Tag Archives: Diamond Select Toys

#0132: Falcon & The Winter Soldier

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

FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today is part 2 of 3 of my review of the latest wave of Marvel Minimates.  The wave is themed around Captain America, and I’ll be looking at two of his compatriots, both of whom are set to get pivotal roles in the upcoming Captain America Sequel.  It’s the Falcon and Winter Soldier!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 54th wave of the Marvel Minimates line.

FALCON

First, my favorite part of the set, Sam Wilson aka the Falcon.  Oh, sorry “Marvel’s Falcon.”  ….TM….  The Falcon is depicted here in his more modern outfit, specifically the one he wore during Brubaker run on Captain America.  I would have preferred his classic outfit, but after 54 waves with no Falcon at all, I’ll take what I can get.  Falcon is built on the standard Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Falcon features 5 sculpted add-ons:  2 2-piece wings, and a hairpiece.  The hair looks to be new to this figure and the wings were originally sculpted for the Vulture  in the Spider-Man Friends and Foes boxed set.  I would have liked for the mask to be separate piece, so I could swap out the face for one without a goatee, but it looks okay.  The paint isn’t perfect, but it’s serviceable.  The work on the face is sharp, but the body doesn’t quite match up, with some fuzzy lines and a little bit of slop.  Falcon includes his sidekick Redwing, a flight stand, and a clear display stand.

WINTER SOLDIER

Next, it’s Cap’s former sidekick-turned-Russian-Assassin (umm…Spoilers?), Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier.  There used to be a joke that nobody stayed dead in comics except for Uncle Ben, Bucky and Jason Todd.  I am eagerly awaiting the big summer event that brings back Uncle Ben.  Winter Soldier is depicted in his look he sported during the initial Winter Soldier arc.  The key difference between this look and more recent ones is the longer hair and the red star on his robot arm. Winter Soldier is built on the standard body, so he’s got the regular stats.  He features 4 sculpted add-ons: Hair, shoulder holster, belt, and leg holster.  The hair was originally used on Warpath and the shoulder holster originated on the wave 42 SHIELD Agent.  The belt and leg holster look familiar to me, but I can’t figure out for sure where I’ve seen them before.  The leg holster doesn’t quite keep the gun in place, which can get a bit annoying.  The paint is well done on this figure, with no noticeable slop.  The facial expression looks pretty dead-on for the character, with a dead-set determination.  Winter Soldier includes 2 different handguns, a sniper rifle, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was part of a larger order I placed with my favorite Minimates retailer, Luke’s Toy Store.  This was one of the sets I was most looking forward to in the wave, as both of these characters are long overdue.  I still hope to get a more classic Falcon down the line, but this one should do all right in its place.  And Winter Soldier is certainly no slouch either.

#0131: Captain America & Red Skull

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

FIGHTING CHANCE CAPTAIN AMERICA & ROBOT RED SKULL

MARVEL MINIMATES

Continuing the theme started two days ago, I’ll be looking at another set from my recently received shipment of Minimates.  Today marks my first of three reviews from the most recent wave of Marvel Minimates.  With increasing regularity, waves will follow a set theme, and this wave continues the trend.  All the figures in this wave are based around Captain America, likely to somewhat tie-in with the upcoming movie.  This review focuses on variants of Cap and his arch nemesis the Red Skull.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 54th wave of the Marvel Minimates line.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

First up, the lead hero of this wave, Captain America.  He’s billed as “Fighting Chance Captain America,” and according to the back of the box, this figure depicts Cap from a storyline where the effects of the super-soldier formula began to wear off, which served as an excuse to give him padding and pouches.  Because the ‘90s, that’s why!  Cap is built on the usual Minimate body, so he features 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He features 9 sculpted add-ons: Mask, shoulder/chest padding, glove cuffs (with straps!), a leg holster, a matching leg-thingy for ammo, and his trademarked boots!  The mask is a reuse from the WW2 Cap released in the Captain America Through the Ages set, but everything else appears to be a new sculpt.  This includes the boots, which have been reworked to fit a bit better.  Everything else looks appropriately detailed, and very “pouch-y”.  The paint is quite good.  Cap’s face is covered in lines, which seems right for the art style, and the torso is fully detailed under the armor, in spite of the fact that the armor can’t easily be removed.  There are a few fuzzy lines, notably on the sleeves, but overall, everything looks okay.  Cap includes an alternate hairpiece, which was reused from The Walking Dead’s Rick Grimes, a handgun, his mighty shield, and a clear display stand.

