit is totally different. He’s totally clear, which seems kinda random, but I think makes him pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At the time that I bought this, I owned no other Thundercats figures and hadn’t seen a single episode of the 2011 series (I’d probably seen one or two episodes of the original show, but I don’t remember them all that well). So, why’d I get it? Well, last summer, I was at an Ollie’s with my brother and Tim and I found this set for $6. I figured “why not?” and got it. It’s not as thrilling as the playsets I grew up with, to be sure. I can definitely see why it ended up at close out prices. Still, for the price I paid, it feels like I got a decent enough deal.

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