Tag Archives: Hasbro

#1653: Taskmaster

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

TASKMASTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“An expert in mimicry, Taskmaster copies the stunts and skills of his opposition to beat them at their own game.”

To paraphrase Jeff Goldbloom “Uhhh, Hasbro, uhh, finds a way.”  What does that mean?  I’m glad you asked.  See, with long-running lines such as Marvel Legends, you will run into the need to update characters as the line’s style and quality improves.  Toy Biz went pretty deep with their original line-up, but 15 years after the fact, a lot of them are starting to look out of place.  The trouble is, that while some of the heavy hitters are an easy sell for re-do, it can be tricky to get retailers on-board for new versions of second and third-stringers.  So, Hasbro’s doing their best to tie-in with more current media, and get us new figures of old characters that way.  The trouble is, this often results in those characters wearing more recent, less fan-favorite costumes.  And if you’ve *just* gotten a figure of a lower tier character, it’s unlikely you’ll get another shot.  Right?  Well, Hasbro doesn’t seem to think so, if the two Taskmasters in the space of three years are anything to go by.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Taskmaster is figure 4 in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the third, and final, comic-based figure in the assortment.  Where the last Taskmaster was based on his up-to-date-iest look, this one goes for Taskmaster’s classic design, which is sensible, seeing as he’s spent most of his career with it.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Bucky Cap body.  There was some campaigning to get him on the Reaper body instead, but I don’t mind this one, and it matches what was used for the last Taskmaster figure.  Taskmaster uses the flared boots and gloves like we saw on Zemo (amongst others), which are as good here as they have been all the prior times. He’s also got a (partially) new head sculpt, and add-ons for his cape, belt, and leg straps.  So, how’s the head only partially new?  Well, the actual head part is new (though, as a few others have pointed out, it does appear to be at least patterned on the head from Red Onslaught, which, coincidentally, was the piece included with the last Taskmaster), while the hood is re-purposed from the skull-styled head from the first Taskmaster.  I’m honestly a little surprised that they didn’t just straight re-use the last figure’s head, but I can’t say I’m upset.  While the belt is re-used from the prior figure, the cape and both leg straps are new to this particular figure.  The cape is a very nice piece, and I’m not going to be at all surprised to see it show back up later down the line.   The right leg strap finally gives us a new leg holster for the Bucky Cap bod, so we can retire that one with all the pouches, while the left matches perfectly with the weird studded thing Taskmaster had in his first appearance.  The color work on Taskmaster is a fairly typical Legends offering.  The molded colors all work well enough, and the paint’s application is mostly pretty clean.  There’s some slight slop on a few of the edges, but he mostly looks pretty solid.  The most impressive paintwork is definitely on his head, which makes use of the printing technique to get the gradations in shading on the skull down just right.  In a somewhat accessories-lite assortment, Taskmaster makes out pretty well, getting a sword, shield, and pistol.  All re-used pieces (the shield is the standard comic Cap shield, and the sword and pistol come from Zemo), but a nice selection nonetheless.  Taskmaster also includes the right leg of Thanos.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Taskmaster was nearer the top of my list of wants for this assortment.  This appears to have been the case with other collectors as well, since only Iron Spider was harder to find than Taskmaster.  On one of my many recent TRU runs, they had just put out a case of this set, and fortunately Taskmaster was still on the pegs.  I was quite a fan of the last Taskmaster, so this one had a high bar set for it.  The two are actually kind of hard to compare; they appeal to separate versions of the character, and each offer their own awesomeness.  But, for classic Taskmaster, you can’t do better than this guy.

#1652: Songbird

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

SONGBIRD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A cacophony of skill and supersonic powers make Melissa Gold the high-pitched hero Songbird.”

