Tag Archives: Disney

#1325: Hiro Hamada

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

HIRO HAMADA

BIG HERO 6

Remember two weeks ago when I reviewed Baymax?  And two weeks before that when I reviewed Yokai?  Well, it looks like I’ve got a recurring feature up in here!  I mean, at least until I make my way through this stack of Big Hero 6 figures that I’ve got sitting here.  Big Hero 6 is ostensibly an ensemble piece, but at the forefront of that ensemble is Hiro Hamada, who’s the group’s central figure.  I’ll be looking at his action figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hiro was released in the first series of Bandai’s Big Hero 6 line, alongside the rest of the team.  The figure stands about 3 1/4 inches tall and has 15 points of articulation.  Remember when I reviewed Yokai and I noted that he was way too small?  Well, Hiro’s got the opposite issue going on:  he’s way too tall!  Hiro’s not that big a guy.  Going by the scale offered by this line, he’s almost 6 feet tall, since he’s only marginally shorter than the likes of Yokai and Baymax, or even Wasabi.  On the plus side, at least Hiro keeps his internal proportions more or less intact, thus avoiding one of Yokai’s major issues.  In fact, his sculpt is pretty darn solid in general.  He looks like Hiro does in the movie, has solid proportions, decent detail work, and his joints are even worked-in pretty well!  Even the paint work doesn’t let this guy down; he’s got one of the best paint jobs I’ve seen on an item from Bandai America.  The colors all match up nicely with their on-screen counterparts, there’s plenty of small detail work, the application is clean, and there aren’t any overlooked details in the sculpt (like what we saw on the Baymax figure).  It also looks like this paint is a bit less likely to chip over time than some other Bandai America figures, but only time will tell on that one.  Hiro is packed with Baymax in his offline form; the piece is hollowed out, but it’s still a nice enough extra, especially when you consider that a lot of the line is largely un-accessorized.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Can you guess where I got Hiro?  If you guessed Ollie’s, the same place that I got the last two Big Hero 6 figures I reviewed, you would be correct.  I almost didn’t find the normal version of this guy and would have settled for his Stealth variant from the second series, but Super Awesome Girlfriend found this one all the way at the back of one of the racks.  Despite the annoying scale issues, Hiro is actually a pretty nice figure, and certainly one of Bandai America’s best offerings.

#1321: Mr. Incredible

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

MR. INCREDIBLE

THE INCREDIBLES (DISNEY)

The Fantastic Four were once Marvel’s premier property, but for some reason, after four feature films (one un-released), Hollywood still can’t figure out how to make them work on the big screen.  Why am I mentioning this at the head of a non-Fantastic Four review?  Because there’s actually a pretty awesome Fantastic Four movie out there, it’s just named The Incredibles.  Why Fox didn’t look at that movie and immediately tap Brad Bird to helm their first FF film is beyond me.  Incredibles had a mass-market line of action figures from Hasbro which were, well, let’s be charitable and say “underwhelming.”  The real cool stuff came from the House of Mouse themselves.  I’ll be looking at one of those figures today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Incredible was one of the six figures offered in the initial assortment of the Disney Store-exclusive The Incredibles line.  This figure depicts Bob in his “modern” costume, which is the one that matches up with the rest of the family (and also looks the most like the classic FF costumes as well).  The figure stands about 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 16 points of articulation.  There aren’t a ton of poses you can get out of him, but he’s certainly more posable than the mass-release equivalent, and you can get a few decent poses out of him.  The real trick is finding a pose where he stays balanced; he falls over a lot, thanks to this tiny little feet.  In the figure’s defense, though, that’s true to the movie’s design.  Any figure that faithfully recreates it’s gonna have this issue.  The sculpt is a really good recreation of the animation models from the movie; there are a few compromises here and there to add articulation and such, but it stays pretty true.  In particular, the head is really spot-on, and even captures his confident, ever so slight grin he sported during many of the film’s action pieces, as well as his slightly receding hairline.  The paint work is pretty solid for the era; it’s mostly pretty basic work, but there’s a some slight accenting on the face, and I really like the super glossy boots and gloves.  The only slight inaccuracy is on the coloring of the insignia, which should really match the belt.  It is instead a dark transparent yellow, in order to facilitate the figure’s one main action feature. When pressed, the insignia lights up.  While part of the insignia lights up in the film when Bob is being tracked, it’s totally different than how it’s handled here.  Not really sure why they went that way, but fair enough.  The figure was packed with a weird Incredibles right, not intended for the actual figure, of course.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After seeing The Incredibles, I was fully intending to pick up the Hasbro offerings, as lackluster as they may have been.  Fortunately, my friend Cindy Woods clued me in on the Disney Exclusive offerings and how much better they were.  Mr. Incredible himself was a Christmas gift from my parents (along with several other figures from the line).  He’s actually a pretty awesome figure, and still holds up pretty decently, even after all this time!

