Tag Archives: Diamond Select Toys

#0825: SDCC Ant-Man Minimates

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

SHRINKING ANT-MAN, SHRINKING YELLOW JACKET, ANT-HONY, & SCOTT LANG

MARVEL MINIMATES

AntManSDCC1

Ant-Man seems to be that movie I keep forgetting when looking back on 2015. It’s a shame, really, because I actually enjoyed the film immensely, and thought it was a highlight of the summer. But, I keep forgetting about it. For instance, there were two sets of Marvel Minimates based on the film, both of which have been readily available since November, and I’ve only picked up one. Furthermore, I’ve had said set since November and not yet gotten around to reviewing it. Today I fix that.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were one of the SDCC exclusive items this year, offered via a partnership between DST and Action Figure Xpress. This set is meant to accent the main specialty release set… which I don’t have. Oh well.

SHRINKING ANT-MAN

AntManSDCC2As the main character, it’s only natural for Ant-Man to get one or two variants. That said, the suit maintains a pretty standard look throughout the entirety of the film, so coming up with a compellingly different version of the character can be a little difficult. Enter the “shrinking” variant, which is certainly different. Structurally, he’s the same as the normal Ant-Man. He uses the standard Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He has add-ons for his helmet and belt. They’re decent enough matches for the film designs; the helmet is a little off, but that’s true of all the figures for the movie, since the mask was changed somewhat last minute. Regardless, the pieces look pretty great. The paintwork is kind of the key thing with this figure. He’s (mostly) molded in clear plastic. The torso of the figure has some white detail lines, outlining a few different Ant-Men, each smaller than the last, to make it look like he’s shrinking. The effect works well enough, but you do really have to view him head-on to get it to look right. Under the helmet, instead of Scott Lang (like on the regular release) it’s a younger Hank Pym. The likeness is pretty fantastic, and I love that we actually got a young Hank Pym. Ant-Man includes a hairpiece (re-used from BSG’s Apollo), a normally painted torso piece, a slab of rock, a smaller ‘mate painted up in Ant-Man’s basic colors, an effect base, and a basic display stand, made up like a giant penny.

SHRINKING YELLOWJACKET

AntManSDCC3If you have two main characters with shrinking abilities, it’s not really fair to give just one of them a figure replicating the shrinking feature. So, here’s shrinking Yellowjacket. Like Ant-Man, he’s structurally the same as his normal release version. He’s got add-ons for his helmet and harness/extra legs. These are pretty decent parts, but I don’t feel they’re as strong as Ant-Man’s, and I do wish the legs were actually poseable. Still, they work well enough, and he certainly looks the part. His paint is handled very similarly to Ant-Man’s, with the necessary changes for the differences in character designs. Under the helmet is Darren Cross. His expression is a bit more angry than the regular version, so there’s a bit of variety there. The face doesn’t really look much like Cross in the movie, especially the stubble, which just seems to be too heavy. Yellowjacket includes a normally painted torso, a slab of rock, a smaller ‘mate in black and gold, a flying stand, and a display base painted like a bottle cap.

ANT-HONY

AntManSDCC5Scott’s ant buddy Ant-Hony was definitely a surprisingly enjoyable character, and who would have thought he’d actually get three whole figures? I certainly expecting the ‘mate, though. Ant-Hony follows the lead of ‘mates such as the Brood drone, moving away from the standard Minimate build. Ant-Hony uses the head and arms (three sets of them, actually) of the basic ‘mate, along with the six-armed torso piece, which has been used a few times before. The figure also uses the little nubby feet pieces from the Brood, wings from the Wasp, and all-new pieces for the top of the head and his lower half. The end result is a slightly odd looking figure, but it approximates an ant’s shape fairly well. The paint is mostly just the same dark brown, but he does also have detailing for his eyes. Ant-Hony comes packed with a flight stand.

SCOTT LANG

AntManSDCC4Civilian variants are fairly commonplace with movie ‘mates, so getting a basic Scott in this set is to be expected, especially since he’s not the one in the Ant-Man suit. He’s based on the look he sports when breaking into Pym’s mansion early in the film, which is easily the most distinct of his non-costumed looks. The figure is entirely reliant on re-used parts, with the hat from Punisher: Warzone’s Looney Bin Jim and the coat from Big Bang Theory’s Leonard. The parts are both pretty generic, but they certainly work well to capture Scott’s look from the film. Scott’s paint is pretty straightforward; it’s mostly just a bunch of dark blues (which is film accurate). There’s not an overabundance of detail work on the body, but the waist of his pants has a bit of line work. His face is actually a really great likeness of Paul Rudd, and I love that he’s got the little bandages on his brow. Scott includes an extra hair piece, a spare set of short-sleeved arms, ungloved hands, a backpack, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As noted several times before on this site, I didn’t go to SDCC 2015. So, I had to wait for this set to show up elsewhere. Specifically, I waited for it to come into stock at Luke’s Toy Store, my preferred Minimate retailer. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this set, but I was pleasantly surprised by every ‘mate contained. Definitely a worthy purchase.

#0824: Predator Minimates

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

BILLY, CHUCHILLO, EDWIN, CITY PREDATORS, JUNGLE PREDATORS, & THERMAL PREDATOR

PREDATOR MINIMATES

PredatorMates1

I really can’t just do one Minimates review, now can I? That would be wrong. One of the newest additions to the stable of Minimates licenses is Predator. Seeing as they added Aliens last year, this wasn’t a super huge surprise, but it was still pretty cool to see it actually happen. Like Aliens, they kicked off the line with a set of single-packed ‘mates, prior to moving onto the usual two-packs. However, unlike Aliens, these singles were blind-bagged.  I, of course, went all-in on said blind-bags, so I’ll be taking a look at the lot of them today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

All of these are part of the first series of blind-bagged Predator Minimates. There were eight unique Minimates in all in this first set, available in cases of 18 blind-bagged figures. The humans and the thermal predator are unique to this particular assortment, with the others finding their way into the first series of two-packs.

