Tag Archives: Funko

#1363: Tyrion Lannister

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

TYRION LANNISTER

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION (FUNKO)

Bet you weren’t expecting to see another Game of Thrones review.  Or maybe you were, given my tendency to time reviews up with current happenings, like, for instance the season premier of a TV show.    When it comes to GoT, the best figures are still those from Funko’s sadly short-lived Legacy Collection.  I’ve looked at one of each of the characters presented by that line, but I hadn’t yet tackled the handful of variants offered for both Dany and Tyrion.  Today, I take a look at another Tyrion, because you can never have too many Tyrions!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tyrion was part of Series 1 of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection.  He’s figure 2 in the set, a number he shares with the prior Tyrion I reviewed.  The last Tyrion I looked at was the Walgreens-exclusive Hand of the King version of Tyrion; this figure is the basic Series 1 release, which depicts him in his armor he’s seen wearing towards the ends of Seasons 1 and 2.  I don’t find it to be quite as essential a look for Tyrion as the prior figure, but it’s still an important version of the character, I suppose.  Like the prior figure, this figure stands roughly 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  On the plus side of things, the articulation, particularly the elbows, of this figure offers a better range than the Hand of the King figure.  Given he’s supposed to be more “battle-ready” than his counterpart, this is pretty sensible.  As with the other Tyrion, this figure sports one of the best sculpts in the line.  The head is the same one used on the Hand of the King figure, meaning it has a solid Dinklage likeness.  The body is unique, and has some tremendous detail work, especially on the armor.  It’s a shame that we never got any other characters in the King’s Landing armor, because it really would have been nice to see this detail at a larger scale.  Regardless, it’s a truly impressive sculpt.  The paintwork on the figure is largely pretty solid work overall, with one small set of issues.  The work on the armor is really sharp, with the base colors being super clean, and the weathering and the like on top of them offering a nice bit of realism.  The only real issue is with the head; for whatever reason, the color choices for his hair, skin, and stubble make this figure look less like Peter Dinklage than the Walgreens variant.  Minor changes that make for a rather different look.  It’s amazing what effect a color palette can have on something.  Tyrion is packed with a battle axe, which is a slightly more impressive extra than the small dagger included with the last figure.  That being said, it’s really a shame that the regular release didn’t also include the helmet that came with the SDCC variant, since it was already tooled and everything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up the Hand of the King Tyrion, I really hadn’t planned on getting this guy.  I was really trying to just go with one of each character for this line, as I had high hopes for the smaller-scale line Funko launched last year.  Sadly, that line was middling at best, and it doesn’t appear it will be moving any further forward.  So, I was kind of jonesing for some more GoT stuff.  When I found this guy at Half-Priced Books just outside of Seattle earlier this summer, he was enough to tide me over, I suppose.  The other Tyrion is still my preferred version of the character, but there’s no denying that this guy’s a super fun figure.

#1256: Kaylee Frye

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

KAYLEE FRYE

FIREFLY: LECACY COLLECTION (FUNKO)

