Tag Archives: Excised

#0490: Nebula

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

NEBULA

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VINYL FIGURES

Alright, so after the detour into Marvel Legends land, I’m coming back around to Funko’s Guardians of the Galaxy stuff. This review was actually supposed to be posted last Monday, but it wasn’t. I’m not sure if it had to do with being rather sick last weekend or if I had just had too many “meh” reviews in a row, but when it came time to write this, I just couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come to me. So, I did the ML stuff, which has brightened my spirits a bit, and now I’m back to Nebula. Let’s take a look at how she turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nebula’s part of the first assortment of Guardians of the Galaxy Vinyl Figures. Unlike Star-Lord, Nebula is the only version of the character available in the line (also one of only three Nebula figures available total, like in all of the GotG product). Nebula is a little under 3 inches tall and has no articulation, unless you want to count the bobble head. Nebula’s sculpt is wholly unique to her, and while it is well done from a technical stand-point, there are some questionable choices. Namely, what the heck is up with her pose? She’s standing kind of straight, with her legs wide, and she’s leaning forward just a bit, with her head tilted back ever so slightly. And then there’re the arms, which are outstretched, but almost in a halfhearted sort of way, like she’s been holding them up for a minute and now they’re starting to get tired. What was Funko going for here? Is this meant to replicate a specific pose from the movie? Because I don’t recall Nebula replicating this pose at any point, and if she did it must have only been for the briefest of moments. There seems to be some inconsistency on how the mechanics on her head should be done as well. The bit at the top of her scalp is sculpted, which the stuff around her eye is just painted, so they don’t match. Those things aside, she does have some nice detail work on her costume and such, which is cool, I guess. While the paint on Star-Lord was beyond the Funko norm, Nebula is about par. There’s some nice work on the face, but the paint on the body is fuzzy around the edges and there’s a fair bit of bleed over. Also, the colors are all very similar, which makes the figure a little dull looking. I know she had a limited palette in the movie, but other merchandise has made it work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nebula is from the same mall trip (with Super Awesome Girlfriend!) that got me Star-Lord and my SciFi Vinyl Figures. Nebula was the other half of the two GotG blind-boxed figures I picked up. I was initially rather excited to get her, what with Nebula being a favorite of mine from the movie, but I think some of the excitement has worn off. She’s really not as good as she could have been, and it’s sad that this was Nebula’s only figure at the time of the movie’s release. With all that in mind, the figure’s not the worst thing ever. I honestly can’t say why I put this review off for so long. It was actually rather painless.

#0468: E.T. – Extraterrestrial

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

E.T. – EXTRATERRESTRIAL

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

So, um, I have a thing to confess. I don’t really “get” E.T. I mean, I know it was immensely popular and I generally love Steven Spielberg’s stuff, but I could never get into E.T. I tried over the years. I’ve watched it several times. I’ve made many a joke about the changing of the guns to walkie talkies for the special edition. I’ve seen tons of the interviews about it. Lots of people I know really like it. Admittedly, I don’t dislike it. There are parts of it I quite enjoy. But it just doesn’t do anything for me outside of occupy the TV screen for two hours.

With that out of the way, please read as I review a toy from a movie that I have no emotional connection to. This’ll be fun…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

E.T. is part of the first assortment of Funko’s Science Fiction Vinyl Figures. Like Robby, E.T. is one of the more common figures in the line, at a ratio of 1:12. E.T. is roughly 2 ¼ inches tall and he has no articulation. E.T. has been sculpted so as to better fit the style of the other figures in the line. In Robby’s case the changes were minor, but here they are a bit more severe. The biggest thing is that the hands have been made much larger and blockier (especially the fingers) and the body has been made a little smaller. The character’s rough skin texture has also been removed, with a much smoother look in its place. Unfortunately, it seems some skin texture would have been a good way to hide the joining of the arms and head with the torso. As it is, the separate pieces are beyond obvious. That said, the sculpt isn’t bad; E.T.’s in his “phone home” pose, with his index finger extended, which is a good choice for the character. It’s also very evident who this is supposed to be, which is always a good thing. The figure’s paint is pretty straight forward. For the most part, he’s a light brown (though perhaps too light), with some white for the eyes and a bit of orange and yellow for the index finger and his heart. The eyes being straight white is in the style of the rest of the figures in the line, but it ends up being particularly unnerving on E.T. E.T. includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