It’s generally agreed that ’90s comics, as a rule, all totally suck.  This is a tad hyperbolic.  The decade certainly delved into the excesses of the medium, but it’s less that everything sucked and more that the sudden boom of how many comics were being produced meant that the bad ones were that much more visible.  There are some definite gems from the decade, and one of those is Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley’s run on Thunderbolts.  In the midst of the ’90s turning every hero into a gun-toting anti-hero, Thunderbolts returned to Marvel’s roots of taking villains and turning them into full-fledged heroes…well, some of them anyway.  Perhaps the greatest success story of Thunderbolts is today’s focus, Songbird.  She began her career as the rather forgettable villain “Screaming Mimi” and was chosen by Busiek precisely because of how under-developed she was.  20 years later, she’s perhaps still not an A-lister, but she’s easily the quintessential Thunderbolt, and a very highly ranking character amongst the fanbase.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Songbird is figure 5 in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s the second of the three comics-based figures.  Songbird’s had a bit of a road to finally getting a Legend.  A prototype was originally shown at at SDCC 2013, planned for a future assortment of the pre-Infinite Series line, and obviously meant to tie-in with that year’s Thunderbolts boxed set.  Unfortunately, the line re-formated the next spring, and all of the figures shown were dropped…at least initially.  The figures originally slotted for the infamous “Jubilee Series” all found their way into the Infinite Series branded line, as did most of the other odds and ends figures shown off in 2013.  Poor Songbird was the last completely unreleased figure (though single-packed re-releases of the still boxed-set exclusive X-Force Wolverine, X-Force Archangel, and Moonstone also never materialized).  Fortunately, the character’s loyal fanbase saw her to a victory in 2016’s Fan’s Choice poll, and Hasbro was able to find her a spot in this year’s line-up.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 23 points of articulation.  Where the 2013 prototype used Songbird’s then-current design, this figure instead opts for her classic design, which she’s gone back to in recent years.  It also updates her to a more current base-body; instead of the out-of-date body from the ROML days, Songbird is instead sporting the 2016 Phoenix body, which is a pretty good one.  She’s got a new head, forearms, and hands, as well as add-ons for the shoulder armor and belt.  All-in-all, it adds up to a pretty solid looking figure.  The head capture’s Bagley’s depiction of the character without going too artist-specific, and there’s even a slight smile to her face, keeping her from being yet another vapid face on the shelf.  The armor is sleek and well-fitted to the body; it limits the shoulder movement a bit, but not terribly so.  The gauntlets on her new arms match the shoulder piece in terms of quality; they’re a little slimmed down compared to her usual look from the comic, but I don’t mind so much.  I suspect there’s going to be some re-use in order, though.  The new hands are pretty simple, being a flat-palmed position.  We’ve already got this pose for the male bodies, so it’s good to get the female equivalent, and this pose is definitely better than the Phoenix hands for Songbird.  Lastly, there’s the belt; it’s a pretty basic floating add-on piece.  It does its job.  The color work on Songbird is what we’ve come to expect from a Legends release.  Appropriately colored plastic where possible, and all of the standard painted detailing.  No real accent work to speak of, but the base application is clean, and her colors match well with the comics.  Songbird includes a wing effects piece, showcasing her sound manipulation abilities in the way she most frequently manifests them.  It plugs into her back and looks really cool when in-place.  Here’s hoping we see a similarly-styled Phoenix force effect down the line!  Songbird also includes the right arm of the Build-A-Figure Thanos.  She’s got a better selection of extras than the last two figures I looked at, but I wish we’d at least gotten an extra set of hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Songbird was found at the same time as Proxima and King Cobra.  I’m more familiar with her than I am the other two (I mostly know her from Avengers Forever, but I’ve read a decent selection of Thunderbolts as well), so I was looking forward to her quite a bit.  I think King Cobra’s still my favorite from this set, but she’s a very close rival, and I’m glad she finally got made.  Now, here’s hoping for a Genis Vell to go with her!

#1651: Serpent Society

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

SERPENT SOCIETY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The leader of the Serpent Society, Klaus Voorhees uses powerful venom to strike down his enemies.”