Okay, remember several months ago, when I reviewed three of the five Funko Firefly: Legacy Collection figures, and I noted in my Zoe review that, while Wash is my favorite character, Zoe’s a close second?  Well, if I’m being totally honest, Zoe does sort of share that close second spot with one other crew member: Kaywinnet Lee Frye, better known as Kaylee, Serenity’s ever cheery mechanic.  Just like it’s hard not to love Wash in all his goofiness, it’s hard not to love Kaylee’s downright genuine  enthusiasm and trust of others, especially in a show as jaded as Firefly.  Kaylee made her way into the world of action figures as part of Funko’s ReAction line, but that figure was…less than stellar.  On the plus side, she got another stab at action figure greatness not too long after, courtesy of the larger Legacy Collection.  Let’s see how that one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kaylee is figure #3 in the Firefly: Legacy Collection, which puts her between Jayne and Wash numerically.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and has 26 points of articulation.  The Legacy Kaylee is based on the same basic look as the smaller ReAction figure; it’s her standard sleeveless jumpsuit with a colorful shirt beneath it look, which she sported quite frequently on the show. It’s also an exact match for the what she was wearing in the promotional pictures, meaning she matches up with all of the other Legacy figures except for Mal in that respect.  Kaylee’s sculpt is fairly decent.  She’s definitely better than Mal, and more in line with the Wash and Zoe figures.  She’s a little closer to Wash, really, being a bit more on the cartoony side.  It’s not quite as drastic, but she’s definitely got a bit of stylization going on.  That being said, Kaylee still fairs quite a bit better here than she did on the smaller figure.  The head presents a passable likeness of Jewel Staite, and she’s got a nice, friendly smile.  Her features seam a touch more angular than they are in real life, but it’s rather minor.  The body sculpt has reasonable proportions, and she actually looks like a real person, so that’s good.  The details on her clothes are pretty solid; this is definitely an area where she goes just a bit more cartoony, but it actually doesn’t look bad at this scale.  Kaylee’s paintwork is mostly pretty good.  The colors all look to be appropriate matches, and there’s even a wash over most of the sculpt, to help accentuate some of the sculpt’s details.  Even her eyes are actually pretty decent, which is a nice change compared to the others in this set.  Truth be told, I think Kaylee’s the best painted Legacy figure I’ve picked up.  Like her smaller scale counterpart, Legacy Kaylee includes a wrench.  On the plus side, this figure can actually hold it.  Progress!  I wouldn’t have minded something else, since the wrench is really small.  Could they really not throw one of those cheap parasols that you get in drinks or something?  Guess I’ll just have to supply my own…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like all of the figures in this set, I passed on Kaylee when she was new.  And then I passed on her for half-price from Think Geek, mostly due to just going for the parity presented by Wash and Zoe.  I had thought about grabbing her from Movie Stop when they were going under, but by the time I got there, all they had left was Mal.  Ultimately, I ended up getting her from the Farpoint Charity Auction.  Not only was she a good deal, the money also went to a good cause, which always makes me feel even better.  I’m glad I finally got around to getting her, because she’s actually a really nice figure.  Funko’s stuff is still very uneven, but when they get it right, they get it right.  *sigh* I guess I need to get around to buying a Jayne now.  Here’s to having the same incomplete Firefly crew in TWO scales!

#1205: Greg Universe & Watermelon Steven

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

GREG UNIVERSE & WATERMELON STEVEN

STEVEN UNIVERSE: PINT SIZE HEROES (FUNKO)

watermelonsteven3

Hey, let’s mix things up a bit and look at something a little different from the usual.  A few months back, Super Awesome Girlfriend introduced me to Steven Universe, and I’m almost all the way caught up now.  I gotta say, I’ve really enjoyed the show quite a bit, and I really like a lot of the character designs.  As of right now, there aren’t any proper action figures from the show (which is a shame, because I would buy a good number of them).  However, Funko has the license (because why wouldn’t they?  It’s a license that *exists*, so that falls under their usual category of coverage), and they’ve done the characters from the show in a few of their in-house styles/line.  One of they more recent lines is Pint Size Heroes, which just so happens to be the source of my first Steven Universe merch.  Today I’ll be looking at Steven’s dad Greg, as well as one of the Watermelon Stevens from the episodes “Watermelon Steven” and “Super Watermelon Island.”