BILLY

PredatorMates3Billy is the first member we’ve received from Dutch’s squad of super-macho-men from the first film. He’s the squad’s tracker, which is a tad stereotypical, since he’s also Native American, but he never really steps into offensive territory, fortunately. Billy’s really only got one look in the film, and this is it. The figure stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has the usual 14 points of articulation. He’s got four sculpted add-ons: hair, vest, belt, and sheath. The hair and vest are both new to Billy, and they’re both fantastically sculpted, and pretty spot-on matches for Billy’s look in the film. The belt and sheath are both the same as those seen on Dutch; they’re both good sculpts, and it makes total sense to reuse them here.  Billy features some great paintwork, all-around. The camo on his paints is pretty well handled, and the face looks sufficiently like Billy; it’s definitely got that terrifying stare down. Under the vest, there’s a fully detailed torso, which even features the wound from where Billy slashes his own chest before his stand-off with the Predator towards the end. That’s an awesome touch! Billy includes an assault rifle, a machete, a small knife, and a clear display stand.

CHUCHILLO

PredatorMates4Well, now we can officially add Danny Trejo to the list of people who have Minimates, which is pretty cool. Oh, right, I should probably talk about the actual character, Chuchillo. He’s Danny Trejo’s character from Predators. He’s pretty much the same as any Danny Trejo character, but this time he’s fighting Predators. That’s about it. Chuchillo has one add-on piece, for his hair, which is re-used from the Marvel Minimates Series 42 Thunderstrike figure. It’s a decent match for Trejo’s hair from the film, so it’s a fine choice. Everything else here is done with paint. The detail work on the various parts of the figure is all pretty sharp, and the Trejo likeness is absolutely spot-on. There’s no denying who this guy is, which is good, because aside from the face, he’s just a dude in normal clothing. Chuchilllo is packed with a sub-machine gun and a clear display stand.

EDWIN

PredatorMates2I can honestly say, I never expected to get a Minimate of Topher Grace’s character from Predators, and certainly not in the first assortment of characters. Guess that’s why he’s the one-per-case figure. This is actually Topher Grace’s third Minimate, as he got two previous ones via the Spider-Man 3 ‘mates. Edwin has two sculpted add-on pieces for his hair and his hood. The hair is the same one that was used for all of the Dutch ‘mates, and the hood was first used on Walking Dead Series 2’s Amy. They’re reasonable enough matches, though Edwin’s hair was a little spikier in the movie.  Edwin’s paint is perfectly reasonable from a purely technical standpoint; the colors are pretty good, and all of th various detail lines are well-handled. Unfortunately, he’s just another guy in totally normal clothing, and unlike Chuchillo, he doesn’t have a spot-on likeness to sell him. I really can’t see any Grace in there at all. Edwin’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

JUNGLE PREDATOR(S)

PredatorMates5Now, we finally get to the actual “Predator” Minimates, starting with the main creature from the first film, the Jungle Hunter. There are two versions of the Jungle Hunter in this set: masked and unmasked. They’re pretty much the same, the only difference is the head. The unmasked version is more or less the same as the Battle-Damaged version; the only real difference is the paint and the addition of the plasma caster on his shoulder. The masked version obviously gets an all-new head, in addition to the plasma caster. While I do tend to prefer the Predators masked, I’m not sure I like the masked head quite as much; the dreds seem a little shorter, which looks a little goofy. The paint on both of these guys is pretty good (and mostly identical). The figures (obviously) lack the blood detailing of the battle-damaged version, but they also lose the gold rings from the dreds, which is sad to see. Both Predators are packed with a clear display stand.

THERMAL JUNGLE PREDATOR

PredatorMates7There’s one more Jungle Hunter variant in this set, though this one’s a fair bit different than the other two I looked at. Sculpturally, he’s the same figure as the basic masked Jungle Hunter. The real change here is the paint, which is wildly different from the rest of the Predators we’ve seen. This one is meant to depict him as though he were being viewed through the Predators’ signature thermal vision. Now, why the Predator is looking at another Predator, I can’t begin to tell you (apparently it’s from a video game), but I honestly don’t care, because the end result is this pretty sick looking Predator variant.

CITY PREDATOR

PredatorMates8Say what you will about Predator 2, it didn’t disappoint on the main Predator design. While the City Hunter isn’t quite as much of a classic as the Jungle Hunter, it’s still a pretty strong look. The City Predator has six sculpted add-on pieces for the shoulder armor, belt/skirt, hands/gauntlets, and feet, as well as non-standard pieces for the head and upper left arm. Surprisingly enough, absolutely none of these are re-used from the Jungle Hunter, which is nice, since they’re designs were different in the movies. If anything, I’d say the City Hunter translates a little better to the ‘mate aesthetic. Unlike the Jungle Hunter, the basic City Hunter’s masked and unmasked heads are both included with the same figure, and they are both fairly decent recreations of the source material. The overall paint on the City Hunter is quite good; the colors are nice matches and he’s got a ton of small detail work, which all looks amazing. However, my figure also has a substantial amount of slop on his left gauntlet, which is quite annoying. In addition to the previously mentioned extra head, the City Hunter includes a Kambi Stick and a clear display stand.

