Tag Archives: Bruce Lee

#3453: The Challenger

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

THE CHALLENGER

BRUCE LEE ULTIMATES (SUPER 7)

I haven’t really talked a ton about Bruce Lee here on the site.  I’ve got two prior reviews, and one’s here because there was a Kato involved, while the other’s a Minimate.  He’s someone whose work isn’t a main focus of mine, but whose impact on pop culture I can very much appreciate.  He’s gotten all sorts of toy coverage over the years, and the latest is coming out of Super 7’s Ultimates umbrella.  They have a couple of versions of Lee, and today I’m taking a look at “The Challenger,” which is based on Lee’s character Hai Tien from his unfinished film, Game of Death.  Look, it’s Bruce Lee in the yellow jumpsuit with the stripes; it’s hard to go wrong with that one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Challenger makes up one half of the first wave of Super 7’s Bruce Lee Ultimates, with the other being “The Warrior,” who is based on his appearance in The Way of the Dragon.  The two of them started hitting back in July.  The figure stands a little over 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Compared to the improved articulation of the second round of G.I. Joe Ultimates, Lee’s articulation is a bit of a step back.  It’s not awful, but you’re not getting more than 90 degrees on the elbows or knees, which can prove limiting when it comes to fighting poses.  There’s enough give on some of the other joints to work around it to some degree, but articulation definitely remains an area where Super 7 struggles on these releases.  At the very least, this guy isn’t plagued by loose joints, so he’ll hold the poses you put him into.  The Challenger sports an all-new sculpt.  This another area where Super 7 sometimes struggles, especially when it comes to likenesses of real people.  The Challenger gets three different head sculpts, and they all sport a surprisingly strong likeness of Lee.  Like, really good, actually.  Of the three, the one with the pursed lips is definitely the strongest, but the other two aren’t bad either.  The level of detailing is also really sharp, which I was happy to see.  The detailing on the body is a lot more basic.  Obviously, it’s just a jumpsuit, so there’s not a ton to be done there, but he doesn’t even really get folds or texture, so it’s a touch bland.  It is at the very least a pretty good match for Lee’s build in the film, so it keeps the likeness going from what the head sculpts started.  The bracelet on his right wrist is a separate piece, so take care when swapping the hands so as to not lose it.  The Challenger’s paint work is really strong on the heads; it’s not quite Hasbro’s face printing, but it’s still quite lifelike, again aiding with the likeness.  The body is again far more basic.  It’s largely just molded in the one color, but it gets painted details for the stripes and the shoes.  The stripes are sharp and cleanly defined, so they at least do what little painting is needed well.  The Challenger gets a solid selection of accessories, with 14 different hands, 4 different styles of nunchucks, a holster for the nunchucks, and the green pointed stick from the poster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m at best a moderate fan of Bruce Lee, but that’s enough to want at least some toy coverage.  In particular, I’ve always dug the yellow jumpsuit design, which is a very distinctive look.  I’ve wanted a good figure of it for a while, and none of the other versions quite hit the mark for me.  This one looked cool as a proto, but I wasn’t sure how the final product was going to turn out.  He came in during a fairly crowded week of new stuff for me, so I was poised to pass on him…until I took a look at the final product and saw how well those heads turned out.  My dilemma was solved easily enough, as Jason from All Time reminded me that it was my birthday, and passed this one to me for the occasion.  This figure’s not perfect.  The articulation is rather limited, and the body feels a little devoid of detail.  But those head sculpts do a lot of heavy lifting on this one, and I’m ultimately very happy with the final product.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#1152: Bruce Lee

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

BRUCE LEE – ASCENSION OF THE DRAGON

BRUCE LEE MINIMATES

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Okay, let’s take a brief break from all this Star Wars stuff, and have a look at something else I like to review a lot: Minimates!  I’ve spoken a few times about the genesis of the current gen Minimates, and how the line was initially much larger in scale, and a bit smaller in scope.  Back in April, I actually took a look at my first 3-inch Minimates, based on 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  In a similar vein, today’s review takes a look at another of the earliest licenses to grace the Minimate form, Bruce Lee!  There were four different Bruce Lees available, each based on a different movie.  Today, I’ll be looking at the “Ascension of the Dragon” version of Bruce.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