E.T. was picked up at the same time as Robby, while I was shopping with Super Awesome Girlfriend. He was the other half of the two blind boxes I grabbed at random. After opening Robby, E.T. was a bit of a letdown, for more than one reason. As I stated in the intro, I’m not a big fan of E.T., so I’m not exactly raring to get figures from it. Add in the fact that E.T.’s one of the weaker figures in the lineup, and you have an all-around disappointing figure.

#0462: The Governor

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

THE GOVERNOR

THE WALKING DEAD

So, last day of Walking Dead stuff (at least for a little while). In my review of Carol, I mentioned how the TV Show has really turned around my opinion of some of the comic characters who have made the transition.

The Governor in the comics generally seems to be a rather popular character. However, I’ve never really cared for him. To me, his over the top nature and the fact that he was completely devoid of any likeable traits just made the character rather annoying to read. In the show, he was given a much quieter demeanor and numerous episodes focusing on his rationale for the things he did. He was still a bad guy and he was still crazy, but he was a wildly more intriguing character. So, let’s have a look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Governor was released in Series 6 of The Walking Dead TV-based line from McFarlane Toys. This marks the second Governor figure in the TV line, following his first figure in Series 4. The figure is a little over 5 inches tall (David Morrissey is a tall dude) and he has 23 points of articulation. Sadly, he’s the only (human) figure in this series not to get the new style hip joints, but his long coat would have restricted them anyway, so it’s not too bad. The first Governor figure was based on his look in early Season 3 (though a later look was possible with the extra eye-patched head), where as this one depicts him after he’s begun to sink more into his villainous side. In his default setup, this figure depicts the Governor from smack-dab in the middle of Season 3, but it can also represent the character’s later appearances. Starting with Series 5, each series of the line has one figure that’s built on a previous figure. The Governor takes that spot in this series. He makes use of the pelvis, legs, feet, and hands of the Series 4 Governor, as well as a slightly retooled torso, an all-new head and arms, and an add-on for his coat. Issues with the old hip articulation aside, the re-used pieces were all pretty good the first time around, and they add some nice consistency between the two figures. The new pieces are quite well sculpted, which is really great. The new head sits just a little bit too high on the neck, but the coat collar covers the issue for the most part, and the head itself is pretty fantastic. The head is really well detailed, and it’s a very good likeness of David Morrissey. Paint seems to be a pretty consistent issue with The Walking Dead figures, and the Governor is no exception. There’s a bit of slop, especially around the edges of the bandaging on the head, and the hands and lower face both have a rather inconsistent wash. Other than that, the paint is actually pretty good; the clothing is sufficiently detailed, and there’s lots of work done to bring out the details of the sculpt. The Governor includes an alternate head with an eye-patch (the same as the one included with the last Governor), an assault rifle, a handgun, and a knife. While the alternate head presents a more default look for the Governor, it’s not as well sculpted or as well painted as the bandaged one; it looks a little like his face is sliding off. The assault rifle is a nice piece, but the figure has some serious difficulty holding it, meaning he’s pretty much limited to the knife and the handgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Governor was ordered via Amazon, along with Rick and Abraham. I have to admit, he was probably the figure I was least interested in this series, for whatever reason. In hand, that all changed. I can’t say that the Governor’s really any better than any of the other figures in the series, but for whatever reason, I just really like this figure. He just looks really cool!