CITY PREDATOR – BATTLE DAMAGED

PredatorMates6Of course, even if the normal City Predator has both masked and unmasked heads covered, we can’t very fairly leave him with only one variation in this set, right? Enter this version. Unlike the Jungle Hunter, the City Hunter actually takes a fairly substantial beating over the course of Predator 2, including losing a hand about ¾ of the way through. So, this figure showcases the character as he’s seen in the last quarter of the film. Structurally, he’s mostly the same as the regular version, albeit with an all-new stump piece in place of his left hand. It’s the same as the normal piece, just cut off before the hand, as it should be. His paint is also mostly the same, with a few changes. Obviously, there’s the green blood splattered all over the place, to indicate he’s been damaged, but he also is sporting the breathing apparatus he wears while fixing himself up, after losing the hand. I actually don’t remember it all that well, but it’s been shown on a few of the City Hunter toys. It’s a cool feature, and it helps to differentiate him from the other City Hunter, so it works well. Unlike his pre-battle version, this figure’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I wanted a full set of the figures included here, my best purchasing option was buying a whole case of these guys. Fortunately, Edwin was the only single-packed figure, which meant I got two mostly complete sets, allowing me to split the case with my buddy Tim. Ultimately, I think getting a complete set is the best way to get these guys. On their own, there are a couple of figures here (Edwin and at least one of the two basic Jungle Hunters) who might be a bit disappointing. However, as a full set, the lesser figures are easily balanced out by some really strong figures. Billy, the Thermal Pred, and the City Hunter are all really strong figures, and the rest are well enough made to make the whole set feel pretty cool.

PredatorMates9

#0823: Ghostbusters Ghosts Minimates

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

JOGGER GHOST, VIGO THE CARPATHIAN, SLIMER, & TITANIC GHOST

GHOSTBUSTERS MINIMATES

GhostMini1

You know what this site could always use more of? Minimates. While Marvel Minimates have undeniably been the flagship line for the brand ever since their inception, the number two spot is one that’s been passed through a number of different licenses. For a while a few years ago, it was very definitely Ghostbusters, which was largely due to Minimates being the first expansive line of toys from the property to actually be based on the first two movies. Over the course of the line, they covered just about every ghost seen in the first two movies. These were typically distributed through two-packs, with each ghost being packed with a variant of one of the Ghostbusters. Of course, not everyone feels the need to own an army of Venkmans (Venkmen?), so DST was kind enough to offer some of the ghosts without their human foes.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were each initially released in one of the Toys R Us exclusive two-packs, throughout the run of the Ghostbusters Minimates line. This set of four was released through specialty locations in June of 2011. The four figures contained in the set are identical to their two-pack releases.

JOGGER GHOST

GhostMini5The Jogger Ghost was first released in the second series of two-packs, alongside an Egon variant. He’s one of the ghosts during the “back in business” montage in Ghostbusters 2. He’s caught via a well-placed trap while running a marathon. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and has 12 points of articulation, due to his shoes blocking ankle movement. He has four add-on pieces: his hair, watch, and shoes. The hair was first used on the 24 Minimates “Day 2” set’s George Mason; it’s a fairly standard receding hair piece, which fits the jogger’s look on screen. The sneakers are from the Back to the Future 2 version of Marty McFly, and work reasonably well for running shoes. The wristwatch was originally used on of the Rocky ‘mates, where it wasn’t actually a wristwatch, but hey, it works. The Jogger’s paint is particularly cool, because he’s done completely translucently, which looks pretty darn cool, and gives him that proper ghostly look.

VIGO THE CARPATHIAN

 GhostMini2Vigo was first released in the third series of two-packs, alongside the “World of the Psychic” version of Peter, who I reviewed here. He is, of course, the main antagonist of the second film, so he’s somewhat important. He uses six sculpted add-on pieces for his hair, chest piece, gloves, and boots. All of these are unique to Vigo, and they do a pretty decent job of looking the part. The only real complaint I have is that his arms end up being just a tad long compared to the rest of him. He definitely would have benefited from a torso riser of some sort. Other than that, the parts are actually quite nicely sculpted, and manage to look fairly imposing. Vigo’s paint is generally not bad, though the work on the body is a little sloppier than I’d like. He’s got one of the most detailed faces I’ve ever seen on a Minimate, which does actually look a fair bit like the character in the movie. Vigo includes a mask piece, which depicts him in his more monstrous form. The cool thing about this piece is it can go on Vigo himself, or be placed on another ‘mate, as if Vigo is possessing them.

SLIMER

GhostMini3Slimer, or Clear Slimer as he was dubbed originally, was first released in Series 1 of the two-packs, alongside a slimed version of Venkman. However, that figure had a few issues, leading to a Best Of release a little while later, which is the one this figure is a re-release of. Slimer is based on his appearance in the first film (making him the only ghost in this set not to be from GB2), where he was a bit more frightening and less “cutesy” than GB2 and the cartoons would later make him. He only uses the upper half of the usual Minimate body, replacing the legs with a flight stand (Slimer was the very first to use the flight stand, actually). In addition to the flight stand, he also has a piece that slips over his head and torso, making up Slimer’s “body.” It’s a fairly simple piece, but it does a pretty good job of capturing Slimer’s basic shape. Slimer’s paint is by far his best feature. He’s done in a nice, disgusting clear green, with detail lines on the add-on piece to represent his face. The best part is the food printed on the actual torso block, which can be seen through the add-on piece, to make it look like Slimer’s just eaten. Definitely a cool touch!