#1316: R1-T2

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

R1-T2

STAR WARS DROID FACTORY (DISNEY PARKS)

“Whether they are merchandise to the Jawas of Tatooine, servants of the Evil Galactic Empire or friends of the Rebel Alliance, droids of all different types populate the Star Wars galaxy. From Astromechs, to Protocol or even Assassin Droids, there are many different colors and styles of each droid class. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality. at the Star Wars Droid Factory, Guests can build and name a star Wars droid that is uniquely their own. May the Force be with You… and your Droids!”

I haven’t been to a Disney park in a decade, but one of my favorite things the last time I was there was the Star Wars-based “Star Tours” and all of the cool Star Wars-themed stuff around it.  Over the years, Disney has commissioned a handful of exclusive action figures (some from usual Star Wars toy-producers Hasbro, and some from Disney’s in-house companies) to sell in the ride’s gift shop.  My timing always seems to be particularly bad when it comes to these items; both times I’ve been to Disney World, it was in between figure releases.  In 2012, they introduced a line of build-your-own figures, under the trappings of a “droid factory,” which is a pretty fun concept.  I’ve finally gotten my hands on one, so I’ll be taking a look at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

R1-T2 (named by me, of course; if your curious, it’s R1-T2 as in “puttin’ on a…”) was part of the 2015 assortment of Star Wars Droid Factory, which was the second main assortment of pieces.  The line is available exclusively through Disney Parks.  The figure stands about 3 1/4 inches tall (counting the top hat) and he has 5 points of articulation and actual rolling wheels on the bottom of each foot.  R1 is built from six different pieces: a dome, trunk, three legs, and a hat.  This droid sticks largely to the R2 style of build, albeit with a slightly modified trunk, which is a little bit more sleek in design.  The general quality of the figure’s sculpt is pretty solid; it’s about on par with one of the more articulated astromech’s from Hasbro.  The plastic’s perhaps the slightest bit softer than I’d like, but not horribly so, and at least the level of detail hasn’t been negatively affected.  One thing I really appreciate is the extra detailing at the top of the trunk, under the dome.  It’s not going to be seen under normal circumstances, but it’s still there, and it looks really cool.  There are ten different possible hats available for the Droid Factory droids; R1 is sporting the top hat, which looks ever so fly.  It attaches to the top of the dome via a peg, and it stays nice and tightly in place, but can be removed if you so desire.  There are a number of different paint schemes available for each Droid Factory piece; R1 sticks with the basics, being largely white with color accents in the three primary colors and a bit of black (which matches up really well with the top hat, creating a tuxedo sort of effect).  All of the application is pretty clean; there’s a bit of slop here and there, but nothing outrageous.  R1 has no accessories, but he does come with a cool resealable package, which even has a sheet of stickers so that you can put his name on the backer!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, if I haven’t been to a Disney Park since 2007, how did I get an item that was released in 2015?  Nepotism.  I mean, sort of.  See, my brother Christian went to Disney World with his school’s music department, and he made a point of assembling me one of these guys to bring home, and put a lot of care into putting together the pieces he thought I’d like the most.  I’m really happy with this little guy, and also really happy to have finally gotten *something* from the Star Tours gift shop.

Also, I’d like to give an extra special shout-out to Christian, who is graduating from high school today.  Way to go bro!