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

watermelonsteven4These two are both part of the first series of Funko’s Steven Universe: Pint Size Heroes, and they come blind-bagged.  There are a few store-exclusive figures in the set, but Greg and Melon Steven are both regular releases.  Greg is packed 1/12 and Steven is 1/24.  The two figures stand about an inch and a half tall (Steven’s got a little extra height, thanks to the hair) and the each have a cut joint at the neck.  They share the same body piece; it’s pretty simple, and looks a bit like a Russian nesting doll.  The only real discernible detail is the presence of arms on either side.  The two are topped off by unique head sculpts (well, unique in terms of this review; Steven’s head is shared with all the other Stevens in the set).  Steven’s head is the stronger, since his design is already a bit closer to the style, but Greg’s sculpt watermelonsteven2certainly captures the important parts of the character.  The rest of the details are rendered via paint.  Greg’s is the slightly more complex paint job.  It’s pretty decent overall; you can make out his tank top and cut-off jeans, and even his slight farmer’s tan (side note: how does he keep that going?  We almost never see him in anything but this exact outfit, and yet he’s perpetually got the outline of a t-shirt we’ve never seen him in).  The mouth is a little weird, and the eyes seem just a bit too far apart to me, but it’s clear who he’s supposed to be.  Steven’s paint is a bit more simplistic, but I also think it’s the stronger work.  The greens go well together, and they’re pretty evenly applied, so that’s good.  Also, the eyes work better on this figure, since the Watermelon Stevens just had black dots for eyes anyway, thus requiring less translation.  The mouth is a cool touch, and I really like the little spots inside to indicate the texture.  Neither of these two came with any extras (nor do any of the other figures in the line, for what it’s worth).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, back on our anniversary, I got Super Awesome Girlfriend a stuffed Lion and grabbed one of these Pint Size Heroes at random.  They all come with a little foldout showing the rest of the figures in the set, and she’s spent the last month dead-set on collecting them all (I’ve created a mooooonnnnsterrrrr!).  Of course, with them being blind-bagged, that means a good deal of extras.  While most of the extras have gone to another friend of hers, I got dibs on Greg and Watermelon Steven, since Greg’s my favorite character and “Super Watermelon Island” is one of my favorite episodes.  They’re not my usual thing, but they’re still a lot of fun.  Now, if I could just get some proper action figures, that’d be great.

#1179: The Wall (w/ Tyrion)

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

THE WALL DISPLAY (w/ TYRION LANNISTER)

GAME OF THRONES (FUNKO)

thewall1

Oh no!  It’s Friday AND it’s Day 13 of the post-Christmas reviews.  Someone’s probably gonna die.  Well, as long as I review something safe and—Game of Thrones you say?  Someone’s *definitely* gonna die!

Yes dear readers, Winter has officially arrived here, and I’m taking a look at yet another Game of Thrones item.  But this time, it’s something slightly different.  I’ve looked at two figures from Funko’s new Game of Thrones line and had a so-so reaction to them.  However, the cornerstone of this new line isn’t the figures, but rather Funko’s ability to take advantage of the line’s smaller scale to provide some playsets—sorry, displays— to go with the figures.  The first series of figures were all based around The Wall, so it’s not a huge surprise that the first large scale display is the aforementioned Wall, which I’ll be looking at today!

THE PLAYSET ITSELF

thewall4The Wall hit stores a couple of months after the first series of smaller-scale Game of Thrones figures. It was initially supposed to hit at the same time, but had a few delays, which pushed it back to mid-November.  The Wall comes disassembled in the package, but when put together, it’s about 15 inches tall, 11 1/2 inches wide, and is about 10 inches deep.  Right off the bat, I need to note that, while you are expected to assemble this set yourself, there are no instructions included.  Usually, this isn’t an issue, but there’s a very specific order to how the structure at the top goes together, which meant I had to assemble, take apart, and re-assemble it several times before getting it right.  And even then, the stability of the structure is a little iffy, which can definitely lead to some doubts about whether you assembled it correctly.  For what it’s worth, you want to place the two beam sets closest to the outside wall first, with the straight beam to the back.  Then place the rafters in, followed by the reverse beam sets, one side at a time.  Then, once everything is properly popped into place, slide in the floors, and you should be could to go.  Be careful if you move the set, though, as the beams have a tendency to pop out of place, and they’re a real pain to get popped back the right way.  Assembly aside, how is the actual set?  Well, clearly it’s not the entire Wall, just a chunk of it.  It’s not really a direct match for any particular section of the Wall either, but more of an approximation of several elements.  It’s also filtered through a sort of an ‘80s playset sort of style, which sort of matches with the style of the smaller figures, but is definitely an acquired taste.  The front of the Wall is designed to offer little ledges to stand figures on.  There are eight leveled off spots, each with their own foot peg.  The effect isn’t awful, and the rock/ice detailing on the Wall helps the ledges blend in a bit.  There are another 11 pegs on the base of the wall, which are a bit more obvious, and also quite a bit more randomly placed.  In an effort to thewall3camouflage them a bit, Funko’s added several arrows and a pair of swords buried in the snow.  It’s definitely a nice touch, and one that adds a little bit of extra pizzaz to the set.  There are another six foot pegs up at the top of the Wall on the wooden floors, which brings the total count of foot pegs up to 25 (the back of the package states “displays up to 25 3 3/4” action figures!,” but it’s really just referring to how many pegs there are; you’d have quite a bit of difficulty getting a figure on every one of those pegs).  The wood sections have some nice grain and texturing, though, as noted above, still passed through that ‘80s playset filter, so nothing hyper-realistic.  The actual wooden structure feels a bit under-scaled; while Tyrion looks fine standing up there, Tormund and Ygritte’s heads get cut off by the top.  Not a big deal, but slightly frustrating.  The back of the Wall is hollowed out, and if I’m totally honest, this feels like a big missed opportunity.  About half of the space taken up by this set is completely unused.  If they were just going for a vague approximation of the Wall anyway, it would have been cool to get a scaled down version of the elevator or even a small section of Castle Black.  That would have given this set a lot more play value.  On the plus side, the clear blue plastic and slight misting of white paint over it makes for an interesting looking set, and approximates ice very well.  The Wall includes three barrels, which are nice little set pieces, as well as…