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way up front: this figure’s name is kind of silly.  As the bio notes, Klaus Voorhees is the *leader* of the Serpent Society.  That’s not his name.  You wouldn’t release a Mr. Fantastic figure and call him “Fantastic Four” now would you?  The trouble with Klaus is that his actual villaining name is Cobra, which is now more closely associated with the terrorist organization fought by G.I. Joe (or healthcare, I suppose.  Also, I hear there’s this animal or something?).  He’s subsequently been renamed King Cobra, but I guess that’s not trademarkable enough?  Not even if we throw “Marvel’s” in front of it?  They do always love that.  Oh well, Serpent Society it is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Serpent Society (bleh) is figure 6 in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the three comics-based figures in the assortment.  I know, spoilers, right?  I just ruined the twist that King Cobra’s *not* in Infinity War!  How dare I?  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  King Cobra is ostensibly built on the Bucky Cap base, but the only parts he actually shares with Bucky Cap are his pelvis and his feet (Bucky Cap was wearing buccaneer boots, so the non-booted shins showed up later).  He gets the standard shins, plus Doctor Strange’s less muscled torso, Hob/Green Goblin’s scaly arms and legs, and Civil War Black Panther’s hands. On top of that, he gets a new head, cape, belt, and gauntlets to help complete his look.  It’s actually pretty amazing how well all those pieces mesh together to make this guy.  The new parts are fantastic on their own (I especially love that grin on his face), but they combine with all the re-used stuff and make for a figure that might as well be an all-new sculpt.  This is kind of the best you can hope for with this guy, and I commend Hasbro for the inventiveness when it comes to re-used parts, towing the line with new stuff.  Great middle ground.  The paint work on King Cobra is another strong point; the bright metallic green makes this figure really pop, and the purple offers a nice contrast.  Some of the application could be a tiny bit cleaner, but it’s still a lot better than what we were seeing in years past.  King Cobra’s only extra is the left arm of Thanos.  Nothing character specific.  While it’s not quite as frustrating here as it was with yesterday’s Iron Spider (due to this figure being larger, and Cobra having less obviously missing extras), it’s still a somewhat annoying trend of lacking accessories for this Series.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

King Cobra was one of the handful of figures I found all at once from this set.  I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot out of him, being only passingly familiar with the character.  He mostly got purchased for the Build-A-Figure piece.  I was pleasantly surprised, after opening the figures up, to find that he was actually my favorite of the lot.  The simplicity of the design, and the very well-planned re-use just make for a really strong figure of a classic look.

#1650: Iron Spider

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

IRON SPIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Advanced technology and high-tech gear are signature marks of the web-slinging hero, Iron Spider.”

After being introduced during another big crisis-cross-over in Civil War, Spider-Man follows suit for his third MCU-appearance in Infinity War.  As he says himself in the film, it’s hard to be “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” if there’s no “Friendly Neighborhood,” so saving the world is part of his game plan.  Also, selling toys, of course, because that’s what Spider-Man does.  There was some odd licensing stuff that kept Peter almost entirely out of the Civil War merch, but it seems that’s been sorted out for the go-round, if his Marvel Legend is anything to go by.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Spider is figure 2 in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the third of the directly Infinity War-based figures in this assortment.  As the name suggests, he’s wearing his second Stark-designed suit, which we got a preview of at the very end of Homecoming.  It gets brought out in full force for Infinity War, and barring a very brief sequence early on, it’s Peter’s primary look this time around.  It’s certainly less of a departure from his classic red-and-blues than the comics Iron Spidey was, which I’m okay with.  It actually seems to have gotten a fair bit of inspiration from Peter’s more recent Parker Industries-created armor.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  While his sculpt is certainly very similar aesthetically to the Homecoming release, it’s definitely a brand new piece.  The texturing and detail work on the costume is all quite impressive.  It takes a lot of the dentils from the last figure, and sort of amps them up.  Apart from the obvious cosmetic changes for the costume’s details, the main difference between the two figures is how the arms are handled.  The kind of stubby shoulders and arms of the last figure were really my only complaint on that one, so the improved design here is a definite plus.  The paint on Iron Spider is quite clean, with sharp detailing, and no noticeable missing details.  I do wish it were more metallic; his suit from the movie was really, really shiny, and this one is a bit dull by comparison.  Given the CGI nature of the suit, I’d guess the duller colors come from Hasbro working from pre-film designs and what we saw at the end of Homecoming.  The biggest failing of this figure is, hands down, the accessory complement.  He’s got the left leg of Thanos, and that’s it.  No spider-arms like we saw in the film.  No unmasked Peter Parker head.  Not even extra hands, which the Homecoming release had.  Absolutely nothing character specific.  I get that he’s an all-new sculpt, but the lack of anything at all is a real blow to the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Iron Spider is by far the most difficult to acquire figure in this set.  This surprised me, given the visual similarities between this figure and the one from Homecoming.  Of course, in retrospect, that figure was never super easy to find either, so I guess it makes sense.  After many times of finding the whole set sans just this guy, I finally did come across him at my closest Target, who had just put out their case.  This figure is frustrating, because he himself is quite a good figure, but his complete lack of accessories is really frustrating.