RED SKULL

Next, the arch enemy of Captain America, the Red Skull!  …Sort of.  This is “Robot Red Skull”, who supposedly represents the Red Skull after he transfers his mind into one of Arnim Zola’s robot bodies, following the death of the Russian general he was inhabiting before.  Okay, so that happened.  I think that was actually during the Ed Brubaker run on the series, so it was probably much better than it sounds.  Robo-Skull is built on the typical body, so he’s got the usual stats.  Robo-Skull is one of the less sculpt-heavy figures in this wave, but he still features a brand new head, plus shoulder pads, and a skirt.  Go ahead, insult the skirt.  I dare you.  The head looks nice, and seems to be accurate to what they were going for.  The rest of the figure relies on painted details, which look very nice.  The face on the torso in particular is very cool looking!  Robo-Skull includes a Red Skull mask that fits over the robo-head, a hand holding the Cosmic Cube (you call it a Tesseract and I will hurt you), and a clear display stand.  The Cosmic Cube in particular excites me, because it’s a piece that’s been sorely missing for far too long!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two were part of the large shipment of Minimates I ordered from my favorite Minimates retailer, Luke’s Toy Store.  I really only got these two because I was buying a whole set of wave 54, but they aren’t too shabby.  The Cosmic Cube is practically worth the price I paid alone!

#0130: Age of Ultron Minimates

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

CONQUEROR ULTRON, NICK FURY, IRON MAN, & ANGELA

MARVEL MINIMATES

 

I mentioned yesterday that I just got a new shipment of Minimates, so I’m gonna continue looking at those today.

I’ll be going back to old faithful, the Marvel line, this time looking at a boxset based on the recent Marvel crossover “Age of Ultron.”  I won’t go into my thoughts on “Age of Ultron” itself, because I’m trying not to go all nerd-rage-y too often.  Suffice to say, I did not care for it.  But, they made Minimates, and Minimates have the ability to make most things better, so I bought the set.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were released late last year as a 4-pack centered around the aforementioned “Age of Ultron” story.  They’re all based on the looks of certain characters from the series.

CONQUEROR ULTRON

First up, it’s the title character, Ultron.  He’s not actually based on a look from the series itself, but rather from one of the variant covers to the series.  It’s a decent design, so I have no issues with them deciding to use it here.  Ultron is built on the basic body, but thanks to a new set of lower legs and a few other add-ons, he stands roughly 3 inches tall and features 24 points of articulation (The 6 arms really help him there).  Ultron has a buttload of sculpted pieces: head, upper arms, 3 different hand sculpts, torso, upper legs, and lower legs.  The upper arms and one of the sets of hands are shared with the Marvel Now! Iron Man that was released in the 16th Toys R Us wave, but everything is brand new to Ultron.  The amount of new pieces present is impressive.  I had assumed, due to the quantity of sculpted pieces, that Ultron would be a bit more lax on the painted details.  This is definitely not the case.  He’s got a detailed face, both on the Ultron head, and on the translucent red standard head underneath it.  Plus, he’s got full detailing on the torso under the sculpted piece, allowing you to display Ultron in a more classic two-armed state if you so desire.  Ultron’s only accessory is a display stand, which he can’t use due to the new foot sculpt.  I’m willing to be a bit forgiving on that front, given how many add-ons he features.

NICK FURY

Next, it’s Nick Fury, Agent of Shield.  What’s that you say?  He doesn’t look like Samuel L Jackson?  Yeah, this is classic Nick Fury, before the Ultimate Universe recast him in his more SLJ state.  Specifically, this is the look Fury was sporting during the crossover.  It looks to be a “business casual” style SHIELD uniform, with a polo shirt, combat boots and a tactical vest.  I still prefer the basic SHIELD uniform, but this doesn’t look to terrible, and I suppose it does add some variety to the SHIELD line-up.  Fury is built on the usual Minimate body, so he’s got the standard 14 points of articulation, and he stands around 2 ½ inches tall.  Fury features 6 sculpted pieces: hair, vest, gloves, belt, and a holster.  The hair and holster are definitely reused, with the hair hailing from the Tomb Raider line, and the holster first appearing on the Avengers Movie Maria Hill, Fury and Widow figures.  The belt and gloves might be reused, but I can’t say for sure.  The vest is a brand new piece, and it looks really cool, and has the jetpack previously seen on Hope Summers and the Heavy SHIELD Agent attached to it.  Apparently, the jetpack was supposed to be a removable piece, but a mix up at the factory led to it being glued to the vest.  It’s too bad it can’t be removed, but it doesn’t ruin the figure.  The paint detailing is pretty good.  All of the detail lines are nice and sharp, though he does have a fair bit of noticeable slop, particularly around the sleeves and on the hands.  But, the logos all look great, and he even has a fully detailed shirt under the vest.  Fury includes a large gun, a hand gun, a blast base for his jetpack, and a clear display stand.

