Tag Archives: Excised

#0396: Donatello – Comic

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

DONATELLO – COMIC

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2012)

“Back in 1984, a single 40-page black-and-white underground comic redefined the comic book industry and created a world-wide phenomenon. For 30 years, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have entertained and thrilled legions of fans across the globe – and they’re still going strong!”

While I never seemed to get the timing right with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (all of the incarnations are well spaced enough for me to be out of the target audience every time), I still have a pretty decent appreciation for the characters. In particular, I love their early comic looks. A few years ago, NECA released a fantastic set of the main turtles in that style. Unfortunately, I only found half the team, and the aftermarket prices are far too prohibitive for me to finish the set. Thankfully, Playmates has seen fit to offer their own set of the original designs as part of their current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, originally based on the Nickelodeon cartoon. I’ll be starting with the resident tech guy, Donatello.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

“The usually calm and collected Donatello has difficulty containing his enthusiasm when encountering new technologies. Or when working on a new invention or being hot on the trail of a scientific breakthrough, plus his kick-butt mastery of the Bo staff, makes him one unique turtle.” Donatello was released in Series 12 of Playmates’ current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. Donatello is based on his original comicbook incarnation, which is a lot less unique than later versions became. He’s about 4 ½ inches tall and he’s got 17 points of articulation. The articulation is pretty good overall, but the lack of wrist joints hurts the figure quite a bit. In this day and age, such joints should pretty much be mandatory. His left hip is also rather loose, but this is likely to vary from figure to figure. From the neck down, Donatello’s sculpt is identical to the other three turtles. It’s a good sculpt, with decent proportions and quite a bit of texture. It’s a pretty good match for the art from the comics. The head is unique to Donatello. It’s a more passive look, though not as passive as Donatello frequently is. His mouth is open on the right side, but only the slightest bit. The texturing and lines on the skin haven’t been a hit with everyone, but I think they look fine. The bandana is a separate piece, and it doesn’t sit as flat as I’d like on my figure, but it’s well sculpted and the ties hang at a dynamic angle. Paint is probably this line’s weakest point. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing all that impressive either. Donatello is mostly molded in green plastic, with red for the bandana. The actual painted details are mostly clean, but there is a bit of bleed over, and the yellow on his torso missed a few spots. Donatello’s sole accessory is his trademark Bo staff. It’s decently sculpted, but it has no paint, which is a shame. Also, due to the lack of wrist articulation, he has difficulty properly holding it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I purchased the full set of Comic Turtles from my local TRU while killing some time waiting to pick up my brother from a rehearsal. Donatello has been my favorite turtle for a while, so that’s why I reviewed him first. I contemplated just getting him, but that’s what I did with the NECA figures, and it didn’t work out all that well in the end, so all four it was. The figure is far from perfect, but he’s also far from terrible.

#0391: Constable Rick Grimes & Douglas Monroe

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

CONSTABLE RICK GRIMES & DOUGLAS MONROE

WALKING DEAD MINIMATES

Minimates are sort of like potato chips: you can’t have just one. I mean, for one thing, they don’t tend to be sold in single packs (though it does happen), which definitely limits the possibilities of getting just one. But also, they’re just so darn addicting, that buying one set will often lead to the purchase of at least a few more. Or a few hundred more in my case. Such is the case with the most recent series of The Walking Dead Minimates. I couldn’t just get poor Carl by himself. And who would make a better companion for Carl than his father, Rick? Plus, there’s a random old guy thrown in just cuz!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Rick and Douglas were released as a two-pack in the 6th series of The Walking Dead Minimates. This series is loosely based around the “Alexandria” arc from around issue 75.