The Blaster In Question #0051: Star-Lord Assembler Gear

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

BlasterInQuestion1

STAR-LORD BLASTER

ASSEMBLER GEAR (INFINITY WAR)

assemblelord1Sometimes performance isn’t the end-all be-all for having a fun Nerf blaster.  If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, you may have seen a review I did way back in the way back for the Star-Lord Quad Blaster.  That’s a great example of fun despite pretty lackluster performance.  Well, today, I’m looking at yet another Star-Lord themed blaster, this time coinciding with the release of Marvel’s latest film, Infinity War.  Now I should warn you, I have seen the movie but I’ll try my best to stay away from spoilers.  Let’s get into it.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

assemblelord2Snape kills Dumbledore.  DAMMIT!  Sorry, I tried.  Anyways, the Star-Lord Assembler Gear blaster kit… thingy was released in 2018 alongside similar compatible kits themed around other characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Bruce Willis who was a ghost the whole time.  GAHHH! Sorry, sorry.  The idea is that each kit comes with one core blaster component and then a bunch of other parts that can be attached in a number of different ways, kind of like the idea behind the Modulus series, but even crazier.  The blaster piece for the Star-Lord kit has 2 female barrel sockets, 2 male barrel sockets, 3 short little rails, and a rail clip on the bottom.  In addition, the two included extra parts each have a male and female barrel socket and rail and rail clip.  It’s rather a lot, to be honest but it does definitely lend itself to coming up with some pretty crazy combinations which is fun.  It is important to note that the barrel sockets on the Assembler Gear blasters are not compatible with regular Nerf barrel attachments.  It seems the extra parts aren’t really modeled after anything, just shaped vaguely like sci-fi blaster pieces. The core blaster is definitely intended to be modeled after assemblelord3Star-Lord’s signature blaster pistols from the films though it seems like they may have put the top on backwards as it slopes the wrong way.  This could have been an accident or could have been intentional for a number of reasons, but I can tell you it was not so they could fit halfway decent internals in this thing.  The mechanism that launches the dart out of the blaster is the bane of my existence as a Nerf fan.  I can only be talking about the dart flicker style of blaster like that in the Marvel’s Captain America Civil War Iron Man Stark Strike gauntlet blaster… from Hasbro that I looked at a few weeks ago.  I’ve already ranted on this subject before so I’ll spare you, good reader, this time, but it really is just terrible.  One potential argument you could make is that maybe a non-trash based mechanism would take too much space, to which I’d reply “Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze.”  Then I’d go on to say that maybe scaling up the blaster as a whole wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world because as it is now, the ergonomics are atrocious.  I understand these are meant for children, but so was the Quad-Blaster and that was perfectly fine to hold.  This, on the other hand, is just not remotely comfortable.  A slightly larger blaster could mean a better grip and halfway decent internals, but sadly, it is not so.  Given the ergo and the performance, I feel justified saying it’s just not worth taking this blaster if you’re planning to bust into your younger siblings’ room and open fire.  Pick something else.  The Star-Lord Assembler Gear blaster kit comes with 2 attachments and 3 Star-Lord colored Elite Darts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this blaster up on a trip to a local TRU.  I don’t recall if this was before or after the whole going out of business thing took effect, but I had seen them online and was curious enough so I picked it up.  Having done so, I don’t think I can really recommend a blaster this uncomfortable to use with such pitiful performance.  Maybe that’s the point though.  Maybe it’s meant to make you feel like Star-Lord.  Just get your biggest friend to hot glue some Jolly Ranchers to their hand and tell them to start punching as hard as they can while you try and keep them away by shooting.  I don’t see how this could possibly go wrong.