IRON MAN

Next up, it’s the biggest name in the set, Iron Man.  He’s shown here in his slimmed down armor from the series, which also bears a resemblance to the armor he was sporting towards the end of Matt Fraction’s run on Iron Man.  He’s built on the usual body, so he’s got all the typical stats.  Iron Man is the most basic of the set, with only a single sculpted piece: his helmet.  I think the helmet is a reuse from the Marvel Now Iron Man from TRU wave 16.  Since he’s only got one sculpted piece, the figure mostly relies on paint.  Fortunately, the figure delivers on this front.  All of the paint work is nice and sharp, with none of the slop that was seen on Fury.  Iron Man’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

ANGELA

Last, and very much least in my opinion, it’s Angela.  Angela!  The big, highly kept secret from the end of the series!  Oh boy, I’m so glad that was a thing.  Yeah, I have, like, no interest whatsoever in this character.  But, since she was packed in a set with other figures I wanted, I got her anyway.  So, she’s built on the basic Minimate body, with all the usual stuff.  She’s got 5 sculpted add-ons: hair, one shoulder pad (because kids dig asymmetry!), two separate hand sculpts, and a belt with a sheath.  Near as I can tell, all of these are new pieces.  From a purely technical standpoint, all of its well-handled, with some pretty decent detailing.  The paint on the figure is neither the best nor the worst in the set, which is fine.  Angela includes a newly sculpted sword, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this set in a recent order from my favorite place to get Minimates, Luke’s Toy Store!  I really only bought this set for the Ultron and the Nick Fury, and after having the set in hand, I pretty much still only got the set for those two.  Ultron is, without a doubt, the star of this set.  I’d be hard pressed to find something I don’t like about that figure.  Fury isn’t quite as good as Ultron, which is due mostly to the sloppy paint that plagues him.  Still, he’s a nice update on the classic Nick Fury, who’s been in dire need of an update for a while now.  Iron Man’s actually not too bad.  I enjoy him more than I thought I would, and he really is well put together.  But, at the end of the day, he’s just another Iron Man variant that is gonna get tossed in a box.  Angela is Angela.  This set has in no way swayed me on the character.  I’m happy for those who wanted her, I guess, but she’s just not for me.

#0129: The Ghostbusters!

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

PETER VENKMAN, EGON SPENGLER, RAY STANZ, & WINSTON ZEDDEMORE

GHOSTBUSTERS MINIMATES

You know what I haven’t reviewed enough recently?  Minimates.  I’ve only reviewed one set of Minimates in the last month, and it wasn’t even a set I was all that excited about.  Well, I promise you, that’s going to change with the next few reviews.  I just got in a shipment of new Minimate stuff, and I’m gonna go nuts!

I mentioned in my review of Ray from Mattel’s Retro Action line that there hasn’t been the greatest selection of Ghostbusters merch over the years.  There’s been one exception to that:  Ghostbusters Minimates.  I know I may be a little bit biased, given my love of all things Minimates, but they’ve had a really great offering.  They were the first company to offer all four of the ‘Busters styled after the movie, and they gave us just about every major character and ghost from the films.  They are definitely some of my favorite Minimates.  However, the main versions of the main characters are a few years old, and haven’t aged the best with some of the more recent innovations in Minimate design.  Diamond being the cool company that they are, they responded with a brand new set of the guys, with some improvements to their designs.  Let’s take a look at the figures!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were just released as the newest entry in the Ghostbusters Minimates line as part of the “I Love This Town!” Boxed set, which is, of course, named after Winston’s final line in the movie, after the team successfully defeats Gozer.

PETER

First up, the guy who is arguably the lead character of the first movie, Peter Venkman.  By the way, does anybody else find that they refer to Venkman by his last name, but all of the others by their first?  Because I feel weird calling him “Peter.”  It seems off.  Anyway, Venkman is based on his look from the first movie.  He’s on the basic Minimate body, so he’s got the usual 14 points of articulation and he stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  Venkman features 7 sculpted pieces: hair, proton pack, 2 elbow pads, a belt, and 2 glove cuffs.  Most of this appears to be reuse, with the hair and elbow pads hailing from the original Venkman release, the proton pack coming from the Real Ghostbusters Janine, and the glove cuffs being one of the standard pieces.  The belt appears to be a new piece to this set, but I’m not 100% certain of that.  The proton pack is a pretty big deal, as there’s been demand for the regular ‘Busters to be updated to that piece since it first appeared.  It looks much better than the bulky overlay that the originals had, so it’s a welcome change.  The paint also features an important change as well.  On the original Ghostbusters Minimates, the ‘Busters were depicted with a light gray uniform.  Apparently, the actual uniforms looked like this, but due to the lighting of the film, they looked different on screen.  So, while the gray was technically more accurate, everybody remembers the uniforms being khaki.  This time around, Diamond obliged and released them in the color we all remember.  The paint detailing on the  figure is on par with what you’d expect from a Minimate.  Everything’s nice and clean, and you can even read “VENKMAN” on his little nametag.  Also, the face is probably the best Bill Murray that we’ve gotten from Diamond, which is really great.  Venkman includes a ghost trap, a walkie-talkie, a proton stream, an alternate screaming head, and a clear display stand.  The trap can be plugged onto the proton pack for easy storage, and the walkie talkie can hook onto the belt.  The screaming head is a nice touch and makes for some entertaining set-ups.