bruceleemm2Bruce was released in the first and only (well, only to be released anyway; there was a second series of figures planned) series of Bruce Lee Minimates.  All four figures in the set were released both tubed and carded, but the figures within the packaging were essentially the same.  Now, this figure is titled “Ascension of the Dragon,” but his look is based on Lee’s character Hai Tien from Game of Death (the movie Lee was filming when he died, and thus never completed).  It’s the source of the yellow and black-striped jumpsuit that so many other forms of media have parodied since, and it’s kind of the defining Bruce Lee look, so it’s definitely a very solid choice for one of the four ‘mates produced.  The figure stands a little over 3 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s built on the old 3-inch ‘mate body.  As I noted in my CTHD review, the body is very similar to the modern-day 2-inch body, but it has a few marked differences, and sort of shows some of the Minimate development process.  The figure has one add-on pice for his hair.  It’s obviously a lot more basic and geometric than more recent ‘mates but it does a suitable job of summing up the general look that Bruce had in the film.  The rest of his details are handled via paint.  As with pretty much every early ‘mate, the level of detail is definitely more on the simple side of things.  That being said, what’s there is very sharply detailed, and even with just a few scant details, the face does quite a nice job of conveying Lee’s likeness.  The ‘mate included a pair of nunchucks, a green pointed stick, and one of the weird puzzle piece things that all the early ‘mates included.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t get this guy new.  Of course, unlike the CTHD ‘mates, this is actually the sort of figure I might have actually picked up new, but I just never got around to it.  I ended up getting this guy at a flea market (the same one where I got Thallo and Savage Dragon, and in fact the same one where I got the CTHD ‘mates as well).  He’s certainly a fun figure.  Very different from modern ‘mates, but in a way that’s not of a lower quality, just a different one.

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#0319: Bruce Lee(s)

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

BRUCE LEE(S)

BRUCE LEE’S TEMPLE OF KUNG FU

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I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Bruce Lee, but I certainly have an appreciation for him. I first learned of him thanks to Playing Mantis’s re-launch of Captain Action in the mid-90s. Green Hornet and Kato were among the selection of characters available, and I happened to come across a Kato figure at KayBee toys. I was intrigued by the figure, so my dad tracked down a few episodes of the 60s Green Hornet show. I thought that Kato was just the coolest and was delighted to find out that Bruce Lee had made a large selection of other movies.

In 2012, Round 5 put out a selection of block figures based on Bruce Lee’s career, entitled Bruce Lee’s Temple of Kung Fu. The figures were sold in a blind box format, meaning you don’t know what you’re getting until you open the box. Today, I’ll be looking at Kato, Formal Wear Bruce Lee, and MMA Bruce Lee from that line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BruceLee2The three versions of Bruce Lee were released in the first series of Bruce Lee’s Temple of Kung Fu. Kato was 1 in 35, Formal Wear Bruce was also 1 in 35 and MMA Bruce was 1 in 80. The figures each stand about 3 ½ inches in height and feature a whopping 3 points of articulation. They have sculpted lines that make it look like there might be more movement, but nope, it’s just cut joints on the shoulders and a ball joint for the neck. I had no idea what the articulation would be going in, so I wasn’t disappointed or anything. Each of the figures is built on the same basic body with a few additional pieces. Kato is the lightest on the sculpting, with just a hat/mask combo. It’s a good piece though, and suits the character well. The other two each feature a hairpiece and two pieces for the hands. Formal Bruce gets shirt cuffs and MMA Bruce gets padded gloves. The rest of the detail is handled via paint. All three feature relatively clean paint apps, with nice crisp lines and no real slop. Once again, Kato is the simplest, with all of his detail being on his face and torso. Still, he looks pretty sleek, so no complaints. Formal Bruce is the next most basic. He’s got detailing for the face and the basic outlines of his outfit, but not much else. MMA is easily the most detailed, with some pretty nice detailing for his muscle tone and such. I should also point out that while Kato gets his own face, the other two are forced to share the same one. It’s like they’re the same guy or something. Yeah, I know, so’s Kato. Shut up!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While helping move my girlfriend (of Super Awesome fame)into college, we decided to visit the nearby outlets, just to see what was there. We came across an overstock store by the name of Oops!, and they had these guys. I wanted the Kato figure, so I figured I’d buy one and see how my luck worked out. However, my girlfriend pointed out that my chances of getting Kato would be better if I bought three. Because she’s a terrible influence. As luck would have it, Kato was in the very first box I opened. I’m happy to have Kato in any form, and the other two are fun enough, so I consider the purchase a win.