TITANIC GHOST

GhostMini4The Titanic Ghost was released in the third series of two-packs, which a GB2 version of Egon. He’s another GB2 ghost, from the scene towards the end when the ooze is playing havoc with the streets of New York, including finally bringing the Titanic to its intended destination. He’s not a super notable ghost himself, but the scene is somewhat memorable. He makes use of two add-on pieces, for his hat and the bottom portion of his jacket. The hat is from the Marvel Minimates Series 22 General Ross, and it’s a pretty decent fit for a captain’s hat. The skirt piece was first seen in the BSG line, and it’s simple enough to do its job well. The paint work is kind of key on this guy, and it’s pretty on point. Like the Jogger Ghost, he’s done in all translucent parts, which looks sufficiently ethereal. The face in particular has some really nice detail work, with a whole lot of depth, which really sells what could have been a fairly boring ‘mate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I received this set from my friend Diane, over the summer. She’s been a friend of the family for quite some time, and has long been supportive of my action figure habit. She apparently won this set somewhere, and since she doesn’t really collect Minimates, I was the first person she thought to give it to, which was really nice of her. It’s a pretty solid set all-around. None of the actual ‘busters are present, but these are easily four of the strongest ghosts DST produced in the line. Each of them has something cool to add to the collection.

#0793: Dutch & Jungle Predator

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

DUTCH – JUNGLE EXTRACTION & JUNGLE PREDATOR – BATTLE DAMAGED

PREDATOR MINIMATES

Dutch&Pred1

‘Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house, Ethan was…reviewing a thing not at all related to Christmas. Because it’s the day before Christmas and not the day of Christmas. We’re not there yet. But hey, what better way to get into a festive spirit than a super advanced species of alien hunters doing battle with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the middle of a jungle? It’s got all the conventional trappings, right? Well, okay, maybe not. But, ummm, Predator Minimates.  Those are cool! Let’s look at some of those! Because I want to, that’s why!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jungle Extraction Dutch and the Battle-Damaged Jungle Predator are the Toys R Us exclusive set from the first series of Predator Minimates two-packs, which were just released back in November. This set has the notoriety of being the only two-pack in the first series not to share either of its figures with the first set of blind-bagged figures.

DUTCH – JUNGLE EXTRACTION

Dutch&Pred3This isn’t the first time that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gotten a Minimate; he actually got quite a few of them back in the Terminator 2 line. However, this is one of the first three versions of Dutch (all packed in the first series of two-packs), so that’s neat, I guess. He’s based on Dutch’s look right after the first encounter with the Predator, right after he’s taken off his jacket, but before he takes off the tank top (seriously, the easiest way of identifying where you are in Predator is to see what state of undress Schwarzenegger is currently in). The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation, which are both standard for the line. Dutch has five sculpted add-on pieces for his hair, vest, belt, holster, and knife sheath. Most of these pieces are shared between the three Dutches. The hair and vest are definitely new, and the belt and sheath might be, but I’m not 100% sure, and the holster is the same holster we’ve seen a lot recently. Regardless of origin, the pieces are all very nicely sculpted, and they do a nice job of capturing the look of the character. In particular, the hair does a much better job of capturing Schwarzenegger’s look than the T2 ‘mates did, so that’s nice to see. Dutch’s paint is great in theory, but a little iffy in execution. The colors are great matches for the source material, and all of the detail lines look great. The Schwarzenegger likeness is pretty spot-on, and the face paint for the camo is handled with some pretty great subtlety. Unfortunately, my figure has a spot on both the torso and the upper right leg where the paint is missing, leaving the white plastic totally exposed. The torso spot is easy to overlook, but the one on the leg is really glaring. For accessories, Dutch includes a rifle, a handgun, a knife, and a clear display stand.

JUNGLE PREDATOR – BATTLE DAMAGED

Dutch&Pred2The original Predator, or Jungle Hunter as it’s “officially” known, has quite a few minutely different looks, which can’t all be conveyed by the same figure, necessitating a bunch of variants. Oh, what is a toy company to do? One of the noteworthy bits about the Predator was that it bled a vibrant green blood, which had a glow to it. It looked kind of cool and led to Dutch’s immortal line “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” At the end of the movie, the creature takes a fair bit of a beating at the hands of Dutch, which leaves it splattered in its own blood. It’s a somewhat distinctive look, so it makes sense to see it show up here. The Predator is built using non-standard pieces for the head, hands, feet, and upper left arm, as well as add-ons for the torso/shoulder armor and the belt/skirt. These pieces are all-new (though their shared amongst the various versions of the Jungle Hunter), and they do a pretty decent job of translating the design into ‘mate form. They aren’t perfect, and I’m not 100% sold on some of the design choices, but the overall look is pretty good. The paint work on this figure is pretty great, with plenty of texture work, and some awesome color choices. The bright green for the blood is also pretty cool, and it adds a nice bit of difference to the figure. The Jungle Predator’s only accessory is a clear display stand, but given the number of sculpted parts on the actual figure, this is somewhat forgivable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I picked these guys up at a nearby TRU (while looking for NECA’s 7 inch DC figures). I was already planning to get a case of the singles for the main Predators, but I knew I needed a Dutch. I figured this Dutch was as good as any, and the Predator wasn’t a duplicate, so the set was fun enough. I’m at best a moderate Predator fan, but I like these two well enough, and I definitely look forward to the rest of the line.