On a side note, I’m pleased to announce that after their hiatus, the fine folks at Timsical Thoughts have partnered with The Blaster In Question to bring you some degree of “content.”  I know the guy who runs the site personally and he’s just great so feel free to check that out.

#1649: Proxima Midnight

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

PROXIMA MIDNIGHT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A lieutenant of the Black Order, Proxima Midnight serves Thanos in his quest for power.”

Okay, so I’ve actually seen Infinity War now.  And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.  No, really, I can’t actually discuss beyond that for fear of spoiling…everything.  If you haven’t yet seen it, please do so immediately.

Infinity War was largely built on assembling all of our favorite heroes, but it did have a few new faces, most of them as part of Thanos’ support team, The Black Order.  The Black Order are a new addition in the comics, showing up during the 2014 Infinity event.  They’re sort of Thanos’s equivalent to Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen.  So far, only one of them’s gotten the Legends treatment, and it’s Proxima Midnight, who I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Proxima Midnight is figure 3 in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s the second of the specifically movie-based figures in the assortment and the first of the Black Order to join the line (Cull Obsidian will be joining her in the next assortment).  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s not quite as mobile as some of the others in this set, but she’s still pretty posable, certainly posable enough to mimic the character from the movie.  Proxima’s film design isn’t too far removed from her comics design.  All the basic design elements are the same; the movie design removes some of the more stereotypically “comic super villain” elements, while also adding some more texturing and such.  I like the head gear from the comics design a little bit more, but I do think the movie made the overall thing a little more visually interesting.  Proxima gets a brand-new sculpt, and while I do like it overall, I do have to admit, she feels a little bit like a step back compared to some of the more recent MCU offerings.  Comparing her to the Guardians Vol. 2 offerings, some of the details feel a little soft, and the articulation isn’t quite as well worked-in.  Still a solid sculpt, just not quite as good as the phenomenal work Hasbro was putting out last year.  Proxima’s paintwork is fairly decent.  The application is all pretty clean, and the colors match up well with what we see of her on-screen.  She doesn’t have the printed face like the more human characters, but given her CGI creation in the film, this doesn’t exactly rob her of her realism.   Proxima is packed with her spear (perfect for being caught by Captain America) and the torso of Thanos.  Given she’s the largest single-packed figure in the set, it’s actually quite impressive she comes with the biggest piece  of Thanos, and it means her box is rather on the hefty side.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting Cap from Super Awesome Girlfriend, I began my hunt for the rest of the series.  I actually didn’t have to search for long, and ended up coming across most of the set while running an errand at Walmart.  I wasn’t certain about picking her up, but finding them mostly in one go got me sort of pumped, so home with me she came.  She’s alright.  More consistent than Cap, though perhaps not quite as exciting or fun.  I think she’ll standout better once we have more of the Black Order.

#1648: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“From the streets of Brooklyn to the intergalactic stage, Steve Rogers defends justice as Captain America.”