EGON

Next, the resident genius on the team, Egon Spengler.   Egon is on the basic body, so he’s got the usual statistics.  Like Venkman, he features 7 sculpted pieces, which includes: hair, proton pack, belt, 2 elbow pads, and 2 glove cuffs.  He shares all of the uniform pieces with Venkman, and the hair is from one of the previous releases, though this is the first time we’ve seen this particular hairpiece on an Egon from the first movie.  Most of the paint is the same as Venkman, though Egon does have his uniform tucked into his boots, as opposed to Venkman’s more lax “over the boots” look.  The paint work is okay, though the line between the pants and the boots is a bit fuzzy.  The likeness on the face is pretty good, better than the previous Egons’, though perhaps not as good as Venkman.  Harold Ramis does have a pretty distinctive nose, so the lack of it probably doesn’t help.  Egon includes a ghost trap, a walkie-talkie, a proton stream, a PKE meter, an alternate head with a disgusted expression, a marshmallow covered hairpiece, and a clear display stand.

RAY

Next up, it’s the loveable and ever so helpful Ray Stanz.  Ray is also on the basic body, and has all the usual stats.  Like the previous two, he’s got 7 sculpted add-ons, which is pretty much the same layout.  He’s got a different hair piece than the previous two, and it’s the same hair we’ve seen on every release of Ray so far.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.  Ray’s painted details follow the same layout as Egon, with the pant legs tucked into the boots.  He has the same issue as Egon, with sloppy edges on the boots, but everything else looks pretty sharp.  The face is definitely Dan Akroyd, and looks better than some of the previous attempts, though I do wish there was an option for a more normal expression, similar to Egon and Venkman.  Ray includes 2 ghost traps: one closed and one deployed, a walkie-talkie, a pair of goggles, a marshmallow covered hairpiece, and a clear display stand, making him the most accessorized ‘mate in the set!

WINSTON

Lastly, the ‘Buster that always seems to be left out, but my personal favorite: Winston!  I suppose he’s getting a little bit of respect, given that it’s one of his lines that the set is named after, but it’s hard to tell.  He’s got the same body and sculpted add-ons as the rest of the figures in the set, though with a unique hairpiece like all the others.  It’s a piece we’ve seen used for Winston a few times before, and I believe it was sculpted specifically for him.  Winston has the same uniform detailing as Egon and Ray, with the nametag changed, of course.  He does seem to have lucked out on the boot front, as he doesn’t have the same sloppy paint issues in that area.  The likeness is definitely there, and they’ve decided to depict Winston right as he delivers the line the set is named for.  As with Ray, I would have liked to have a more “default” expression, but it actually suits Winston pretty well, so I can’t complain too much.  Winston includes a ghost trap, a walkie-talkie, and a clear display stand.  He’s the lightest figure in the set, accessory-wise, though I suppose you could group the open trap with him, to even things out a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was purchased from my favorite Minimates provider, Luke’s Toy Store.  I hadn’t kept up with all of the Ghostbusters boxed sets once they got the original set of the main four out, but I was definitely on board when they announced an updated set.  I still love my original set, but every ‘mate in this set mops the floor with its predecessor.  If you’re a fan of the movie, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up this set.  It’s easily the best version of the team available anywhere!

#0112: Spock & Uhura

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

SPOCK & UHURA

STAR TREK MINIMATES

Did you guys realize that I’d gone over two weeks without any Minimate reviews?  I’m starting to go into withdrawal!  So, to remedy that, I’m taking a look at another set, STAT! (I have no idea what that means, but doctors always end their sentences with “STAT” on medical dramas when stuff gets all serious.)

Today, it’s another look at the Star Trek minimates line, this time from their first venture into the smaller 2-inch scale, not the more recent Legacy line I’ve looked at previously.  My previous Trek ‘mate reviews have been a bit more on the obscure side for non-Trek fans, but not this time!  Today, I’ll be looking at classic series mainstays Spock & Uhura.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 2nd wave of the initial small-scale Star Trek Minimates line.