TYRION LANNISTER

thewall8…Tyrion!  Tyrion is this set’s exclusive figure.  He’s sort of an odd choice, since Tyrion didn’t spend a whole lot of time at Castle Black, and even less time on the Wall.  There would probably be a number of other more appropriate characters, but, let’s be honest, Funko’s counting on Tyrion to help move this set, and he’s a big enough character that if the line continues we’re sure to see him again.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation.  He’s based on Tyrion’s Season 1 appearance, which is sensible, since that’s when he visited the Wall.  Tyrion is easily the best sculpted of the three figures I’ve gotten from this line.  He’s still a little goofy, but there’s a definite resemblance to Peter Dinklage on the head, and the body’s a fair bit better proportioned than Tormund and Ygritte. The cape is removable; pop the figure’s head off and is slides right off, revealing a pretty standard Season 1/Season 2 Tyrion, which is certainly much appreciated.  Tyrion’s paintwork is passable; nothing amazing, but it’s a bit more lively than the other two.  The gold leafing on his shoulders is a very nice touch, especially since it’s completely covered by the straps of the cloak.  Despite being essentially an accessory himself, Tyrion includes his own extra; a goblet.  This was easily the most glaring omission from his larger figure, so it’s nice to finally have a Tyrion who can drink and know things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this set from my parents.  It’s certainly the largest item I received (as evidenced by the non-standard backdrop).  I won’t lie, there’s a lot that this set could have done better.  It’s really not much more than a glorified figure stand.  The audience for this set is pretty much limited to people like me who enjoy both fun, goofy toys and Game of Thrones, which is, admittedly, not the largest audience.  Like the rest of this line, it’s hard to tell who this set is aiming to please.  That being said, I can’t help but enjoy it.  There’s a sort of Kenner-style flare to it that makes me all nostalgic, and if I’m completely honest, I’m just happy to get a playset in this day and age.

#1178: Robin

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

ROBIN

POP! HEROES

robinbtaspop1

On the twelfth day of post-Christmas reviews…I decided to review another Pop.  That’s a lyric from the slightly less popular version of the song.  Amazing how the songwriter predicted the Pop craze, though.  For today’s Pop-centric review, I’m taking a look at the first Pop line, Pop! Heroes, which began it’s life as a DC-themed line, but has expanded to include a few other heroes as it’s gone on.  I’m sticking to the DC side, though, and taking a look at the newest release of Batman’s old chum, Robin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