#1311: Baymax

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

BAYMAX — PROTOTYPE ARMOR

BIG HERO 6 (BANDAI)

Remember two weeks ago when I reviewed thee Big Hero 6 Yokai figure?  And how I mentioned picking up a bunch of them?  Well, I gotta review them sometime, right?  So, today, I’ll be looking at one of the film’s central characters, Baymax.  Here goes!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Prototype Armor Baymax was released in the second series of Bandai’s Big Hero 6 line, which hit a little bit after the movie’s theatrical release.  He’s one of four versions of Baymax to be released in the line and depicts him in the initial armor Hiro designs for him (which I personally prefer the design of to his later, more advanced armor).  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  As with Yokai, there are the ever present issues of scale.  At least the two of them look fairly decent together, though.  Additionally, the sculpt on Baymax seems to be a bit more internally balanced, at least as far as the proportions go, which makes for an overall better looking figure.    He adheres pretty well to the onscreen design for the most part.  All of the important details are there, and they’re mostly where they should be.  The legs are definitely odd in the way they connect to the body, and are oddly shaped in general, to say nothing if the obstructive, obvious, and mostly useless hip articulation that the legs are attached with.  I’m not entirely sure what they were going for there.  At least the rest of the sculpt is pretty solid, with only minor issues (such as the slightly bulkier shoulders).  I do wish he could get his arms a little closer to his sides, but that’s minor.  Baymax’s paint work is about on par with the rest of the figures I’ve looked at from this series.  The colors all match up well enough with those from the movie, and the application is largely sharp and clean.  There are a few unpainted details, but that’s  the sort of thing you expect with Bandai America, so it is what it is.  Baymax includes no extras, which I guess is okay.  What exactly would you give him?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I almost grabbed this figure numerous times at retail, as it was by far my favorite of the three Baymax designs, and I really did want a Baymax.  But, for whatever reason, I just never got around to picking him up.  I was actually pretty excited to find him marked way down at Ollie’s, so he was the first figure I grabbed.  The final figure is okay.  Not quite as fun as Wasabi, but a bit of a step up from the slightly disappointing Yokai, which is decent enough.

#1297: Yokai

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

YOKAI

BIG HERO 6 (BANDAI)

Hey, remember waaaaaay back in 2014 when Big Hero 6 was released?  And I picked up exactly one of the action figures?  Well, I got more.  Because that’s what I do, I guess.  Today, I’ll be looking not at one of the members of the titular team, but rather at their foe from the film, the kabuki masked dude whose name was apparently Yokai.  Who knew?  Well, Bandai knew, and I guess Disney also probably knew.  But I didn’t know, mostly because he’s not ever referred to as Yokai in the movie.  But, I guess putting the name of his alter ego on the package would be a bit of a spoiler, wouldn’t it?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yokai was released in the first series of Big Hero 6 figures from Bandai, alongside the six members of the team.  The figure stands a little over 3 1/2 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  Yokai falls victim to the same problem that a lot of Bandai America’s output does: terrible relative scale in terms of the line as a whole.  As a full-grown adult, he should be pretty tall in comparison to the adolescent characters that make up the rest of the line, but due to Bandai’s very odd views on scaling, he’s at most a quarter of an inch taller than Hiro, a character he should tower over.  The way it’s done, Yokai feels like he’s from an entirely different line than the rest of the figures, barring maybe Baymax.  This is the same issue that plagued every version of Slade back when they were doing the Teen Titans figures, and it’s a shame they’re making the same mistakes a decade later.  Scaling issues aside, the sculpt isn’t terrible.  It’s hardly a perfect recreation of his on-screen design (which would be a good deal thinner), but he’s a passable recreation, I suppose.  There’s some pretty solid work on the various details of his costume, and it’s clear who he’s supposed to be.  I wish his coat was a bit less floaty, but it’s the sort of thing I’ve come to expect from Bandai America.  The paint work on the figure isn’t anything amazing, but it’s certainly passable.  The colors all match up with the character’s film design, and the application is all pretty clean.  The best work is on the mask, which is nice and bold, and helps him stand out.  Yokai is packed with a attachment for the hand that’s designed to simulate the nanobots Yokai uses in the movie.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had totally planned to grab a few more of the Big Hero 6 figures after I got Wasabi back in 2014, but I got kind of distracted by other lines of figures.  Back in March, I stumbled across most of the line for a deep discount at the nearest Ollie’s, which was enough to prod me into grabbing a set.  Yokai’s…okay.  After being pleasantly surprised by Wasabi, this guy feels more like an unfortunate return to form for Bandai America.  He’s still better than vast majority of the Teen Titans figures, and a perfectly enjoyable figure in his own right, but in the context  of the line as a whole, he’s got some definite issues.