SPOCK

First up, the logical choice, the Enterprise’s chief science officer and one of the most known characters from the series, Mr. Spock.  This was the second Spock released in the line, so Diamond decided to depict him in his uniform from the original pilot “The Cage.”  It’s not too far off from his regular series uniform, but instead of the usual black v-collar, he has a blue turtle-neck, and his rank band-thingies on his arms are a bit different.  Spock is built on the usual Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation.  Spock has 3 sculpted pieces: his hair and his pant cuffs.  The hair is appropriate to the character, showing off his unique bowl-cut and pointed ears, as well as conveying some nice detail work.  The cuffs are different than the ones featured on the previously reviewed Captain Pike.  Diamond seems to have moved to the slimmer pieces for the new line.  I’m not sure which ones I prefer, but the ones present here do their job.  The earlier Trek ‘mates can be a bit more simplistic than some of the more recent offerings, but this doesn’t seem to affect Spock too negatively.  His face, in particular, holds just as much detail as modern Minimates and offers a unique facial expression that suits the character well.  The rest of the details are fine, although some of the gold details can get lost.  Spock included a tricorder and a “Cage”-style phaser.

UHURA

Next, it’s the Enterprise’s faithful communications officer, Lt. Uhura.  She’s not as well-known as Spock, perhaps, but she’s definitely up there.  Uhura is shown in her main uniform from the series.  Like Spock, Uhura is built on the usual body, and has the same height and articulation.  Uhura has 2 sculpted pieces:  her hair and her skirt.  The hair looks to be pretty spot on, and the detailing is quite nice, perhaps even better than that on Spock’s hair-piece.  The skirt is fine, though it does look a bit on the dated side by current Minimate standards, being rather on the boxy side.  Like Spock, Uhura doesn’t appear to have been hit too hard by the occasionally lesser paint apps of earlier minimates.  Most of the paint work is nice and clean, and the face is a nice approximation of Nichelle Nichols.  A slight negative:  The paint of the boots is rather sloppy, and similarly to Spock, the gold parts can get a little lost.  Overall, she’s well done, though.  Uhura was packaged with a phaser and a communicator.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two were picked up on clearance from a nearby FYE.  I actually had been looking for them, and just happened upon them at FYE along with several other sets of Minimates.  Trek Minimates have never been the highest priority for me, but I always enjoy them once I get them.  This was a pretty good set, and is necessary for anyone looking to complete their Original Series bridge crew.

#0096: Thor & Loki

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

THOR & LOKI

MARVEL MINIMATES

Hey look guys!  It’s Minimates!

This time around it’s another peak at the earlier days of Marvel Minimates.  We’ll be jumping all the way back to wave 16 for this review.  I’ll be looking at the very first Minimates of Thor and Loki.  It’s shocking to think that these two didn’t see a release until 16 waves in, but they were hardly the household names they are now.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 16th wave of the Marvel Minimates line, which was an Avengers themed wave.

THOR

First up, it’s the God of Thunder, Thor!  Thor is depicted here in his classic costume.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  3 of those 14 points are rendered pretty much motionless by the hair and boot sculpts.  Thor’s sculpted pieces include: Hair/helmet, torso cover/cape, wrist bands, boots and belt.  I believe that all of these pieces were new to Thor, but a few of them would see some reuse later down the line.  The sculpts are all reasonable for the time, but they seem a little soft by today’s standards.  They also seem a bit boxy compared to more recent stuff.  Structurally, they all look good, and work really well for the character.  The paint is fairly minimal, with some minor base work on the areas such as the clack on the top of the legs and the silver on the chest and helmet.  These look fine, and don’t seem to have too much slop or any fuzzy lines.  Detail lines are present on the face, torso and boots.  They’re all sharp, and look pretty good, although the face does leave a little to be desired.  In an effort to make it fit without being obscured by the helmet, they kind of squished it, which doesn’t really work for Thor.  It was extremely common to see another face subbed in for this one back when this was the only Thor on the market.  Thor includes his trust hammer Mjolnir, which was a new sculpt.  It’s a bit on the simple side, but it worked well for the time.