robinbtaspop2Robin is figure #153 in the Pop! Heroes line.  He’s the second figure in the Batman: The Animated Series subset and the fourth version of Robin (not counting variants).  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has an articulated neck (not being limited by the licensing restrictions that affect the Star Wars and Marvel lines).  Robin is sporting an all-new sculpt, which does its best to merge the stylings of B:TAS and the Pop! line.  It’s admittedly, not the easiest venture for Robin here, since the real differences between his comics and animated designs is one of simplicity.  Since all Pop! figures simplify the designs a bit, he has to rely more heavily on his other defining trait, his wacky hair, to make him notably different from the first Robin Pop!  Sadly, while the control art shown on the box gets the hair down perfectly, there’s something lost in translation on the final figure.  The hair ends up a lot rounder than it should be, and his spit curl is mashed into his forehead, giving it rather a different shape and eliminating his v-shaped hairline almost entirely.  It’s still a pretty solid Robin, but falls shy of being an Animated Robin.  On the plus side, the body fixes my major issue with the original Robin Pop!, which was the pose.  This one goes for a nice basic standing pose, full of heroic confidence, in contrast to the “argh, my back” pose of the original.  Paint on Robin is decent by Pop! standards, which is to say the colors are nice and bright, and the basic application is okay, but there are a lot of fuzzy lines and some slight bleed over here and there.  Nothing terrible or bad enough to ruin the figure, though. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Robin is the other of the two figures I got from my totally cool-tastic brother for Christmas.  It’s no secret that Loren Lester’s portrayal of Robin is my definitive take on the character and a large part of why I love Robin so much, and Christian’s no doubt heard me drone on about that more than once.  While this figure doesn’t quite live up to the control art on the box, I do still really like him, and I’m more than a little tempted to get the animated-style Batman to go with him!

#1177: K-2SO

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

K-2SO

POP! STAR WARS (FUNKO)

k2pop1

For Day 11 of the post-Christmas reviews, I’m going to be taking a look at the licensing juggernaut that is Funko Pop!  Even several years in, I still can’t say I fully understand this whole Pop! craze.  That being said, given that the line encompasses every conceivable license known to man, it’s not the sort of thing one can totally avoid. One of the most expansive licenses within the Pop! style is Star Wars, which is currently host to over 150 different Pops.  Nearer to the end of those 150 is today’s focus figure, K-2!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

k2pop2K-2SO is #146 in the Pop! Star Wars line.  He’s the second to last of the main Rogue One-themed Pops, fourth to last when you factor in the two Smuggler’s Bounty exclusives.  The figure is one of the taller Pops I own, standing 4 1/2 inches tall.  As a Star Wars Pop!, K-2 contractually can’t have any articulation, and is instead a bobble head.  You can get a little bit of movement out of the neck, but it’s not advisable, since you risk ruining the spring.  As far as the sculpt goes, K-2 is probably one of the best Pop! sculpts I’ve seen.  It helps that his design requires that he be a bit further removed from the usual Pop! elements. He already has big circular eyes and lacks a mouth, so he comes off a whole lot less creepy than the typical Pop!, and on top of that, his body is in a straight standing pose, rather than the odd crouch of some of the earlier figures.  I do have to admit, it’s slightly odd to see a K-2 figure that doesn’t have even the slightest hint of his hunched neck.  It’s not really something this style of figure allows for, so I guess I can understand the need for the change.  K-2’s sculpt features a great level of fine detail work, especially on the body; it’s good that they didn’t skimp on the sculpted elements there.  As far as paint, K-2 is fairly basic.  He’s mostly gunmetal grey, with some brighter silver here and there, and of course the white for his eyes.  The lack of any sort of weathering on this guy is a slight letdown, but not entirely outside of the style, so I can’t really complain.  K-2’s one accessory is a display stand (standard for the Star Wars Pops), which is definitely appreciated, since he can’t actually stand without it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

K-2SO was one of two figures I received from my totally cool-tastic brother this Christmas.  After seeing Rogue One, I pretty much wanted all things K-2, and this guy puts me one closer to completing that goal!  He’s actually not a bad little figure; he may not have the playability of some of the other K-2s, but he captures the spirit, and is definitely one of the better Pop figures out there!

#1167: Ripley, Power Loader, & Alien Queen

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

RIPLEY, POWER LOADER, & ALIEN QUEEN

ALIENS REACTION FIGURES (FUNKO)

ripleyloaderqueen1

Alright, here we are!  It’s a new year and a new round of post-Christmas gift reviews!  As is tradition, the first review of this round is an Aliens review.  Heck, it’s even an Alien Queen review!  This marks three in a row.  Why do I have so many Alien Queens?  It’s like I like the movie a lot or something….

You may have thought I’d looked at every possible version of the Alien Queen and the Power Loader available, but you’d be wrong.  No, there’s always another out there somewhere.  This time around, it comes from Funko and their line of ReAction Figures.  Let’s see how this set turned out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Ripley, the Power Loader, and the Queen were released as a three-pack, and are the first figures from the Aliens ReAction Figures line.  No follow-up figures have been announced as of yet, but here’s hoping that’ll change.