CONSTABLE RICK GRIMES

“Arriving with his fellow survivors at the walled compound known as The Community, Rick was offered the role of constable, due to his police experience.” Rick has had his fair share of looks over the courses of the series. Generally, he got more and more haggard as the series progressed. The “Alexandria” arc functioned as a bit of a factory reset for Rick, bringing him (mostly) back to where he’d been at the start of the series. It’s a nice change of pace, but, to no one’s surprise, it doesn’t last long. Still, it’s an important look for a number of reasons, and it makes for a Rick that stands out from the pack. Rick is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation. Spoilers if you haven’t made it past the first 20 or so issues of a series that’s well past 100: Rick loses a hand, hence the one missing point of articulation. Rick makes use of the standard body, with a bandaged stump in place of the right hand, as well as sculpted add-ons for the hair, coat, tie, and boot holster. The holster is a new piece, and it works pretty well, though it does lead to an uneven stance. The rest of the pieces a re-used. The coat and hair are from the Series 1 Rick, the bandage is from the TRU exclusive Survivor Rick, and the tie first saw use on the boxed set based on the movie version of The Spirit. Don’t hold its origins against it! All of these are well sculpted pieces that work very nicely for the desired look. Technically, the bandage shouldn’t be over the coat sleeve, but it’s a nice enough piece that I don’t mind. Rick’s paint is pretty good.  Everything is nice and cleanly applied for the most part. There’s a little bit of slop at the top of the tie, and around the coat collar, but other than that it looks really nice. The detail lines are all nice and sharp. I really like that Rick’s face is just a happier, slightly older, clean-shaven version of the Series 1 Rick. Rick includes a small revolver that fits in his ankle holster, and a clear display stand.

DOUGLAS MONROE

“Douglas, a former congressman, was acting leader of The Community when Rick and his fellow survivors arrived, and he welcomed their help.” Douglas was a fairly minor character in the context of the series as a whole, but he was important to the “Alexandria” arc, so it’s nice that they included him. Douglas is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. The figure uses the basic Minimate body, with an additional piece for his jacket. The jacket piece is a re-use from the Back to the Future “Enchantment Under the Sea” Marty, which has since been re-used on countless other figures. It’s a good basic suit jacket, so it works well. Everything else on Douglas is done with paint, and it’s done superbly. The basic colors are all nice and clean, and the detail lines are nothing short of amazing. He has pinstripes on his shirt which continue all around the torso, and the shirt and pants have a surprising amount of folds and creases depicted. He also got a belt that goes all the way around, and his face is the spitting image of his comic appearance. Douglas includes a spare set of arms done up to match his torso, with pinstripes and everything, as well as a handgun and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Rick and Douglas from Cosmic Comix, my local comicbook store. Initially, I had only planned to pick up Carl to go with the small selection of characters I had from the first two series, but for whatever reason, this Rick figure appealed to me. Actually having the figures and playing around with them, Rick may very well be my favorite version of the character so far, but the biggest surprise for me is how much I like Douglas. He’s not the most exciting character, and the figure had the potential to be rather boring, but Diamond really brought their A game to this figure, resulting in a top quality figure. While I can’t say these have necessarily pulled me back in the line (the next series is supposed to be based on the storyline that got me to stop reading), I will say I’ll probably pick up the occasional set from here out, and I might even go back and get some of the sets I missed.

#0390: Carl Grimes & Burning Zombie

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

CARL GRIMES & BURNING ZOMBIE

WALKING DEAD MINIMATES

My relationship with The Walking Dead is a strained one. Shortly after discovering Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, I decided to track down a few of the other things he’d worked on. This of course led to The Walking Dead. I quite enjoyed it, for about 99 issues. Then, I read issue 100, and my interest in continuing reading stopped dead. This had the unfortunate side effect of turning me off of the line of comic-based Minimates just two series in, meaning I missed out on a few of the principle characters. But there was one character I knew I couldn’t miss: Carl.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Carl and the Burning Zombie were released in Series 6 of The Walking Dead Minimates. I know that there was originally meant to be a TRU series to go along with this one, but TRU backed out, leading to a bit of consolidation. I can’t remember if Carl was always in the main series or not, but he was released and that’s what counts.