#0771: Glow in the Dark Alien

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

ALIEN – GLOW-IN-THE-DARK

ALIENS MINIMATES

BigChapGiD1

Long before Minimates, the frightening titular character of ALIEN found its way to toy shelves in the form of the legendary 18-inch Alien figure, courtesy of Kenner Toys. The figure was quickly pulled from shelves, no doubt due to the nightmares it caused for many an unsuspecting child, and has become one of the bigger grails of toy-collecting. Now, 35 years later, DST pays tribute to that figure with this San Diego Comic Con exclusive!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BigChapGiD2As noted in the intro, the Alien was released at this year’s SDCC, as part of the greater Aliens Minimates line.  I don’t often talk packaging, but I will here.  For many figures, the package is just the way to transport the figure from the store to the costumer in a nice, flashy way. However, this figure’s packaging is actually a pretty important piece of the figure. The basic layout of the packaging is more or less the same as the single packaging for the Aliens vs Marines Army Dump case, but it’s been done up with graphics meant to replicate the original 18-inch Alien’s box. It features that bright ‘70s blue, the old Kenner ALIEN logo, and an assortment of screen shots from the film. The Big Chap’s a little crowed in there, but the box does a great job of giving a nod to that which came before.  While most of the Xenomorphs we’ve seen so far have taken inspiration from the second film’s design for the creature, this one, like the 35th Anniversary Boxed Set, takes influence from the creature’s very first appearance in 1979’s ALIEN. It’s not leaps and bounds of differences from the later design, but it’s enough that even moderate fans of the films could probably discern between the two.  Like his second film-based brethren, the Big Chap has sculpted add-ons for his head, hands, tail and feet. All of these parts but the head are the same ones used for all of the other aliens. Those parts were good on all of the others, and they continue to be good here. The only minor nit is that the hand should technically be different to be accurate to the Big Chap design, since these use the Aliens three-fingered design, rather than the ALIEN six-fingered design. However, at this scale, that’s a minor issue. The head was initially used on the 35th Anniversary set Alien, and it does a very nice job of replicating the movie’s domed look. While the 35th Anniversary version had the dome glued in place, this version leaves the part loose, so that you can remove it to better see the cool skull design below. It means that the dome doesn’t always stay in place the best, but that feels like a reasonable enough trade-off.  The figure’s paintwork is where his main draw comes into play. The BigChapGiDPack1main detailing of the body is similar to the previous aliens, but the silver is a bit brighter, which certainly sets him apart. The other main draw is the paint on the skull under the dome, which is glow-in-the-dark, as the name of the figure indicates. It requires a bit of “charging” under a light source, but once that’s done, it makes for a pretty eerie effect. The figure’s only accessory is a clear display stand. However, as with all of the prior aliens, the number of sculpted pieces more than makes up for the lack of extras.

 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Frequent readers of the site will recall that I did not attend SDCC, so I clearly didn’t pick this guy up there.  No, I actually ordered him from Luke’s Toy Store after the event.  I was actually pretty excited for this figure; the Aliens Minimates in general are a pretty exciting thing, but I liked the whole tribute bit.  This figure isn’t exactly new or anything, but it’s a fun variant of an already great figure.

BigChapGiD7

 

#0757: Thor & Malekith

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

THOR & MALEKITH

MARVEL MINIMATES

ThorMal1

Phase two of the Marvel movies was, generally, pretty well-received amongst fans. That said, it seems that there’s no real common consensus as to which of the sequel films offered therein was the best and which was the worst. It seems like everybody’s got one they really like and one they really don’t like. For me, the one I didn’t like was Thor: The Dark World. Okay, that’s not fair. I did actually like the movie, but I didn’t like it anywhere near as much as I’d hoped. When the movie was good, it was really good, but when it was bad, it really pulled me out. And don’t get me started on the mounted turrets in Asgard! Anyway, most of my major issues with the film lied with the main antagonist Malekith, who I just found dreadfully boring, which isn’t exactly what you want from the guy stepping in to replace Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Anyway, I generally passed on toys of Malekith, but I did end up with one, unsurprisingly coming from the Marvel Minimates based on the film. So, let’s look at him and his pack-mate Thor.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Thor and Malekith were released in Series 53 of the Marvel Minimates line, which was based on Thor: The Dark World.

THOR

ThorMal2You can’t have a set of toys based on a Thor movie and not have Thor, so here he is! Hemsworth’s Thor has stayed pretty consistent looking throughout the Marvel films, but his design did take a slight jump towards his modern comic look starting with The Dark World (and, by nature of him having almost the same design, AoU). This figure is based upon his look in TDW, specifically his full-sleeved look from a lot of the fight scenes. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and has 12 points of articulation (down from the usual 14, thanks to the boots). Structually, Thor uses the basic Minimate body, with six add-on pieces for his hair, chest/cape, wristbands, and boots. These pieces all originated here, though they were all later used on the Series 61 AoU Thor. They do a pretty good job of summing up his look from the film and have a lot of nice detail work. Thor’s paint work is generally pretty nicely handled; the base colors are applied fairly cleanly, and the detail work is nice and sharp. The face doesn’t really scream Hemsworth, and he definitely looks a bit too old, but, overall, he seems pretty cool. Thor includes Mjolnir and a clear display stand.

MALEKITH

ThorMal3Zzzzzzzzzzzz…….Oh, sorry! Must’ve dozed off for a sec there. Malekith does that to me sometimes. *Ahem* Well, here’s Malekith. Look at him. There he is. So, he’s built on the usual body, with add-ons for his helmet/hair, hands, and torso/cape. These parts are all pretty well-sculpt, and are accurate to the source material. The hands are shared with the Dark Elves, which is reasonable, since he is their leader. All in all, he looks like the guy from the movie, so that’s good. His paintwork is mostly blacks and off-whites, which are done reasonably enough. The level of detail on the legs is actually pretty fantastic, so you can see that DST was definitely putting in the effort on this guy. The basic head depicts Malekith with the right half of his face all scarred up, as it is in the second half of the film, which is a somewhat interesting look. He doesn’t really look a whole lot like Christopher Eccleston, but he doesn’t not look like Eccleston either. Also, the eyes aren’t accurate to the movie, where they’re mostly black. Malekith is packed with a spare, unscarred head, which matches the regular look, as well as a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Unlike most Marvel Minimates, where I rush out to get them on the day they’re released, I actually skipped this pair for a good long while, mostly due to my disinterest in Malekith. This pack ended up being one of the items in the grab bags I got from Luke’s Toy Store during their 6th Anniversary sale. It’s still not a set I would be inclined to pick up on my own, especially since the AoU Thor is similar to this one, but it’s at least a quality made set.