#0461: Abraham Ford

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ABRAHAM FORD

THE WALKING DEAD

Hey hey, more Walking Dead stuff. Today’s character, Abraham Ford, is probably one of the few characters that I was actually waiting to see on the show, as I quite liked him in the comics. The character on the show is similar to his comic counterpart, but he’s been given a different relationship with the main cast, which makes for an interesting change up. He also showed up a lot quicker as a toy than a lot of people expected. Usually, a character has a little bit of a wait after showing up on the series before they can get their own figure, but Abraham here was announced almost as soon as he’d shown up. So, here he is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Abraham is a part of Series 6 of The Walking Dead TV-based line from McFarlane Toys. He’s about 5 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation, which includes the new style hips, which I am definitely a fan of. Unlike most of the figures in this series, Abraham is based on his earliest appearances in the show, though that still places his look somewhere in mid-season 4, which means he lines up pretty well with the rest of the characters in the series (with two exceptions). Abraham features an all-new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one at that. He’s definitely a bigger guy than the others in the series, which is nice to see. It also helps to further distance him from the tiny wrists that used to plague the line. The figure has a pretty much spot on likeness of actor Michael Cudlitz, which is great to see. I’m also oddly fascinated by the gloves, which are just really well sculpted. The only real issues with the sculpt are the tops of arms, which are sculpted to look natural hanging down, but look odd when placed in other poses. While the paint on this figure is better than a lot of the others in the series, there are still some oddities about it. For the most part, the basic paint work is pretty clean and seems to avoid any real slop or bleed over. However, there’s a dark wash that’s been applied to the figure’s skin that looks odd in places. Specifically, it’s too heavy on his face, and then it just ends abruptly and starts back up further down. It looks strange. Abraham includes an MP5, a Desert Eagle, and a knife.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Rick, Abraham was purchased via Amazon. I had actually seen Abraham a few times on his own, but I didn’t want to get him without the rest of the series. In hand, Abraham is one of the more solid releases from the line, though I can’t say he’s the most thrilling. Still, he’s certainly not a bad figure, and I’m sure he’ll be even more desirable once the rest of his group are released.

#0460: Rick Grimes

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

RICK GRIMES

THE WALKING DEAD

We now return to our regularly scheduled reviews of things Ethan actually owns!

When The Walking Dead television series first started up, McFarlane Toys was pretty quick to pick up the license to it. They kicked off the line with a few zombies, as well as lead character Rick Grimes and fan-favorite Daryl Dixon. Unfortunately, the figures weren’t exactly good. The line reformatted in Series 3, and the quality took a serious upturn. However, this left Rick, the show’s central character, without a figure that matched up with the rest of the characters. McFarlane has attempted to fix this issue, releasing a new Rick as part of the latest series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rick is part of Series 6 of McFarlane Toys’ The Walking Dead TV line. The figure is roughly 5 inches in height and he has 26 points of articulation. Like Carol and Hershel, Rick sports the new style of hip joint, first introduced on the deluxe Daryl, which greatly improves the figure’s pose-ability. Previous Rick figures were based upon his appearance in the first and second seasons, but this one depicts Rick with his more rough look from seasons 3, 4, and 5. Like many of the characters on the show, his post season 3 look is more identifiable as the character, and shows the character after he’s grown more comfortable in the world of the show. Rick’s sculpt is all-new to him, and it’s generally very well done. The figure is (mostly) well-proportioned and well detailed. The figure also seems to be moving away from the odd wrist joints that have plagued the last few series, which is good to see.  The head definitely has more than a passing resemblance to Andrew Lincoln (sculpturally, anyway) and that’s nice to see in light of the last two Ricks. The torso is the only real issue; for some reason, they’ve made him slightly pear-shaped. Rick is very svelte on the show (something that tends to happen when you’re a survivor of the apocalypse who doesn’t have a consistent source of food), so it’s noticeably wrong for him to be shaped that way. As good as the sculpt is, the paint is probably the worst I’ve seen in the last few series. The clothing is okay; the colors work and they look appropriately grungy. The biggest issues lie on the face. The flesh-tones are really thick, and the hair is at best a close approximation of what staying in the lines is supposed to be. There’s a lot of slop, and a lot of spots that just seem to be missing the appropriate colors. The skin tone of the face is also too dark, which is only made worse by the fact that the skin on the rest of the figure is deathly pale. And that’s not even mentioning whatever that is that’s growing on Rick’s neck. He might want to have that checked out, it looks unhealthy. Rick includes a decent selection of accessories, which includes an alternate bandaged right hand, his signature revolver, a machete, a handgun with a silencer, and a set of clamps.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After finding Carol and Hershel at Cosmic Comix, I decided to finish up the rest of the Series 6 set, so I purchased Rick here from Amazon. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little let down by this figure. The prototype looked really good, and I think the sculpt is genuinely a pretty good one. Sadly, the paint just isn’t up to snuff, which is a shame. Still, this is the best Rick that McFarlane’s released so far, and he’s not terrible when placed with the rest of the survivors.