LOKI

Next, Thor’s villainous brother, Loki!  Like Thor, Loki is depicted in his classic Kirby costume.  He too is built on the usual body for the line, so he has the usual height and articulation.  Fortunately, unlike Thor, none of Loki’s articulation is impacted by his sculpted pieces.  Speaking of sculpted pieces, Loki has two of them: his helmet and his cape.  The cape was previously used on wave 9’s White Queen Minimate, but the helmet was brand new to Loki.  The cape is a bit questionable, but it looks okay, and it’s easily removed if you don’t like it.  The helmet looks spot on to the one Loki wore in the early comics.  Like with Thor, paint is at a relative minimum with Loki.  He’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but he’s got some yellow paint for his gloves, boots and such.  Loki has detail lines denoting his face and the texturing on his torso.  The face looks appropriately sinister, though it does kind have the same squashed look as Thor.  The texturing is nice, and it looks accurate to the look they were going for.  Loki includes a chalice, painted in the same yellow as is present on the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two were part of wave 16 of the Marvel Minimates line, which was not only a turning point for the line itself, but also for my involvement in the line.  Wave 16 represents the first time I eagerly awaited the release of a set of minimates, and the first time I bought an entire set of them, instead of just a random set here or there.  While they seem a bit dated now, Thor and Loki were a big deal at the time, and they helped put the Avengers a lot closer to a formidable presence in the line, an idea that seems absurd nowadays.  This was the wave that showed that this line could go the distance.  And boy, did it…

#0093: Darcy, Selvig & Dark Elves

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

DARCY LEWIS, ERIC SELVIG  & DARK ELVES

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, I’ll be doing the second half of my Thor: The Dark World Minimates review.  I’ll be looking at the two short packed sets, which feature Darcy Lewis and Eric Selvig, each packed with a Dark Elf.

I mentioned yesterday that I wasn’t as happy as I’d hoped with Thor: The Dark World, and sadly, the Dark Elves had a lot to do with that.  I get that the director was obviously a fan of Star Wars.  Who isn’t?  But, it’d be nice if the Dark Elves weren’t such thinly veiled knock offs of the Stormtroopers.  But perhaps I’m too picky.

Anyway, others seemed to like the Dark Elves, and they don’t have bad designs, so they seem rather toy worthy.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were released as part of the 53rd wave of Marvel Minimates.  The wave was released to coincide with The Dark World.

DARCY

First up, Kat Dennings’s love-or-hate character Darcy.  Darcy was in both Thor films, but was absent from the first movie’s merchandise.  It’s nice to see her included this time around.  Darcy is based on her appearance in the film, although, she seems to be missing the coat and hat she wore for most of the movie.  I assume that this was done to save on tooling.  Darcy features two sculpted pieces:  hair and skirt.  Both of these pieces are reused from previous Minimates, and the hair in particular seems to be popular on Marvel movie females.  These pieces were well sculpted initially and still look good now, so the reuse is fine.  Darcy’s paint is alright, I guess.  The detail lines are all applied nicely, and the likeness of the face is fantastic, but the basic paintwork leaves a lot to be desired, with lots of slop and a few mismatched colors.  Darcy includes a mobile phone, a laptop and a clear display stand.

SELVIG

Next up, friendly scientist gone madman, Eric Selvig!  This is Selvig’s second appearance as a Minimate, but the first Selvig suffered from some pretty bad quality control, and a few unfortunate plastic choices, so it’s nice to see him get another shot.  Selvig has a few looks in the movie, but since several of them wouldn’t be fit for a toyline, they’ve opted for his business casual look from the film’s climax.  Selvig has 3 sculpted pieces: hair, and rolled up sleeve cuffs.  These pieces have all been used before, but they all look appropriate to the character, so no complaints.  The paintwork is better here than on Darcy.  The likeness is really good, and the detail work on his plaid shirt is nothing short of phenomenal.  Selvig includes the same mobile phone as Darcy, a spare set of legs, and a clear display stand.  The spare legs are a fun addition, and let you display Selvig sans pants, illustrating his mental instability throughout the film.  They’re not quite as well painted as the rest of him, but they look okay, and are a really cool add-in.

DARK ELF

Lastly, my least favorite part of these sets (yeah, I keep going on about it.  Sorry, I just really was disappointed by them!), the Dark Elves.  They are, of course, based on the look of the big bad’s army in the film.  In all fairness, they aren’t a terrible design.  They feature 6 sculpted pieces:  helmet, torso armor, upper arms, blaster hand, and shield hand.  These pieces are all new to the Dark Elf.  They’re all well done, though I feel they don’t quite live up to, say, the armor on Heimdall.  Some of the details are a bit soft.  The paint, on the other hand, is some of the best in the wave.  All the detail lines are quite sharp, and the basic paint work is clean and without any noticeable slop.  The Dark Elves include unarmed hands and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked these two sets up from my local comicbook store.  While I certainly like Darcy and Selvig, and I understand the necessity of the Dark Elves, even if I personally didn’t care for them, I can’t help but feel these slots could have been put to better use.  Sure, these are all great Minimates, and I’m glad to have them, but would I want them in place of, say, Fandrall and Hogun, or even Frigga?  Not really.  Of course, it’s hardly Diamond’s fault.  Those three were set to be made, in the TRU wave for the movie.  But Toys R Us decided they didn’t want said wave, mucking up Diamond’s plans.  So, in actuality, it’s all the fault of Toys R Us.  Which seems to be the usual state of affairs…