#0752: Age of Ultron Minimates Boxed Set

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

FINAL FORM ULTRON, IRON LEGION 01, TONY STARK, MARK 45, & NICK FURY

MARVEL MINIMATES

AoUMatesBox1

So, Series 61 and 63 of Marvel Minimates, plus the two TRU exclusive sets and the blind bagged figures, did a pretty reasonable job of getting us just about every important character from Age of Ultron. We got the whole Avengers team, plus several Ultrons, a few Iron Legion drones, two minor villains, and the Hulkbuster. However, DST felt that wasn’t quite enough, so we’ve gotten an extra, special five figure (that’s a whole extra figure!) boxed set to fill a few holes in the collection.  Without further ado, let’s have a look at Final Form Ultron, Iron Legion 01, Tony Stark, Iron Man Mark 45, and Nick Fury!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was one of the SDCC-exclusive sets offered by DST this year. The sets were then available at various retailers following the show.

FINAL FORM ULTRON

AoUMatesBox3Ultron looks a little….I don’t want to say puffy…  Yeah, so this is Ultron in his Vibranium infused body from the film’s big climactic battle, which is ever so slightly different from his main look for the rest of the movie. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. Ultron uses the base Minimate body, with non-standard pieces for the head, hands, and feet, as well as add-ons for the shoulders and torso extension. All of these pieces are re-used from prior figures; the head is from Ultron Prime, the hands originated on DC Minimates’ Cheetah, the feet are from Nightcrawler, and the add-ons are pieces we’ve seen on numerous prior ‘mates. It’s definitely a hodge-podge of pieces, but the end result actually looks pretty sleek. Also, he amends the issue of size that plagued Ultron Prime; he’s not huge, but he’s certainly got a level of imposing-ness to him. The paintwork on this figure is superb. The silver is nice and cleanly applied, the detail lines are nice and sharp, and he does a pretty great job of replicating the film design. Everything looks really great, and he’s even got a full set of detail lines on the normal arms under the bulked up shoulders. Ultron includes a spare set of normal hands and feet painted silver, for those that don’t want the more unique pieces, as well as a clear display stand.

IRON LEGION 01

AoUMatesBox6Okay, so if there’s one thing this set might have been okay without, it’s another Iron Legion drone. The blind bags ran into a bit of an issue by seriously over-packing drones 02 and 04, which kind of got us all down on the drones in general. That said, there are actually supposed to be five of these guys, and we only had two (three if you count the Ultron Mk 1 as drone 03), so I guess getting another of them isn’t the worst thing. Of course, if I were choosing one more, I’d probably go with 05, since you could include the scepter the drone steals, but DST went with 01. I guess having 01, 02, 03, and 04 is better than having 02, 03, 04, and 05. This figure is virtually identical to the other two drones we got (reviewed here). He’s a vanilla ‘mate, with a fair amount of painted details. Obviously, he’s got “01” in place of the preceding “02” and “04,” and he’s also got grey accents as opposed to the blue and black, respectively, of the other two.

TONY STARK

AoUMatesBox2Hey, it wouldn’t be the Avengers without another Tony Stark, right? The “trying to lift the hammer” sequence from AoU was definitely one of the more popular scenes from the movie, so it’s not a huge surprise to see Tony in his look from that scene. Tony has 5 sculpted add-on pieces for his hair, vest, tie, and rolled up sleeves. These are all pieces we’ve seen numerous times before, and they do a good job of capturing his look from the scene. His paint is pretty simple, with mostly base color work. The facial likeness somewhat resembles RDJ, though I don’t think it’s as good as some of DST’s other versions of the guy. It’s also a little bit too high set. Tony includes one of his Iron Man gauntlets (taken from the Mark 43), which is kind of key to the scene, as well as a spare set of arms and a jacket piece, and a clear display stand. It would have been cool to include Mjolnir here, but I can’t say this guy’s lacking for extras.

MARK 45

AoUMatesBox5We got the Mark 43, we got the Hulkbuster, and we got a basic Tony. What’s left? The Mark 45, Tony’s armor from the last fight scene. It’s only a little bit different from the Mark 43, but it’s still its own armor, and it continues the trend of each model streamlining the basic design just a bit more. Structurally, he’s just a basic ‘mate, with the helmet from the Mark 42/43. It’s not 100% accurate, but at this scale, it’s close enough. The paint is the important part here, and it’s handled quite nicely. The red and gold are distinctly different from each other, and they’re both nice and bright. The details of the suit are rendered pretty nicely on the body, and look pretty accurate to the source material. Under the helmet, there’s another Tony face, which is much angrier looking than the regular Tony. It looks even less like RDJ, but I much prefer a different expression that looks less like the actor than the same expression over and over again. The figure includes the same hairpiece included with the other Tony, as well as a flight stand, and a clear display stand.