CARL GRIMES

“Rick’s son, Carl had trouble adjusting to life inside The Community, and when their defenses were breached, he lost an eye trying to escape.” Carl is easily the most important character to still be unrepresented in this line. This was an issue that was noted pretty much from the start, though. In the initial 15 or so Minimates DST showed off when they confirmed the license, Carl was nowhere to be seen. As it turns out, Diamond was just waiting til they were certain they could get him right. Carl is around 2 ¼ inches in height and he features 10 points of articulation. Carl uses the standard Minimate body as a starting point, but he features a special set of lower arms and legs to give him a smaller, more childlike appearance, as well as sculpted add-ons for his hat/hair, backpack, and belt/holster. The arms and legs were first used on for the Thunderkittens from Thundercats. They provide a slight change in height and stature, at the expense of the articulation in the wrists and ankles. It’s not a perfect tradeoff, but it’s reasonable enough, and it provides enough of a difference to make it worthwhile. All of Carl’s sculpted pieces are re-use: the hat and holster are from Series 1’s Rick Grimes, and the backpack is from TRU Series 1’s Glenn. Since the hat is meant to actually be Rick’s the reuse is sensible, and the bag and holster are pretty good pieces. Carl’s paintwork is pretty good. All of the basic work is clean and well applied. The detail lines are also pretty great. I love that he’s got a Science Dog t-shirt. The face seems a bit too old for Carl, though. The cheekbone lines age him. Not terribly so, but it doesn’t look quite right. Carl is well accessorized; he includes an extra bandaged head, a hairpiece (re-used from Series 2’s Sailor Zombie), a handkerchief, a coat with an extra set of sleeved arms to match, a rifle, a handgun, a flashlight, and a clear display stand. The bandaged head is actually a bit better than the regular. For some reason, he looks younger. Don’t know why.

BURNING ZOMBIE

“Survival Tip: While not an effective way to kill a walker, fire is a good way to dispose of fallen corpses, a breeding ground for disease.” Burning Zombie is yet another basic zombie. Like the shoulder Zombie, I feel certain this one is based on a specific Zombie from the comics, but I don’t have an extensive enough knowledge of the series to know exactly where it comes from. It’s a pretty standard Zombie, though.  The Burning Zombie is about 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. The figure is built out of the typical Minimate parts, with an additional piece for the flames. This piece previously saw use on the TRU exclusive Nova Flame Human Torch. It’s a good piece, and it’s well served to what they want to represent. Aside from that one piece, the figure really relies on paint. Fortunately, the paintwork is great on this figure. Everything is nice and clean and all the detail work is really sharp. The little details and texture on the zombie’s skin is outstanding, as is the detail work on the pants. Diamond continues to go the extra mile with their zombies in this line. The Burning Zombie includes a torch (presumably the one it was lit with) and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Carl and the Burning Zombie were acquired from my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix. I had passed on quite a few series of this line, but Carl proved to be enough to pull me back in, at least for a few sets from this series. It helps that Carl is one of the best figures in the line, and that he was packed with a pretty fantastic Zombie. I had a minor issue or two with Carl, but overall this was a tremendous set, an a fantastic showing for a pivotal character’s introduction into the line!

#0380: Shoulder Zombie

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

SHOULDER ZOMBIE

WALKING DEAD MINIMATES

ShoulderZombie1

When it comes to Minimates, Marvel Minimates is consistently the flagship line. Generally, there has always been at least one other line that takes the spot of “Strong second,” however exactly what line that is has changed over the years. Upon its introduction, The Walking Dead Minimates line took this spot. The line has cooled down a bit since its launch, but it’s still going pretty strong overall. Today, I’ll be taking a look at one of the line’s Zombies, dubbed the Shoulder Zombie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ShoulderZombie2The Shoulder Zombie was released in the fourth series of Walking Dead Minimates. He was included both with Alice and Prison Suit Lori, depending on which set you got. Every zombie in the line is based on a specific zombie from the comics. That being said, I’m not up enough on The Walking Dead to know exactly where this one comes from. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. The figure makes use of the standard Minimate body with a unique torso in place of the regular one. The new torso has been specially sculpted to show the gruesome shoulder wound from which the figure gets its name. It’s a pretty good piece, though it’s been noticeably toned down for the figure. This is understandable, but it’s a little bit gummy when compared to the (painted) extension of the wound present on the face. The rest of the figure is handled with paint, and it’s all done really nicely. There’s no real issues with bleed over or slop, and there’s some truly impressive detail work, especially on the face. I really love how they eyes are going two different directions. The Shoulder Zombie’s lone accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, why, you might ask, do I have just the Shoulder Zombie and neither of the complimentary pack ‘mates? Here’s why: when I placed my order with Luke’s Toy Store for Series 57 of Marvel Minimates, I decided to take advantage of a rather cool thing the store offers. See, they have a pretty great selection of loose Minimates, which I’ve ordered from before. But, they also offer the chance to buy a “Mystery ‘mate”, which could conceivably be any Minimate in existence. I decided to take a chance, and this is the one I got. All said, it could have been much worse. It’s not a figure I would have tracked down on my own, but having it in hand, it’s fun enough that I don’t regret the purchase in the slightest.