#0092: Loki & Heimdall

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

LOKI & HEIMDALL

MARVEL MINIMATES

So, the sequel to Thor, entitled Thor: The Dark World was released this past November.  I very much enjoyed the first Thor, so I was quite excited for the sequel’s release.  Well, sometimes, things aren’t quite what you hoped they’d be.  I saw The Dark World, and while it wasn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, it was far from what I’d hoped it would be.  In particular, I found the villains lackluster, which is why my first review of the recently released minimates from the movie is not of Thor & Malekith, the hero and villain of the film.  I didn’t particularly need another Thor, and Malekith wasn’t interesting enough for me to feel the need to buy him.

Regardless, the movie did have its good parts, and two of the best parts are contained in this set here:  Loki & Heimdall!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Loki and Heimdall were released as part of the 53rd wave of Diamond’s Marvel Minimates line, the wave released to coincide with Thor: The Dark World.

LOKI

First up, it’s the guy you love to hate or hate to love, Loki!  Loki is presented here in his more cleaned up look that he sports for most of the movie.  He’s built on the typical Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Loki has 4 sculpted add-ons:  Hair, coat, and bracelets.  The coat is brand new to this figure, and it’s quite well done.  All the different layers are defined well, and it looks quite sharp.  The hair and bracelets are reused.  The hair has been used a few times before, and the bracelets were last used on the Avengers version of Loki.  Loki’s main detailing is on his face and legs.  The legs have a nice subtle line work detailing the tops of Loki’s boots.  The face is fairly sharp;y detailed and has a decent resemblance of Tom Hiddleston.  Loki includes a set of Asgardian handcuffs and a clear display stand.  The handcuffs are much appreciated, as Loki spends a good portion of the film in them, and I’m really glad the clear stands have become a standard accessory.

HEIMDALL

Next, it’s the guy cancelling the apocalypse.  Wait, sorry, wrong movie.  It’s Idris Elba’s other big role this year:  Heimdall!  Like Loki, Heimdall is built on the basic Minimate body, so he’s got the usual height and articulation.  Heimdall has 6 sculpted pieces:  helmet, torso cover, bracelets, and boots.  All of these pieces are brand new to Heimdall, and all of them are expertly handled.  The ornate detailing of the armor is impressive.  The basic paint work on the sculpted parts is pretty well done.  Not perfect, but certainly passable.  Detail-wise, he has detailing on his face, arms and legs.  The arms and legs offer some nice texturing, and the face offers a rather good likeness of Idris Elba.  Heimdall includes his sword and a clear display stand.  The sword is as impressively sculpted as the rest of Heimdall, and really fits the figure well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix.  I really like this set.  It’s nice to get Heimdall after he was overlooked in the first Thor movie, and Loki is definitely the best version done so far of the movie version of the character.  I almost wonder if Diamond may have done themselves a disservice packing these two together, as they are hands down the two best Minimates in the wave.

#0082: Power Man & Iron Fist

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

POWER MAN & IRON FIST

MARVEL MINIMATES

Day 4 of my post-Christmas Review is now here, and shocking absolutely everyone, it’s more Minimates!  This time around, it’s another set of Marvel Minimates, though it’s actually one of the older ones that I missed on its initial release.  It’s everyone’s favorite Heroes for Hire:  Power Man and Iron Fist!

I just recently reviewed another figure of Power Man, so I won’t go into great detail there, but this time he comes with his trusty partner Iron Fist, who’s a guy with an…iron fist.  Okay, not literally, but he’s got a complicated origin I don’t feel like getting into here.  He’s a guy who’s really good at martial arts.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as a ToyFare exclusive 2-pack, released around the 7th series of the Marvel Minimates line.  For those of you paying attention, the last set I reviewed here was a Toys R Us exclusive set released to coincide with the 51st wave of the line, so these guys are from quite a ways back.

POWER MAN

First up, it’s the original Hero for Hire, Luke Cage, aka Power Man.  Power Man is depicted here in his original costume from his series in the 70s.  He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has the standard 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has four sculpted pieces:  his hair, belt, and bracelets.  These pieces were all new to the figure, but have been used a few times since, particularly the bracelets, which have seen rather frequent reuse.  These pieces are all well sculpted, but are very definitely a product of the much more simplistic look of Minimates at the time.  The paint is alright, but definitely not up to par with the current offerings.  The detail lines are sparse and fairly heavy, and there’s a sizeable amount of slop around the boots.  Power Man includes no accessories.