#1296: First Order Stormtrooper

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

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“Equipped with sleek armor and powerful weapons, the Stormtroopers enforce the will of the First Order.”

Wow, that’s the same bio used on the Hasbro Black Series figures.  I guess Disney’s really strict about what goes in those bios.  I mean, I guess it’s a decent enough write-up for the Stormtroopers.  It’s not like there’s a whole lot to them, right?  So, hey, it’s been a while since I reviewed a basic Stormtrooper (First Order or otherwise).  How about one of those?  This time, the figure’s metal.  Oooooooooh!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The First Order Stormtrooper was released as part of the very first series of Disney’s Star Wars: Elite Series, which hit way back on the first Force Friday event.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 16 points of articulation.  He’s very similar in construction to the previously reviewed Poe figure (metal for the torso,arms, and legs, and plastic for the hands, feet and head), though he does feel a bit lighter weight.  That’s probably due to the slightly more svelte design.  He’s still rather restricted in terms of movement (he’s yet another FO Trooper that can’t actually hold his blaster two-handed), but he’s on par with the other two figures I’ve gotten.  It could certainly be worse.  While there was a definite upturn in the level of detail displayed on the K-2 figure, the Trooper, as an older release, is still rather on the soft side.  Given the sleeker nature of the Stormtroopers, it’s not too bad, but he does miss out on the fun underlying jumpsuit details that we saw on the Black Series version of this design.  On the plus side, he lacks the weird hand thing that plagued the Poe figure, and just seems to have better proportions in general. He also doesn’t face any issues of facial likeness, which seems to alleviate a major issue the Disney figures seem to face.  Like both prior Elite Series figures I’ve looked at, the Stormtrooper is assembled using screws along the back of the figure.  10 of them to be exact.  While K-2 added covers so as to prevent them from ruining the aesthetics, the Stormtrooper takes after Poe, which means his assembly screws are left totally uncovered.  It’s definitely distracting, but at least it’s confined to the back of the figure.  The paint on the Stormtrooper is decent enough; it’s not like there’s a lot of really complex work or anything going on, so there’s less that can be screwed up.  There’s still some slight slop here and there, but for the most part he looks pretty clean.  The figure is packed with two blasters (one large and one small) and a display stand, which is the same as the ones included with Poe and K-2.  The smaller blaster is designed to be stowed on the right thigh, but I ended up having to do a little work on my figure to get the two pieces to fit together, due to a slight malformation of the gun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was given to me by my friend Rio, who is an exchange student visiting from Japan.  Rio has been staying with one of Super Awesome Girlfriend’s friends, and has become a fixture of our group of friends over the last several months.  She also really likes to give gifts, so she’s made a point of getting something for each of us over the course of a few trips she’s made to various attractions.  When she traveled to Disney World, she got something for Super Awesome Girlfriend, but not for me.  I wasn’t expecting anything, so I was far from upset, but Rio wanted to get me something.  On her trip to NYC over spring break, she tracked down the Disney Store and, with a little guidance from Super Awesome Girlfriend, picked this guy out for me.  He’s actually pretty cool, and you can never have too many Stormtroopers, right?  Anyway, Rio is heading back home to Japan today, so I thought I’d give this figure a review as a send off and a testament to how great it’s been to have her around these last few months.  Good luck, Rio!

#1197: K-2SO

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

K-2SO

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES

k2diecast1

By now, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to pull up the site at see K-2’s name at the top of the page.  He was by far my favorite part of Rogue One, and one of my favorite parts of the Star Wars universe in general.  I’m steadily working my way to owning every possible action figure version of this guy.  I’ve already gotten the obligatory 3 3/4 inch and Black Series figures, plus the Lego Constraction figure, and even the Pop! figure.  The line I almost always overlook is the Disney’s in-house line of die-cast figures, available exclusively at the Disney Store, but, as with Poe, I did track down the die-cast K-2 figure, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