#0314: Atlas

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

ATLAS

PORTAL 2 (NECA)

Atlas

I’m not much of a video gamer. It’s not to say I don’t enjoy playing them, but I’m not devoted like some. One of the big things that does pull me into a game is multiplayer capability and cooperative modes. One of the best Co-op modes in recent years has to be Portal 2, which really hits home the need for the players to, you know, cooperate. My brother Christian and I had a great time playing through the game, and we both wanted a set of the figures based on the Co-op mode’s stars, Atlas and P-Body. Christian’s already taken a look at his set, and now it’s time for me to look at mine. I looked at P-Body yesterday, now let’s look at the other half of this dynamic robotic duo, Atlas!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AtlasWilsonAtlas was released in tandem with P-Body in the second series of Portal 2 figures from NECA. Atlas is a little shorter than P-Body at just over 7 inches tall and he features 15 points of articulation. Possibly more, but it’s a bit hard to tell with this figure. I’m hesitant to move some pieces, given the fragility of the design. Just like P-Body, Atlas features an all-new sculpt. It looks like a pretty straight recreation of Atlas’s design from the game. All the details look spot on, which is really great. Again, like P-Body, the sculpt and design lead to some decreased articulation, which is annoying, but comes with the territory. The design of the lower legs and feet also makes Atlas a bit wobbly, so he has a tendency to shelf dive. The paintwork on Atlas is all pretty clean. There’s a few areas of fuzzy lines, and a few small instances of bleed over, but overall it looks pretty good. Atlas adds a light up feature to the list of traits shared with P-body. Atlas’s light seems a bit dimmer than P-Body’s, which seems more accurate to the game. Still not something I see being left on long term, but cool nonetheless. Atlas also includes a portal gun, which has been detailed with blues to match Atlas’s color scheme and lights up a nice purple color.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Atlas was part of a set with P-Body, which I purchased from Big Bad Toy Store. Even though I’m ususally the second player, aka P-Body, I have to admit I think Atlas features the better design. It just seems to work a bit better. The figure is a very nice representation of that design. Stability issues aside, it’s a pretty great figure, certainly worth the purchase if you’re a fan of the game.

Atlas&P-Body

#0313: P-Body

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

P-BODY

PORTAL 2 (NECA)

P-Body

Guest reviews are still something I’m getting used to on this site, I must say. I’ve had them for a little while, but for the most part Tim and Christian have their own interests separate from mine. Believe it or not, there’s some cross over, which means, occasionally, one of them will own a figure I do. This creates the issue of duplicate reviews, an issue I’m facing today. See, Christian and I received our Atlas and P-Body figures at the same time. He was very excited about them and asked if he could do some guest reviews. Obviously, I obliged. I also didn’t want to steal his thunder, so I pushed my own reviews back a little. Thing is, I don’t really know that I have any new ground to cover here, so I’ve actually been pushing these two back for over a month. I’ve finally given in, so here goes. Let’s start with P-Body.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