#0454: Hershel Greene

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HERSHEL GREENE

THE WALKING DEAD

Being a rather dark, usually bleak show, The Walking Dead is the kind of television show that needs to have some sort of moral compass, generally present in one character in particular. Unfortunately, on a show such as TWD, moral people don’t always hang around the longest, so it’s a role that has been handed down a few times. Perhaps the character to best fill the role is Hershel Greene, the subject of today’s review. He stared out jaded and harsh, but after about a season on the show, he grew into one of the most genuinely loveable characters on the show. McFarlane has seen fit to add him to their line of figures, so I’ll be taking a look at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hershel is part of Series Six of the TV-based The Walking Dead line. The figure is about 5 inches in height, with 26 points of articulation (or 25, depending on which leg you use). Hershel’s appearance is based on his look from the show during the third and fourth seasons. The figure depicts Hershel following the loss of his leg. It’s a good look for Hershel, and it’s definitely the look I’d associate with the character while he was at his best. The figure has an all-new sculpt, although it’s worth noting that the majority of this figure will be re-released in Series Seven, along with a new head. Simply put, Hershel’s sculpt is fantastic. The head is the spitting image of actor Scott Wilson, and every inch of the figure is covered in some really great detail work, and all of the proportions are right on. In his default setup, Hershel has a stump where his right leg used to be. The leg is well done, and looks like a partial leg, so… umm… there’s that I guess. Paint can be spotty on the TWD line, but it doesn’t seem to have affected Hershel here. All of his paintwork is nice and clean, with no real slop or bleed over. He also got some incredible texture work, especially on his clothing. And, in what may be a first for this line, no wonky eyes! Yay! Hershel comes packed with a set of crutches, an alternate false leg to swap out for the “stump”, and a small handgun that goes in the holster on the front of his belt. The crutches are great, and he can actually balance on them, which is cool. The alternate leg is great for the season four look, and it swaps out nicely. Hershel has a little trouble holding the gun, but he wasn’t exactly known for his shooting, so that’s okay.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Carol, Hershel was a purchase from Cosmic Comix. I wasn’t quite as excited for Hershel as I was for Carol, but he’s still one of my favorite characters from the show. This figure surprised me. I thought he’d be okay, but this figure may well be the best one in the line. He’s that good!