k2diecast2K-2 was part of the assortment of Rogue One-related Star Wars: Elite Series released back on Rogue Friday.  The figure stands about 7 1/2 inches tall and has 19 points of articulation.  If you read my Poe review, you’ll probably remember that he was in a 7-inch scale.  Now, if you reference my Black Series K-2 review, you’ll note that I gave that figure’s height at 7 1/2 inches.  No, I didn’t mess either measurement up; these two figures are the exact same size, which means this guy’s actually 1/12 scale, and thus not actually in scale with the rest of the Elite Series figures.  In Disney’s defense, in order to be in proper scale with the rest of the Elite Series, K-2 would have to be almost 9 inches tall; the materials cost alone would mean he’d have to be in his own unique price point.  At this size, he’s still about a half inch taller than Poe, meaning he won’t look horribly out of place.  The flip side of all this is that this figure is perfectly scaled with The Black Series, so if you aren’t happy with your Black Series K-2 or are unable to find that particular figure, you have a second option.  In terms of construction, K-2 is mostly metal, with plastic being used only for his head and hands.  Like Poe, this means he’s a little more restricted in terms of motion than, say his, Black Series counterpart.  However, unlike Poe, where the there were some issues with looking a little too soft due to the metal parts, K-2 seems to do alright on the details.  If anything, he’s the one figure that it makes total sense to do in die-cast, being a droid and all, and his more geometric stylings lend themselves far more to this style of figure.  Another improvement over Poe: all those pesky screws on the back now have covers.  You can still see where they are, but they stick out a whole lot less.  In terms of accuracy to the source material, I think this figure’s actually a little closer to the movie design than the Black Series figure.  The head’s certainly superior on this figure at least.  The rest you can sort of chalk cup to differences of materials.  About the only real negative is the way the neck articulation has been implemented; rather than sticking with the movie design, there’s now a trench running just above the neck, allowing you to place his head straight up, which is just the most unnatural looking thing.  In terms of paint, this K-2 gets the proper gunmetal grey finish that his other figures have lacked, and also gets the proper grey detailing on the shoulder joints.  Aside from that, though, he’s a bit of a step down from the Black Series figure, loosing out on a lot of that figure’s really cool weathering, and also getting an inaccurate Imperial logo on both shoulders.  K-2’s only accessory is a display stand, which is the same as Poe’s.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

K-2 was picked up for me by my Super Awesome Girlfriend while we were out at the mall.  I caught sight of him through the window of the Disney Store on the way to another store and made a note to go back for him, but she snuck off later and grabbed him for me.  I’m a little disappointed that he’s not truly in scale with the Elite Series not because scale matters all that much to me, but more because him being the same size as the Black Series figure now leaves me eternally wondering which one I prefer.  If you want posablity and playability, go with the Black Series, but if you just want a cool looking K-2 for the shelf (and something you can possibly fend off home invaders with), you could do a lot worse than this guy.

k2diecast3

#1072: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

poedamdiecast1

Man, it’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since The Force Awakens product started hitting shelves.  This Friday, we’ll be seeing another midnight release, this time around for the products from Rogue One.  With Force Awakens, there was a lot of product being released in a relatively short span of time, so it was a little difficult to keep track of it all.  The main characters were available in a variety of scales, from a few different manufacturers.  Of course, I’ve looked at Hasbro’s 3 3/4-inch and 6-inch lines, but the Disney Store also got in on the action, offering a line of die cast figures (die cast is just all the rage right now).  The line more or less slipped under my radar.  I knew it existed, but wasn’t quite aware of the depth of the line until rather recently, which is why I’m only just now reviewing my first figure from the line, Poe Dameron.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