P-BodyWilsonP-Body was released as part of what I’d guess you’d call the second series of Portal 2 figures from NECA. According to Christian, P-Body’s a girl, which seems weird to me, but I guess if you have to assign genders to inanimate objects, P-Body could be a “girl.” P-Body is about 7 ½ inches tall and features 17 points of articulation. The sculpt is totally unique to P-Body, and I believe it may have been built from a 3D model of the character. Everything looks pretty much spot-on to the design from the game, so that’s all pretty good. The sculpt does limit what you can do with the articulation, but that’s not too surprising, given the design and scale. P-Body’s paint seems to be pretty clean over all. There’s a fuzzy line here or there, but nothing too bad. P-Body has a light-up feature. By pushing the button the figure’s back, you can enable the light up eye, which will stay-on until the button is pushed again. It seems just a tad bright to look right, plus it’s battery powered, so I can’t see many people leaving it on long term. Still, it’s a cool feature. P-Body includes a portal gun, painted to match the figure. It also lights up, via the same type of mechanism.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got P-Body as part of a set with Atlas online. Christian had found P-Body at Toys R Us and was wanting an Atlas, so I ordered the set so we could both save on shipping. So, yeah…

Anyway, I was always second player, so I suppose I can kind of connect with P-Body. It’s a pretty great translation of the design to action figure form, and for $25 it’s pretty much a win!

#0268: Ophidian Squad Soldier

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

OPHIDIAN SQUAD SOLDIER

POWER LORDS (FOUR HORSEMEN)

PowerSoldier2

Once again, I’ll be taking a look at the Four Horsemen’s recent revival of the 1980s toyline Power Lords. Today’s figure isn’t based on one of the figures from the vintage line, but is a new design created by the Four Horsemen to allow for some parts re-use between the figures: The Power Soldiers! The Power Soldiers are an army builder, built on the same base as lead character Adam Power. This time around, it’s the Ophidian Squad Soldier!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Ophidian Squad Soldier is part of the third set of pre-release of Power Lords, and is the third deco of this particular figure. Like the rest of the Power Lords line, the Soldier was available through the Four Horsemen’s online store. The figure stands about 3 ¾ inches tall and features 23 points of articulation (the extra point comes from the neck joint, to allow it to be swappable). The figure features a quality sculpt, just like Lord Power. In fact, from the waist down, he and Lord Power share all the same pieces. The torso and arms feature a nicely detailed sculpt to match the detailing on the legs. He also features a head sculpt, shared with all the basic Power Soldiers. It’s a really cool sculpt, with a neat featureless visor. The Power Soldiers were designed to be a less expensive item than the regular series figures, so the paint on the Ophidian Squad Soldier is basic. He’s molded in a dark blue plastic, with paint on his visor, logo on his torso, and his belt. It’s all cleanly applied, and the blue looks quite nice. He actually bares more than a passing resemblance to the vintage Cobra Commander design, which isn’t a bad thing. The Ophidian Squad Soldier features a staff and a rifle, which are the same ones included with Lord Power, but this time cast in dark blue.

PowerLords PowerSoldierWilson

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I ordered the Ophidian Squad Soldier at the same time I pre-ordered Lord Power. I had actually been meaning to pick up one of the Power Soldiers since the first “pre-release” came out, but I kept missing the sales. So, when I was ordering Lord Power and saw that this guy was still in stock, I decided to go for it. He’s a fun figure, aside from the same hip limitation that plagued Lord Power. If the Four Horsemen could make a change to the base body, that would improve the figures greatly.

#0257: Private Hudson vs Xenomorph Warrior

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

PRIVATE WILLIAM HUDSON & XENOMORPH WARRIOR

ALIENS (NECA)

HudsonVsXeno3

It’s no secret to those who follow this site that I think the movie Aliens is one of the greatest movies ever made. As a toy collector, I want toys from just about everything, even bad movies! Heck, I even bought a bunch of the figures from James Cameron’s Avatar, before I came to my senses and sold them all off. So, it stands to reason that I would want all the toys imaginable from the greatest movie of all time, right? Well, that’s where things get tricky. See, there’s been a few toys here and there from the movie over the years, but a lot of them weren’t that great or they were solely focused on the aliens themselves. I don’t watch the movie for the aliens, I watch it for the awesome characters standing up to the aliens!

HudsonVsXenoI was thrilled beyond belief when NECA announced that they were making a line of Aliens figures and the humans would be one of the focuses. So far, we’ve only gotten two of the marines, but Bishop’s on his way in Series Three and NECA’s already confirmed that Riley should be showing up in one of the series after that.