#0453: Carol Peletier

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CAROL PELETIER

THE WALKING DEAD

The Walking Dead television show has grown into something of its own beast. While it’s still following the comic in a few respects here and there, for the most part it’s taken a path all its own. The show has made a lot of its changes through characters who weren’t around in the comics, but occasionally they make changes to comic characters that are for the better. Case in point: Carol. In the comics, her character never really amounted to much of anything. In the show? She’s easily become one of the most important characters. And for good reason; she’s pretty darn awesome! McFarlane Toys has seen fit to add Carol to their line of figures based on the show (and there was much rejoicing!)  I’ll be taking a look at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Carol was released as part of Series Six of McFarlane’s TV-based The Walking Dead line. The figure is just shy of 5 inches tall and she sports 25 points of articulation. Most noteworthy, she has the new style of hip joint, first used on Daryl, which is a serious improvement over the Series 4 figures. Like many of the characters on the show, Carol’s look has gradually evolved. This figure is based on her look around the end of season 4/ beginning of season 5. It depicts her after she’s grown a bit more comfortable in the post-apocalyptic world. Gone is the really close cropped hair; in come the combat boots! It’s a pretty great look. In order to facilitate this look, McFarlane has given Carol an all-new sculpt. I have to say, I’ve warmed up to this sculpt a fair bit since first getting the figure. That aside, the sculpt isn’t quite as good as some of the others in the line. Overall, the proportions aren’t too bad, though she still has the skeletal looking wrists that plague most of the line. Most of the issues are with the head. It’s not terrible, though it seems to lack some of the more attractive features of Melissa McBride’s face. I can’t really point to anything specific, but something seems off. I don’t know. Another reason that diagnosing troubles with the sculpt is difficult is the paint work. The face really seems to get the worst of it. The eyebrows seem a bit misplaced and the eyes are too small and too close together. Also, her hair has too much black in it, which just further throws off her look. The weirdest bit of the paint is the black dots on her nostrils; I’m not sure what the idea was here, but it just ends up looking strange. All that said there are areas where the paint is magnificent; some of the detail on the clothes is really great. Carol is packed with a revolver (which is also sculpted tucked into the front of her belt), he signature knife, and a gas can, which has actual, readable instructions on how to use it! That’s quite impressive.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Carol was purchased from Cosmic Comix, my comicbook store of choice. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the Carol figure pretty much since she was announced, so I picked her up as soon as I saw her. While I have a fair share of complaints about the final figure, as a whole I think she turned out okay. She looks nice with the rest of the group and the figure’s really started to grow on me since getting it.

#0399: Michelangelo – Comic

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MICHELANGELO – COMIC

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

Okay, last day of Comic Turtles. Here we are. I considered putting off the last review just to screw with everybody, but that didn’t seem very nice. So, here he is, the last member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Michelangelo.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

“Among his brothers, Michelangelo possesses the most natural athletic abilities. His physical prowess, along with an enthusiastic imagination, comes in handy when action is needed to escape a dangerous predicament. Mikey displays his show-stopping persona and skills with the nunchucks.” Michelangelo is part of the 12th series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Playmates. The line was originally based on the current Nickelodeon cartoon, but it seems to have started to diversify. Mikey is based on his original appearance, back when the turtles all looked pretty much the same. The figure stands roughly 4 ½ inches tall and features 17 points of articulation. The lack of wrist joints is killer, and it’s something that really holds the figures back, but otherwise, everything is pretty good. Mikey’s sculpt is the same-old-same-old; same body with a new head. The body’s not a bad sculpt, so the re-use is perfectly fine. However, Mikey’s head seems a bit more of a disappointment than the others. He just doesn’t exhibit the jovial personality that Mikey is known for. Maybe if the eyes were a bit wider. Mikey’s paint is pretty much identical to that seen on the others, which is reasonably good. I do wish they had done something to bring out more of the sculpted details, but at least it’s clean. Mikey includes is trademark nunchucks, which are the most disappointing accessory in the series. They lack any real texture, and the sculpted pose of the chains doesn’t really allow for much creativity with the poses.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mikey was part of the set of comic Turtles I purchased from my local Toys R Us. If he hadn’t been part of the set, I could see myself passing on this one. He’s not terrible, and in the context of the full set, he looks fine, but as his own figure? He’s just sort of lackluster, especially when you consider that NECA’s take on Comic Mikey was probably the best in the set. But, that figure goes for an insane aftermarket price, and this one is $9, so that’s what he’s got going for him.