IRON FIST

Next, it’s the master of Kung-Fu, Iron Fist.  Iron Fist is also depicted in his original costume from the 70s.  Like Power Man, he’s on the usual body, so he’s got the typical stuff there.  Iron Fist features three sculpted pieces: mask, torso cover, and sash.  These were all new to the figure at the time, but the mask and sash have both seen reuses within the line.  These pieces are all pretty well done, though the torso cover is a bit on the bulky side for Iron Fist, who shouldn’t be that big of a guy.  The paint on Iron fist is a bit better than that of Power Man, though he still has some pretty noticeable slop on his shoes.  One cool detail is the ability of the torso to be reversed, so Iron Fist can be displayed with or without his dragon tattoo.  Iron Fist is accessorized with a little translucent piece that slips over his hand and simulates his chi being transferred through his “iron fist.”   It’s a well done piece that would later see monumental reuse.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These guys were yet another Christmas gift from my uber-supportive parents.  I had wanted this set for a good long while after missing out on ordering it from ToyFare, so I was very happy to unwrap it on Christmas morning.  It’s certainly not on the same level as some of the more recent releases in the line, but it definitely reminded me of cool the line still was, even at this point.  It’s so cool to see how far the line has come.

#0081: Captain Pike & U.S.S. Enterprise

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

CAPTAIN PIKE & U.S.S. ENTERPRISE

STAR TREK MINIMATES

It’s Day 3 of my post-Christmas Review.  For those of you that have been following the blog, it should be no surprise that amongst my assortment of gifts, there were Minimates.  Though in my own defense, there weren’t a whole lot, but there were a few.  It’s another Star Trek Minimates review, though I’ll be looking at one of Diamond’s vehicles for the first time.  On we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

First up, I’ll be looking at the Minimate included in the set, Captain Christopher Pike.  A little back-story for the uninitiated: Captain Pike was the captain of the Enterprise in the original pilot of the original Star Trek series.  He was replaced by William Shatner’s Captain Kirk in the series proper, when Pike’s actor Jeffery Hunter decided to drop out of the show.    Anyway, he’s a fairly popular character, so he’s no stranger to the toy-world.  This is actually his second venture into the world of Minimates, but since the first one was just mediocre, I was glad to see him get a second shot.  Pike is based on his main look from the episode in which he appears.  It’s the look that’s most often chosen, and it’s the one that most people know, so that’s alright I guess.  Pike’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has the typical 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has a sculpted hair piece, collar, and pants cuffs.  These are all well done and suit the character well enough.  I believe that they’re all reused pieces, but they work well enough, so no complaints there.  The rest of the work on the figure is done via paint, which is all applied cleanly and evenly.  The detail lines are all very sharp.  The Jeffery Hunter likeness isn’t spot on, perhaps a bit too old looking, but it’s serviceable.  Pike himself is pretty much an accessory to the Enterprise, but even still, he still includes his trusty phaser.  The phaser looks really cool, and is based on the uniquely designed one that Pike carries in his episode.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

Next is the true star of the series, the U.S.S Enterprise.  This in particular is the version from Pike’s episode, which has a few minor differences from the one used in the series proper.  Since I’m only a moderate Trek fan, I won’t attempt to list the differences, I’ll just say that they’re there.  The Enterprise is about 8 or 9 inches tall with stand, and roughly 4 without, and about 8 inches long.  It’s packaged in four pieces; Saucer, body and each nacelle.  The pieces snap together with a small bit of effort, and stay together well.  The saucer and the body each have a hinged top to allow a figure to be placed within them.  The sculpt of the Enterprise is fairly nice.  It’s done with a nice simplicity, and the proportions have been tweaked a bit so as to better fit the Minimate style.  As with most Minimates, a great deal of the Enterprise’s detail is supplied via paint detailing.  The paint is pretty good, though it’s not quite as clean as the paint on Pike, with a few noticeable scrapes and smudges.  Nothing that ruins the piece, mind you, but enough to be noticeable in comparison to some of the other stuff Diamond has done.  The top of the saucer opens to reveal a nice, miniatureized version of the bridge, depicted via s set of decals.  It would be nice if they were actually painted on the walls, but the decals look good enough.  The main focal point of the interior is the captain’s chair.  It’s a very nice approximation of the chair from the show, and it can rotate within the saucer.  It can also be removed and placed on an extra included stand, in case you want to just display the Captain sitting in his chair separate from the Enterprise itself.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was another Christmas gift from my increasingly awesome parents.  Pike is my favorite Trek captain, so I was glad to get him, and the Enterprise is actually a whole lot of fun.  If you’re just looking for a fun little toy Enterprise that doesn’t cost too much, picking up one of the many variations of this one that Diamond has released is very definitely the way to go!