poedamdiecast3Poe is from the second round of the Disney Store-exclusive Star Wars: Elite Series.  He was released to coincide with the movie’s release back in December, and was the last of the film’s three leads to make it into the line (Poe’s absence from the first series of so many of the lines is a bit odd, especially given how popular the character proved to be.  Perhaps Disney under-estimated his appeal).  The figure stands about 7 inches tall (placing him roughly in scale with most of NECA’s output, as a reference), and he has 16 points of articulation.  He’s also reeeallly heavy, thanks to all that metal.  His torso, pelvis, arms, and legs are all metal, with plastic being used for the head, hands, feet, poedamdiecast4belt/tubes, and a few of his joints.  Poe’s certainly constructed from a lot more metal than a lot of die cast items, which is actually pretty cool.  It results in the figure being a little less posable than I might like, but the sheer heft of this guy is pretty nifty, and you can still manage some decent poses.  As far as the sculpt goes, Poe’s overall not bad, but not without a few issues.  On a whole, the details seem a little soft.  I’m not sure if it’s the sculpt or the paint, but he’s got a certain animated feel too him.  I’m also not really a fan pf the left hand, which looks a little like it was replaced by an inflated latex glove, due to the weird, puffy absence of a palm.  Possibly the most notable issue is more a construction thing than anything.  In poedamdiecast2order to be properly assembled, Poe needs to have 9 visible screws on his back, apparently.  That seems a little excessive to me, but I could be wrong.  At the very least, they aren’t visible from the front.  Moving past those issues, I think Poe’s actually got a pretty decent sculpt.  In particular, the head, I feel, is a better Oscar Isaac than we’ve seen elsewhere.  It’s still not perfect (it would appear he’s the Harrison Ford of the new trio in that respect), but it looks pretty good.  Poe’s paint is alright, though it’s kind of basic in terms of color, and a little sloppy in more than a few areas.  It’s also quite thick.  Plus, I’ve already noticed one or two chips on mine, which is slightly frightening.  I’ll be interested to see how it holds up in the long run.  Poe included his small blaster, his helmet, and a display stand.  The blaster and the stand are both pretty cool, but the helmet is a slight letdown, due to the opaque nature of the visor, and the fact that Poe actually can’t wear it. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Poe from the Disney Store that was in the same mall as the Apple Store where I was buying my new computer.  I actually wasn’t aware that they had made a Poe in this line, so he was a nice surprise find.  He’s not a perfect figure but I think he might be my favorite Poe straight out of the box (my amalgamation of the two Black Series Poes is still my favorite overall, though).  Poe is still my favorite part of TFA, so it was really cool to find a new Poe to buy.

poedamdiecast5

#0416: Wasabi No-Ginger

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

WASABI NO-GINGER

BIG HERO 6

Aside from knowing that it was an adaptation of a Marvel comic, I didn’t really have much to go on when I went to see Big Hero 6. But, the previews looked good, so I gave it a shot. I’m very glad I did. It’s a very well done movie, and it tells a very compelling story. I really liked the movie, and me being me, that meant I had to have at least one of the action figures, right? So, let’s have a look at the one I picked up, Wasabi No-Ginger.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wasabi is part of the first series of Bandai’s Big Hero 6 toyline. The figure is about 3 ½ inches tall and he features 13 points of articulation. He’s based on Wasabi’s armored up look from the second half of the film. It’s his most distinctive look, and definitely the most toyetic. Wasabi features a brand new sculpt based on his character design from the movie. Overall, it’s a pretty good sculpt. Not perfect, but serviceable. Some of the proportions are a little bit off. His legs are a tad too stubby, and he’s generally just a little too wide. That being said, the exaggerated nature of the original design means that the problems aren’t quite as apparent as they might be. The best work is definitely the figure’s head, which is a pretty much spot on recreation of the character’s look in the movie. At first glance, I thought they had left off the goggles, but a quick look at a few screen captures from the movie shows that the goggles aren’t always present. The paint, much like the sculpt, is good, if not anything spectacular. All of the application is nice and clean, with no issues with slop or bleed over. The colors are simplified versions of the ones in the movie. Everything is a little brighter and flatter. The end result isn’t quite as exciting as the on-screen look, but it’s a passable interpretation of it. Wasabi includes two clip-on energy blades, and a sleeveless jacket thingy. The blades are moderately disappointing, mostly due to their solid coloring. Translucent plastic would do a lot to improve them. The jacket is nice, though superfluous. Evidently, it was based on a work-in-progress version of the character where he wore the coat as part of his final outfit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Wasabi is another figure to join the ranks of “Stuff my Super Awesome Girlfriend bought me.” Wasabi had a few traits that reminded her of me, so when we saw this figure at K-Mart the day after seeing the movie, she insisted on getting it for me. She’s really waaaaaay too supportive of this hobby. Isn’t it awesome?

What surprised me the most about this figure was that it was made by Bandai America. Generally, I find their figures to be extremely off-model and low quality, and that’s not even getting into the scale issues. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this figure. Sure, he’s not going to be winning any “Best Figure of the Year” awards, but he’s a solidly built, fun little figure. If the rest of the line is anything like him, I’d say the license is in good hands.