NICK FURY

AoUMatesBox7At last! A character who wasn’t released in any of the other AoU assortments! Fury was originally slated to be one of the figures in the blind bagged assortment before being pulled from the lineup, so it’s not a huge shock to see him turn up here. The figure depicts Fury in his somewhat more distinct look from his earlier appearances in the film. He gets two add-on pieces for his hat and coat. The hat comes from the Amazing Spider-Man Vigilante Spider-Man, and the coat is from Punisher War-Zone’s Frank Castle. These parts match up pretty closely with the look from the film, and their well-sculpted in general, so that’s good. Fury’s paint is fairly simple. He’s got a fairly drab color scheme, with a bit of detailing for the belt, shirt, and face. The face doesn’t really look much like SLJ, but he’s a decent looking Fury. Also, I really like that the eye patch’s strap goes all the way around the head, even under the hat, though it’s a little frustrating that the head has a peg hole at the top for the hat. Fury includes a spare head with the eye patch removed, a handgun, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I didn’t go to SDCC, I picked this set after the fact, courtesy of Luke’s Toy Store. This set doesn’t cover a whole lot of new ground, but it’s still a solid addition. Ultron is a significant improvement to Ultron Prime, Fury and Stark are both valid variants, and the Mark 45 and the Legion drone are decent enough. The final AoU line-up is pretty impressive!

AoUMatesBox9

#0746: Captain America & Hulk

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA & HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

CapHulk1

Yesterday, I looked at the first set of the new Walgreens exclusive Marvel Minimates, so why don’t I continue that trend today? The last two sets of animated-style ‘mates were both based on Ultimate Spider-Man. Today, I’ll be looking at the first set based on Avengers Assemble. My relationship with that show is…strained. I loved its predecessor Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which was canceled in favor of Assemble. That already put me off the show. What put me off more was the show’s first episode, which was…how do I put it? Horrendous. I tried to watch it on three separate occasions, and never could make it all the way through. So, I’ve not really caught the show. But now I have Minimates from it, so whatever. Let’s look at Captain America and the Hulk from that show.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America and the Hulk are part of the first series of Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates. As noted above, both are based on their designs from the currently running Avengers Assemble cartoon, specifically from the first season.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

CapHulk2It’s not the Avengers without Captain America, so…ummm, here he is? Cap’s design on the show is more or less the same as his early Ultimates appearance, which itself is just a minor tweak of the classic Cap design. The figure stands roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with add-on pieces for his mask and belt, as well as a hand with a plug to attach his shield. The mask first showed up on the First Appearance X-Men, and it’s a good match for Cap’s look on the show. The belt looks familiar, but I can’t see where I’ve seen it before. It’s just a fairly straightforward belt with pouches, and it’s well-sculpted at that. The paintwork on Cap is pretty great. Everything’s clean, and the colors are somewhat muted, but very nicely handled. The detail line work is quite sharp, and effectively balances the animated design with the modern Minimate aesthetic. Cap includes his Mighty Shield TM, an extra head with a more light expression, a hair piece (snagged from Marty McFly), and a clear display stand.

HULK

CapHulk3So, this marks the 32nd time Hulk has made it into Minimate form. For a guy who’s spent 50 years in nothing but a pair of tattered pants, that’s pretty impressive. This one doesn’t really break from the norm, what with wearing nothing but a pair of tattered pants. But this time he’s a darker shade of green. Hey, that’s new and different right? Eh, it’s different enough. He’s got 11 add-on parts. It’s pretty much the same assortment of parts we’ve gotten on most of the Hulks since they started using the bulked up parts for Hulk. They work well, so I can’t really complain. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hulk’s paint is about on par with Cap’s, though it’s not as colorful. It’s generally pretty clean. There’s a bit of slop at the edges of the pants, but nothing unreasonable. The green could stand to be a little lighter, but it doesn’t clash with the pants or anything. Hulk is packed with an extra, smiling head, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, yeah, I got this set at Walgreens, of all places. Imagine that. I can’t say I was really anxious to get this set, given that I already have these two several times before. But, I was buying the other sets from the series, and this one looked pretty sharp, so I figured why not? It’s a pretty decent little set, so I’m glad I picked it up.

#0745: Spider-Man 2099 & Agent Venom

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

SPIDER-MAN 2099 & AGENT VENOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

Venom&2099a

So, on top of this whole bit with doing Minimates based on the various Marvel animated shows, DST is taking Minimates to another new place: Walgreens! Yep, Walgreens, our resident “out of left field” action figure distributor has picked up yet another line to carry, Marvel Minimates. That makes me happy, because hey, more Minimates to buy, but also sad because now I have to buy more Minimates. Oh well. I’ll get over it. The first set of Walgreens exclusive Minimates continue the animated Marvel trend, and while they haven’t yet gotten us any new characters (series 2 will change that) we have managed to get one very needed update, which I’ll be taking a look at today. Let’s see how Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom turned out, shall we?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom were released in the first Walgreens-exclusive series of Marvel Minimates. Both figures are based upon the characters’ designs from Ultimate Spider-Man.

SPIDER-MAN 2099

Venom&2099cThis isn’t the first Spider-Man 2099 Minimate, but it is the first one in 11 years, so that’s pretty noteworthy. He definitely was high on a lot of lists for “most in need of an update.” And, 2099’s design in the cartoon is (mostly) the same as his comics design, so this one can work as either. The figure stands about 2 ¼ inches tall and has the standard 14 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s another “vanilla ‘mate,” so he’s just the base body. While that may work well for his regular time period counterpart, 2099 should really get a few extras. The last 2099 ‘mate was just the basic body too, and that was at least part of why so many people wanted an update. The animated 2099 ditches the cape of his comics counterpart, so its absence is excusable, and the arm spikes would have needed to be new pieces, so it’s possible they didn’t cost out, but he should have at least gotten a pair of clawed hands. Just to make him a little…different. On the plus side, the paintwork on this figure does its very best to make up for the lack of sculpted parts. The base blue is nice and dark, and the highlights add a nice bit of visual flare that was lacking from the previous 2099. Plus, the red details are also nice and sharp, and stand out nicely from the rest of the figure. Everything is really clean and very well handled, and he does a great job of balancing between animated and comic styles, so he’ll be right at home with either line. 2099 includes a web line (in blue) and a clear display stand.