RIPLEY

ripleyloaderqueen3You can’t do an Aliens line without Ellen Ripley.  Okay, that’s not true.  Several lines have been done without Ripley.  But they weren’t any good, so I call party foul on them.  Funko actually got us our first Ripley figure in a good long while when the released the ReAction version from the first movie, so it’s not a huge shock that their doing her second movie look as well.  Ripley is seen here in her “rescue” look that she sports for the last 45 minutes or so of the movie, which is easily her most distinctive look from the film and is the one that matches up with the Loader as well.  This figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  She’s an all-new sculpt and it’s definitely one of the strongest sculpts I’ve seen from this line.  In fact, I think she may be my favorite.  She captures the Kenner style pretty well, but also gets all of the important details from the movie down.  She also doesn’t suffer from the overly straight arms and flattened chest that plagued so many of the ReAction items.  The likeness on the head isn’t the spitting image of Sigourney Weaver, but it’s close enough to the general look of the character that you won’t be left scratching your head wondering who it’s supposed to be.  Similar to the sculpt, the paint on this particular figure is pretty good for this line.  It’s pretty basic color work for the most part, but it’s all pretty clean, and, once again, it does a nice job of aping the style that they’re going for.  Ripley doesn’t include any extras, but that’s mostly because this set also includes…

POWER LOADER

…the Power Loader.  It’s marked as being a “figure” on the package, but that seems like an iffy definition at best, if I’m honest.  That being said, it’s made of plastic, vaguely humanoid, and features a whole 4 points of articulation, so I guess that’s as good as anything.  This Power Loader is notably a bit more rigid than prior versions, largely due to being tailored to fit a Kenner-style figure inside.  It also does seem a bit skinnier than it usually is depicted.  That being said, the sculpt is actually pretty decent.  Obviously, this isn’t going to be competing with the NECA version for accuracy, but it’s certainly more accurate than the original Kenner Loader, and at least on par with the Minimates version.  I’ve looked at a lot of Loaders in the last year or so, so it’s gonna be hard to “wow” me, but this one’s certainly not bad.  The paintwork is pretty much what you’d expect.  Once again, closer to the Minimate version that the NECA one, but all the important colors are there, which I suppose is the most important piece.

ALIEN QUEEN

ripleyloaderqueen2You know how I mentioned reviewing a lot of Power Loaders?  Well, the same holds true for the Alien Queen.  In fact, a bit more so.  Here’s another one, I guess.  This particular Alien Queen stands about 5 inches or so tall and is also about 5 inches wide, and she’s got 7 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this figure is…different.  It’s got the silhouette of the Queen down pretty well, but beyond that it takes more than a few liberties.  This kind of looks like the Queen if you squint, I guess.  It’s not bad, I suppose.  It looks somewhat similar to the basic Alien’s sculpt, so I guess there’s at least some consistency.  That being said, I don’t know that I’m getting the Kenner feel from this figure.  She just feels like she’s from another line entirely when compared to the included Ripley.  Not bad, but different enough to be noticeable.  The paint on the Queen is decent, but nothing particularly spectacular.  She’s mostly done up in this dark metallic grey.  Being somewhat nitpicky, the grey feels off for the Queen, who tends to be presented in bluish hues.  I feel I’d prefer the figure that way, but I don’t know.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was given to me for Christmas by my Grandmother, who does her very best to support my collecting habits.  I knew of this set’s existence prior to getting it, but hadn’t gotten around to picking it up, since I’ve got no shortage of Power Loaders and Alien Queens.  The Queen is the definite weak link here.  NECA’s incredibly amazing version has probably colored my opinion there, but it also doesn’t help that the *actual* Kenner Queen is far more exciting figure.  However, this set is totally worth it for the Loader and Ripley alone.  Nothing particularly new or ground breaking, but just a solid, fun toy.  Now, here’s hoping Funko gets around to some of the other cast members!