#0398: Raphael – Comic

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RAPHAEL – COMIC

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

Uh… so, two days in, I’m kind of out of compelling things to say about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Sorry. I just don’t have a lot of interesting history with the property. Um, so today is Raphael’s turn. He’s the only of the Turtles that continued to sport the red bandana when they moved to animation, so some people have a tendency to confuse a comic style Turtles display as “four Raphaels.” So, here he is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

“Quick to anger and slow to cool off, Raphael has mastered his twin Sai blades, but not his own temper. Easily the most fearsome and fearless fighter of the group, Raphael often leaps into battle no matter what the odds… and often without looking first.” Raphael is part of Series 12 of the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line from Playmates. Raph is based on the character’s original comicbook appearance, but unlike the rest of the series, he can also function as a more conventional version of the character. The figure is about 4 ½ inches in height, with 17 points of articulation. I know I keep harping on it, but the lack of wrist articulation on these figures is killer. It’s almost impossible to get any sort of decent pose out of Raph with his Sais, and the missing wrist articulation is completely to blame. The figures even have wrist bands, so the articulation would be perfectly hidden. Raph’s sculpt is mostly what we’ve seen before on the other turtles, but with the usual character specific head. Raph’s head is angrier than the others, which suits his personality. It’s a small touch, but I like the fact that Raph and Don are opening their mouths on the opposite sides, conveying their opposing natures. On a side note, my Raph ended up with two right thighs. It’s not a major issue, but it’s a little annoying, so make sure to check the legs on these guys if you can. Raph’s paint is essentially the same as the others in the series, which is okay, but not spectacular. His is cleaner than Don’s, which is good, but he still has a little bit of bleed over, especially around the elbow and knee pads. Raph includes his twin Sai blades. They’re rather large, and a bit too flat, but that’s fairly typical for Raphael figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Raph was purchased along with the rest of the Comic Turtles from my local Toys R Us. Raph was actually my cousin’s favorite turtle, though he’s only my second favorite. He’s got some additional appeal in that his color is the one most commonly associated with the character, so that’s cool.

#0397: Leonardo – Comic

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LEONARDO – COMIC

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

My fandom of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is something of a shared one. My brother Christian and I both got into it at about the same time. His favorite was Michelangelo and mine was Donatello, so we were a little different on our opinions of the Turtles. But, there was one character we agreed on: Leonardo was our least favorite. For some reason, I always found the character’s straight-laced nature a bit grating. That’s never really changed for me, but a Turtles collection isn’t complete without all four, I still have a few figures of him. Today, I’ll be looking at the latest take on his original interpretation.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

“Known as being brave, dedicated and a master of his twin Katana swords, Leonardo is the hero’s hero – a force of good fighting against the minions of evil, and, he’s got a really cool shell!” Leonardo is part of Series 12 of Playmates’ current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. He’s based on the character’s original comicbook design. This is before the turtles got quite as individualized as they are in later versions, but it’s important none the less. The figure is roughly 4 ½ inches tall with 17 points of articulation. The lack of wrist articulation is less of an issue here than it was on Donatello, but it’s still annoying. From the neck down, Leo’s sculpt is identical to Donatello. It’s a good base, so no complaints there. The head is new, and it’s pretty good. Leo has a closed mouth, and squinty eyes. He’s got a calm, but intense look about him that works well for the character. Leo’s mask sits better than Don’s, and the ties have a bit more flow to them, with something of a windblown look to them. On the plus side, Leo sports one of the cleanest paint jobs in the set. It’s not really different from any of the others, but the application is better, which makes the whole thing a bit better. Leo includes his two twin Katana. They’re pretty well sculpted, but the total lack of paint is a bit of a bummer.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the whole set of Comic Turtles from my local Toys R Us. Leo is pretty much just along for the ride on that one. Like Donatello, he’s not the greatest figure ever released, but he’s really not bad. You could do a lot worse for $9.