AGENT VENOM

Venom&2099bIt hasn’t been nearly as long since Agent Venom’s last ‘mate (from the Venom Through the Ages set, for those curious), but he’s a popular enough character that it’s not much of a surprise to see him turn up again. Plus, given last year’s Marvel Legends exclusive, it would seem Walgreens is pretty fond of the guy. Agent Venom is built on the usual body, with add-ons for his chest piece, belt, boots, and gloves. The chest piece, boots and gloves are all the same pieces used on the previous Agent Venom. The belt was presumably deemed too textured for the animated design, so it was replaced with the belt from the Series 55 Classic Captain America. The pieces match up pretty well with the animated version of Flash Venom, so no issues there. This figure loses the extra mask piece and the leg holster of the last one; the mask was likely cut to streamline the design a bit, and the animated Agent Venom does not have the guns of his comics counterpart, and therefore doesn’t need the holster. The paintwork on Agent Venom is a bit different this time around. The animated design is just a bit different from the mainstream look, specifically on the mask. The eyes ditch the inverted Spider-Man design for something a bit more basic. It’s not as distinctive, but it’s accurate to the show. The figure has some pretty stylized shading, which is cleanly handled, and makes it more clear that this is an animated figure. Agent Venom’s one accessory is a clear display stand, which is a pretty big step down from the extra hairpiece and two weapons included with the boxed set version. I know the cartoon Agent Venom isn’t armed, but an extra unmasked head would have been nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Take a guess where I got this set. If you guessed Walgreens, you were correct. Good for you. 2099 was definitely the main draw for me. I have a bit of nostalgia for the original, but he was very, very dated, so an update is much appreciated. Yes, it would have been nice to get a few extra sculpted parts, but the paintwork does a lot to save this guy. Agent Venom isn’t really exciting to me, but I have the boxed set version. While that’s the superior of the two, this one isn’t bad at all, and I’m sure he’s awesome to someone who wasn’t able to get the last one.

#0744: Spider-Man – Stealth Suit & Sandman

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

SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Sandman&Spidey1

After 63 series of Minimates based on Marvel characters from both the comics and the live action movies, DST has decided to mix things up a bit, introducing figures based on the current crop of Marvel cartoons. Generally speaking, that means a fair amount of repeats of the “heavy hitter” characters, but it also gives us a chance at some slightly more obscure characters and looks we might otherwise not get, which is always a plus. So, let’s take a look at my first set from this new breed of ‘mates, Spider-Man in his Stealth Suit and Sandman!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair was released as part of the 20th Toys R Us Exclusive series of the main Marvel Minimates line. All the sets in this particular series are based on the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, and that includes these two.

SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT

Sandman&Spidey3Here’s the required Spider-Man. Oh boy. As noted in the name, this figure gives us Spidey in his SHIELD-issued stealth suit from the cartoon. Essentially, it’s just a clear Spider-Man Minimate. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard Minimate body, with no add-on pieces, which is pretty much par for the course with Spidey. My figure has a slight misshaping on the front of the head, which is a little bit noticeable, but not the worst thing ever. The paintwork on the figure is pretty straight-forward. He’s molded in clear plastic. All the detail lines are done in white, and the logo and eyes are done in grey. The line work is nice and clean, and matches up nicely with the standard Spidey from this wave. Spider-Man was packed with a strand of web, an extra torso showing his costume de-cloaking (which is a pretty fun piece) and a clear display stand.

SANDMAN

Sandman&Spidey2Sandman is definitely the main draw of this set. It’s not the first time we’ve gotten Flint Marko in Minimate form (we’ve actually had five before this one), but it’s the first time we’ve gotten him in something other than the striped shirt. The costume he’s wearing here is, obviously, his design from Ultimate Spider-Man, but it’s also a pretty close match for Flint’s Jack Kirby-designed costume from his time with the Frightful Four. This is actually the first time this design’s ever made it into toy-form, so that’s pretty sweet! Sandman has three add-on pieces for his collar, shoulder pads, and belt, as well as non-standard pieces for his arms and feet. The shoulder pads were last used on Series 60’s Avalanche, the belt is a fairly standard issue piece, the arms are the same as those on the last three Sandmen, and the feet were used on the GotG Groot ‘mate. The collar appears to be a new piece, but I’m not 100% sure on that. The end result is a decent match for the show/comic design, and looks pretty sharp in general. Sandman’s paint application is pretty darn great. The design of the costume has been handled very sharply, with some great geometric work, and the texturing on the sand parts is well-handled. His face is a little more simplistic than some recent ‘mates, due to his animated origins, but he shouldn’t stick out too much from regular Marvel Minimates. Sandman includes a spare set of normal arms and hands and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, remember Force Friday? Where I went to Toys R Us at midnight in order to get the new Star Wars toys? Well, if there was one plus to that trip, it was that I found this set, so that’s cool. I never got into Ultimate Spider-Man, but I’m a sucker for classic Kirby designs, so I’m happy to have this version of Sandman, and thrilled that he’s so well-done to boot. Spidey’s not much more than package filler for me, but he’s not a bad ‘mate, and he’s certainly different from the Spider-Men we’ve gotten before.