#0176: Avengers Boxed set

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

HULK, GIANT MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, & KANG

MARVEL MINIMATES

If there’s one toyline I like more than all others, it’s Minimates, particularly the Marvel Minimates subset. Frequent readers should be well aware of this fact, given the sheer volume of Marvel Minimates reviews present on this site. Anyway, I’ve got another Marvel Minimates review for today. This set is important in that it heralded the first release of long-demanded villain Kang!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This was one of two boxed sets released exclusively through the Disney Store in 2012. The sets were both Avengers related, in an attempt to tie into the movie release. The sets featured three all new figures packaged with five re-releases from Marvel Minimates series 44.

HULK

The Hulk is one of the three re-packs in this set. He’s based on his Professor Hulk incarnation, from Peter David’s run of Hulk. The basic idea was that Banner’s intelligence remained when he turned into the Hulk. It was a pretty big moment in the comics, and it definitely deserves a Minimate. This is actually the second Minimate of Professor Hulk, but the less said about the first one, the better. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, with sculpted add-ons for bulk. He stands a little over 2 ½ inches tall and has 12 points of articulation. Most of the bulked up pieces are the same ones seen on other large characters, but he does feature a new set of feet, new hair, and it’s the first official release of the basic bulked up hands. All of the pieces look pretty good, and it’s nice to finally get a hairpiece that accurately resembles Hulks occasional bowl cut look. The paint work is good overall. There’s a bit of slop a few places, but all detail work is sharp. Hulk includes two rock slabs.

GIANT MAN

GiAnt Man is yet another of the repacks from this set. He’s based on George Perez’s redesign of the character from his and Kurt Busiek’s run on The Avengers in the 90s. The idea behind this redesign was creating a look that could easily morph between Hank’s Giant Man and Ant Man personas, hence the GiAnt Man title. It’s not a bad look, so its inclusion here is fair. He’s also built on the standard Minimates body, so he’s about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. The number of add-ons depends on how you set him up, but amongst them are a Giant Man helmet, an Ant Man helmet, a belt, a torso extender, a pair of tall feet and a pair of short feet. The figure seems to be a case of better in concept than in execution, as the Giant Man set-up looks a bit strange, the Ant Man set-up is a bit too large, and neither helmet actually fits his face properly, leading to his mouth being too far down, making him look silly. The figure also includes a spare hairpiece to display him unmasked. It’s a re-use of Renfield’s hair from the Dracula set, and I’m not sure it quite fits Hank. Overall, this figure had some potential, but ends up being a bit of a mess.

 

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Cap is the final repack in this set. He based on Cap’s typical look, though it does take some of the more specific cues from George Perez’s work. The figure is on the standard body, so he’s got the usual stats. He features six sculpted add-ons: mask, glove cuffs, shield strap, and boots. All of these are reuse from previous Captains, but it’s kind of a case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The paint work is all pretty good. Everything is nice and clean, and he’s even got little details, like the scales on his shirt or the blue shorts he’s sometimes depicted wearing over the pants. One area that is a bit off is the face, which seems a little bit angry looking for Cap. Other than that, he’s a pretty great standard Cap release. He includes his mighty shield (in metallic colors!), and a spare hairpiece, which is a re-use from one of the Back to the Future Marty McFly figures.

KANG

KAAAAANG!!! Yeah, he was a pretty big deal. Kang is the only exclusive figure in this set. For those of you who don’t know Kang, he’s one of the more pivotal Avengers foes. He was a conqueror from the future that came back in time to take over earlier. The Avengers of course would always stop him, as they do. For a quick explanation, I’d recommend checking out the character’s appearances in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which is currently available for streaming on Netflix. Kang is built in the standard Minimates body, so he has all the typical stats. He features 7 sculpted add-ons: helmet, gloves, shoulder armor, belt, and upper arms. The upper arms are the same ones seen on Betsy Braddock and the Hydra Elite. They aren’t my favorite piece, but they do work for depicting more billowy shirt material, which Kang does have. I think the rest of the pieces are new, though the gloves mightbe a re-use. The paint work on Kang is pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but it isn’t bad and everything is nice and sharp. Kang includes two guns and a pink teleportation stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pretty excited about this set. The update on Professor Hulk was much needed, and the release of Kang was super cool! I wish Giant Man had been a bit better, but overall, this is a pretty good set. I got this set from Disney’s online store, as none of the Disney Stores near me carry Minimates. I like the idea of Disney exclusives, if it gets us cool sets like this, but they should definitely work on distribution.