#1139: Ygritte

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

YGRITTE

GAME OF THRONES (FUNKO)

ygritte1

When I got into Game of Thrones this past spring, I got into the accompanying toys pretty hardcore (such a shock, right?)  Unfortunately, I caught up with all of the Legacy Collection figures available in just a few months, leaving me with pretty much nothing new to buy.  Just before I started collecting, Funko announced they would be moving Game of Thrones to their smaller 3 3/4-inch scale, and thus restarting the line.  I’m always a bit iffy about starting another scale (especially when it comes to Funko; I’ve got an incomplete Serenity crew in three different scales from them.  It makes them hard to trust), so I’ve been holding out to see what else they’d be offering.  So far I’ve picked up two figures from the new line: Tormund, who I reviewed a couple of months ago, and Ygritte, who I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ygritte2Ygritte is the second of the 9 figures that make up the first series of the smaller Game of Thrones line.  As I noted in my Tormund review, all of the figures in this first set are themed around The Wall (which is the first playset from the line).  Ygritte was one of the more demanded figures back when Funko was still doing The Legacy Collection, so it’s not a huge surprise to see her here as one of the anchor figures for the new line.  She stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation.  Ygritte’s movement is a little improved over Tormund, but still not anything near what we were getting from the Legacy figures.  There’s no way you’re getting her to hold her bow properly, that’s for sure.  Also like Tormund, Ygritte’s joints aren’t really worked into her sculpt in any real organic way; they’re just thrown wherever they may land, exposed, for the whole world to see.  In some ways, her sculpt is an improvement over Tormund, but in other ways it lags behind a bit.  The detailing on her clothes is a bit sharper, which is good.  She’s also got a better likeness on the head than Tormund.  It’s not perfect, but you can tell who she’s supposed to be.  Unfortunately, the head’s far too large for the body, which makes her look rather like a bobble-head, and drags the whole figure down a bit.  Ygritte’s paintwork is passable, I guess.  The basic details are all pretty decent, and the work on the clothing is definitely the standout work.  My figure has a slight mark on her forehead, which is slightly annoying, but not so bad that it totally ruined the figure.  Like Tormund, I do feel her hair could be a brighter red.  Ygritte includes a bow, but no separate arrows to hold.  The bow’s fine, but seems a little under-scaled, truth be told.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up Tormund, I wasn’t really sure I was going to get into this line.  And, if I’m totally honest, I can’t say Ygritte is one of my favorite characters from the show, so I wasn’t exactly expecting to pick this figure up.  But, then I ended up finding her at Goodwill for like $2 (the box was smashed to heck, but the figures was fine), and that was enough to push me into getting her.  I’m still not totally sold on this line, but Ygritte is a slight improvement over Tormund.  Perhaps future figures might pick up a bit?

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#1099: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY LEGACY COLLECTION

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If you had to pick a face of Firefly, I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s Malcolm Reynolds.  Despite the definite ensemble bent of the show, he was the captain, and he was front and center for pretty much everything.  As the “face,” Mal has been privy to by far the most action figures of any cast member, with a good seven of them under his belt.  As one of only two characters to get a figure (well, two, actually) from the criminally short-lived Serenity line back in 2005, he was already covered in the 6-inch scale, but Funko probably didn’t want to do Legacy without him (and I’m sure a good number of people never got the Serenity figures), so he found his way into that line too.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