NECA is a slightly smaller toy company, which means there can end up being quite a wait from series to series of a line. So, to keep the momentum going on Aliens, they’ve released three two-packs, scattered between the main releases. The two-packs re-use parts and tend to be re-releases of previously seen characters. Today, I’ll be looking at Private Hudson facing off against a Xenomorph that’s a little worse for wear!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair was released as a two-pack outside of the regular Series structure. It’s the third of the two-packs NECA has done for its Aliens line. These two were originally meant to bridge the gap between Series One and Two, but due to delays, they ended up coming out a little ways after Series Two, which actually makes for a nice bridge between Two and Three.

PRIVATE WILLIAM HUDSON

HudsonScreamingThis is Hudson’s second figure in the Aliens line. Both figures so far have depicted Hudson after the initial attack on the alien hive, as denoted by the bandage on his left arm. The Series One version of Hudson depicted him immediately after the attack, but this one depicts him as he appears in the last third of the film, when the aliens are attacking the remaining marine forces. The big difference is that Hudson has his helmet and his game face. He’s ready to fight. Hudson stands about 7 inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. From the neck down, the figure is more or less identical to the Series One release. So, I’ll be focusing on the new head sculpt. The big change is the addition of a helmet, a piece that was woefully from the Series One marines. The helmet is different from the one used on the second Hicks figure. In the movie, Hudson has a cover on his helmet, so I’m glad to see NECA pay attention to this detail. The helmet also sits better on Hudson than it did on Hicks, which makes it look less doofy. That’s definitely a plus. The actual head is pretty decent. The screaming expression makes more sense here than it did on Hicks, as Hudson did tend to be the more reactive of the two. Hudson’s scream here is less a frightened one, and more a “come get some” yell, which is pretty much spot on to Hudson’s look during his last stand. The paint work on this figure is alright. The helmet exhibits the best work, with all of Hudson’s graffiti cleanly applied. The face is a bit messier, with some harsh cuts between his 5 o’clock shadow and the rest of his face, and a fairly messy hairline. It’s not bad overall, but it could be better. Hudson includes a shoulder lamp, a welder, and a pulse rifle, all the same as the regular release.

HudsonComparison Hicks&Hudson

XENOMORPH WARRIOR

XenoShotThis is the sixth version of the basic Xenomorph in the line. Like the last one, this one is another exploration of the “just got shot” look. He stands about 8 inches tall and features 38 points of articulation. The figure is mostly the same sculpt as all the previous Xenomorph figures, which is hardly a bad thing. It’s a great sculpt, so I think NECA should milk it for all it’s worth. The key difference is the addition of blast effects to the figure’s upper torso to simulate the effect of the Xeno being gunned down by one of the marines. It appears that these pieces have just been glued onto the basic body, with no real changes to the underlying structure. The new pieces seem to be sculpted well enough, although the larger one got smashed in the package, which makes it look a little…droopy. You know, one in ten….uhh never mind. The paint is the key part of pretty much every NECA Xeno release. In this case, the Xeno has been given brown highlights, similar to those on the Series One version. They seem to have been applied cleaner, which is a definite plus, but both the Series Two Xeno and the Xeno packed with Screaming Hicks have convinced me that Xenos just look better in blue. Also, the blood spurts on this figure are more dull than the neon greens on the previous shot-up Xeno, which I feel robs the figure of the needed pop.

XenosShot XenoComparison

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In contrast to the other two-packs NECA released, I fully intended to pick this set up from the moment it was announced. I felt the screaming expression and helmeted look were more key looks for Hudson, and I foolishly believed that the Brown Xeno look was superior. Interestingly, I actually ended up putting off purchasing this one a bit more than the other two. In the end, my opinion about Hudson turned out to be true. I’m going to have a rough time picking which version of the character will be staying on the shelf once more marines arrive, as both are great interpretations of him. The Xeno is a serviceable Xeno variation, I suppose. It’s not as cool as the exploding head version packed with Hicks, and I’m not the biggest fan of the brown, but I suppose it could be worse. All in all, a pretty good set, but not quite as exciting as I’d hoped it would be.