mallegacy2Mal was figure #1 in the first series of Funko’s Firefly Legacy Collection.  That makes sense, what with him being the captain and all.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Or he would had my figure not broken.  Yep, after fairing alright with my Rocketeer, all of my GoT figures, and Wash and Zoe, Mal was my first official break from the Legacy line.  It was just a manner of time, I suppose.  While taking this guy out of the box, I apparently handled his right hand a little too roughly, and it fell off.  I can’t say I’m surprised, though, since his wrist pegs are thin, hollow, and made of clear plastic (the weakest plastic out there).  I’m not sure how this figure wouldn’t break.  That’s just very poor design.  Like most of the other figures in this set, Mal is sporting his look from the promotional images.  It’s a pretty straightforward look for Mal, what with the suspenders, red shirt, and signature brown coat.  Mal’s sculpt is…well, it’s something.  It’s definitely not as good as Wash or Zoe, or even any of the GoT figures.  I wouldn’t call it bad per se, but I can’t say I’d call it particularly good either.  He’s long and lanky, which isn’t necessarily wrong for Mal, but it’s handled in an odd sort of “this person wouldn’t be able to live” sort of way.  I’m not sure what’s going on with the hips, but it looks sort of like he broke one of them and is trying to hide the body cast in his pants.  His shoulders are quite narrow, which is emphasized by the slightly bow-legged stance of the figure and his inability to put his arms down all the way.  Then there’s the jacket, which I can’t tell if it’s too short or his legs are just too long, but something’s off about it.  It also sits rather clumsily on his shoulders, as if it was taken from another figure entirely.  The head is probably the figure’s strongest point, though even it’s a little strange.  From some angles, it’s a spot-on Fillion likeness, but from others he looks kinda like Michael J Fox.   The paint work on the figure is decent, I suppose.  The best work is probably the body, though it feels kind of murky and slapdash compared to the others.  The head has some okay work, but something about the eyes is just deeply disturbing.  Mal includes his usual revolver, as well as a larger rifle (different from the one included with Zoe).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Seeing as I already had the Serenity Mal, and I was hemming and hawing over Wash and Zoe to begin with, I was definitely not planning on getting this guy.  But then Movie Stop was going out of business, and this was one of the very last figures they had, and he was like $4.  And for that price, I figured he was worth a shot.  Between the strange sculpt, the iffy paint, and the fact that he broke right out of the box, I’m definitely glad I didn’t pay full or even half price for this guy.  I’d like to write this guy off as being an example of Funko’s inexperience in the field of action figures, but the other Legacy figures show they can make a very good figure when they want to.  I guess everyone needs a worst.  Man, this one was kind of a bummer…

#1098: Zoe Washburne

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

ZOE WASHBURNE

FIREFLY LEGACY COLLECTION

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If Wash is my favorite character in Firefly, then today’s focus, Zoe, is a very close second.  Zoe was one of those amazing female characters who was strong in her own right, but not without a few weaknesses to make her human.  Unrelenting in a fight, but not without compassion.  Deadly serious when she needed to be, but just as funny as any other member of the crew when the moment was right.  She’s probably the most “normal” of Serenity’s crew, but that never made her less interesting.  Zoe was awesome.  And awesome characters deserve awesome action figures.  So, does Zoe have an awesome action figure?  Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

zoeylegacy2Zoe was released as part of Funko’s first (and so far only) series of Firefly Legacy Collection figures.  Of the five figures released, she’s #5.  That seems sort of odd to me, since she’s second in command, and Gina Torres was second billed on the show.  Weird.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall (she’s a fraction of an inch shorter than Wash) and has 26 points of articulation.  Or she should.  My Zoe’s left elbow swivel is frozen, and given the breakage possibilities with these figures, I’m not pushing it.  Her hair also limits the range of motion on her neck joint, but that’s more or less expected, so I can’t really complain.  Zoe gets a brand-new sculpt, which I actually think turned out a fair bit better than Wash’s.  While his was good, there was a sort of cartoony-ness to it, that made him feel a little off.  Zoe, on the other hand, feels a lot closer to the GoT figures in terms of style, which I think is really great.  The likeness on the head isn’t a spot-on Gina Torres, but it’s very close, certainly close enough that you should easily be able to identify who this is supposed to be.  The rest f the body sports some pretty solid detail work from top to bottom, and I especially like how detailed her hair is.    Just all-around, this figure’s sculpt feels like a step up from the Wash figure, which is good.  The paint work on Zoe is pretty solid, too.  The basic application is all pretty clean.  There’s a bit of slop here and there, but it’s reasonable.  Her eyes are a little goofy looking too, but once again, not awfully so.  The clothing all has nice accent work, which does a lot to make the sculpt pop.  Zoe is packed with her faithful shotgun, as well as a smaller pistol, both of which fit nicely in the figure’s hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Zoe at the same time as Wash.  Like Wash, I was sort of putting off picking her up until I had some sort of confirmation of getting the rest of the cast.  When I found them for half price at Think Geek, it was enough to nudge me into getting both of them, since I was essentially getting them both for the price of one.  Zoe is the superior of the two figures, I think.  The sculpt is great, and so is the paint.  Maybe the movement could be a bit better, but she’s a really solid figure.  She is an awesome figure, befitting an awesome character.

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