#0179: Daryl Dixon & Chopper

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

DARYL DIXON & CHOPPER

THE WALKING DEAD

It had a rocky start, but McFarlane’s The Walking Dead line is really becoming one of the better toylines around.  I recently looked at a few of the figures from series 5, and was quite impressed overall.  Today’s character is fan-favorite Daryl Dixon, who was actually one of the very first characters released in the line, way back in series 1.  However, that figure had more in common with Kevin Federline than it did the esteemed Mr. Dixon, so he was definitely one of the most requested re-dos.  McFarlane seems to be pulling out all the stops for Daryl, and went ahead and released him along with his distinctive chopper.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daryl and the Chopper were released as a boxed set, which is loosely serving as a supplement to series 5 of the main line.  Daryl stands about 5 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation (the box says 25, but it’s 27.  Perhaps McFarlane needs to work on their counting skills?).  Daryl has a brand new style of hip articulation for the line, and it’s definitely an improvement over the other figures.  Hopefully, McFarlane will be making this a standard feature.  The accuracy of Daryl’s headsculpt seems to be a matter of opinion, with some claiming it’s spot on and others claiming it’s totally off.  I fall somewhere in between;  it’s not a perfect likeness, but it’s obviously Norman Reedus.  The rest of the figure’s sculpt is tremendous.  All of the clothing has the appropriate textures and such, and it really looks like a real person.  The paintwork is pretty good.  There’s no real slop, and there’s some dry-brushing and washes that help bring out the sculpted textures.  Daryl includes a knife that can be sheathed and his trusty crossbow, which has three removable arrows.  There are slots for four arrows, so I may have been shorted one.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

The Chopper is more an accessory to Daryl than its own item, but the work put into it is still top notch.  The bike is about 4 inches tall and 6 inches long, and it has movement in four places.  The sculpt is nothing short of amazing.  All the parts line up correctly, and it’s perfectly scaled to Daryl.  The tires are even real rubber, which is a cool touch.  The paintwork is exceptional, which plenty of texturing and weathering, as well as the appropriate logos and such.  The license plate even has realistic wear, so it really looks like it’s been through an apocalypse.  The Chopper includes two bags that can be set on the back, as well as a small stand to allow it to be displayed on the shelf without the kickstand down.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up from Amazon, back when it was up for pre-order.  I honestly only picked it up for Daryl, but the Chopper is amazing piece of work, and shouldn’t be overlooked.  Overall, this continues the upturn in quality from McFarlane, which is definitely cool to see.  I can’t wait for the next series!

#0177: XLR8

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

XLR8

BEN 10

Ben 10. Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in quite some time…

Ben 10 was one of those shows I was very interested in at first, but started to drift from after a few episodes. I don’t really know why. It wasn’t a bad show, I just started routinely missing it. Nevertheless, I had the action figures, because those alien designs were pretty cool. Today I’ll be looking at the resident speedster: XLR8. Isn’t that a clever name?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

XLR8 was released as part of the second assortment of Bandai’s Ben 10 line. He has 8 (wow a whole 8!) points of articulation and stands roughly 3 ½ inches tall. He’s a Bandai America figure, so he was in the 3 ½ inch Ben 10 line, meaning every single figure in the line was 3 ½ inches tall, regardless of relative height to each other. Oh the joys of Bandai. The 8 points of articulation allow you to put him in a standing pose and…. Yeah that’s about it. There are no other poses. The figure’s sculpt isn’t terrible, but it’s not quite on model to the animation either. Most noticeably, the upper legs look pretty off, almost like kangaroo legs. The tail has been sculpted in a position that looks good with almost no poses, so there’s that I suppose. The figure’s paint work is okay, but there are a few spots with fuzzy paint masks or bleed over. He also had random black spots various places, even when brand new. The figure includes a removable mask, which actually is pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was acquired using a gift card I got for Christmas one year, I believe. I remember I quite liked XLR8’s design on the show, and IU was very definitely looking forward to the figure. As with almost all Bandai figures I own, I remember liking the figure when I got it, but now I have no idea why. They just aren’t very good toys, truth be told. It’s a shame too, because some of the Ben 10 designs really would make cool toys if handled properly.