Infinity War is here!  Yes, the movie 10 years in the making has arrived.  By the time you, dear readers, read this review, I will have already seen the film, but I’m writing this one in advance.  So, no spoilers or anything to worry about here!  Anyway, I’ve actually managed to track down the last few missing figures from the first assortment of Infinity War-themed Marvel Legends, so, over the course of the next week, I’ll be taking a look at all of those.  Up first, Steve Rogers, the former Captain America!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America is the first figure in the Thanos Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the first of the four IW-based figures in the series (five if you count the Build-A-Figure), and, like his basic-line counterpart, he’s based on Cap’s “new” Nomad look.  Well, mostly, anyway.  I’ll get to that in a bit.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  This guy gets an all-new sculpt, which is definitely a positive.  That Winter Soldier mold was great for its time, but was starting to look a little dated.  This figure’s the same height as that one, but he’s been bulked up a little bit more, which prevents him from looking quite as shrimpy as the prior figure.  Overall, I like this new sculpt for this costume, and I’m hopeful that the 10th Anniversary two-pack Cap from later this year will be making liberal use of these pieces.  I do have some slight issues, mostly to do with the IW-specific pieces, and some questionable accuracy.  The first is the head.  By far, it’s the best Evans likeness we’ve gotten from Hasbro yet, and the face in particular is quite well detailed.  The issue lies with the hair, a separate, and going by what we’ve seen in the trailers, rather inaccurate piece. It looks to be the same styling he had in Civil War, when it really should be much longer.  Maybe he gets an important haircut in the film?  I don’t know, but I think it’s more likely Hasbro made a mistake.  Time will tell.  Another slight oddity to the sculpt?  The glove, or should I say lack of glove, on his right hand.  In all the trailers, he’s quite clearly got them on both hands, but this figure’s pulling a Luke Skywalker.  Again, maybe this is to do with something that happens in the film, but it certainly looks off.  His paintwork is overall pretty decently handled.  The uniform is appropriately dingy and dirty, but the application is still clean.  The face uses the face printing technique, and it’s okay, but on my figure it does seem to be a little slight bit off.  Not terrible, though.  Cap is packed with one of his new shields, a pair of fists to swap out for the hands he’s packaged wearing, and the head of Thanos.  Like the basic figure, just the one shield, despite him having two in the trailers, but it’s at least a well-detailed piece.  The hands run into another issue of accuracy.  They’re now *both* ungloved.  Not an issue for his right hand, but since the left forearm has the cuff from his glove sculpted on it, it looks a little odd with the spare hand in place.  Another rather odd choice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Cap was the first of these figures I was able to track down.  He showed up at Super Awesome Girlfriend’s work, so she grabbed him for me.  He’s not a bad figure, but I will admit to being a little bit let down by him.  Maybe my opinion will change after I’ve seen the movie, and maybe some of Hasbro’s choices will make more sense.  As it stands, he’s certainly far from awful, but I think the basic figure is a bit more faithful to the film.

#1646: Vision & Scarlet Witch

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

VISION & SCARLET WITCH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Both empowered by the Mind Stone, Vision and Scarlet Witch are powerful forces in the throes of battle.”

Avengers: Infinity War is almost upon us, which is pretty darn exciting.  There’s a metric ton of product out there for it right now, including the largest movie compliment of Marvel Legends Hasbro’s done yet.  When Age of Ultron came out, the MCU-Legends were still on the slow rise at retail.  This meant that it was tricky enough just to get the core Avengers all represented, so there was certainly no space for the team’s new recruits from the movie.  Scarlet Witch found her way into the Civil War assortments, but poor Vision’s been up in the air for three years.  Can I get a “finally”?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

When is an exclusive not an exclusive?  When the company that paid for it goes out of business.  Yes, this pair was supposed to be the first of a large number of Toys R Us-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs planned for this year.  Because of Infinity War’s release date, this set was already produced and some of it had made its way to TRU’s warehouses prior to their announcement of liquidation.  They’re keeping what they already had, but anything not already in their possession is going to be distributed through online retailers later this year.

VISION

Vision is very obviously this set’s star, and looks set to play quite a pivotal role in Infinity War, what with possessing one of the Infinity Stones and all.  His design has remained consistent through all three of his MCU appearances so far, so this figure has an easy time of picking an appropriate look.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Okay, so first minor complaint about the figure: his height.  Bettany is 6’3”.  On a strict 1:12 scale, the figure’s height is fine, but Legends hasn’t really ever been on a strict 1:12 scale.  Bettany is the same height as Chris Hemsworth, and while the Thor figures have a tendency to slightly over-state Hemsworth’s height, I feel Vision should be at least a little taller, so as to not be totally dwarfed by Thor.  Moving past that, it’s worth noting that this figure is sporting a brand-new sculpt.  I have a few minor nit-picks, mostly having to do with him seeming a bit too skinny.  That said, the overall quality is pretty top-notch.  The likeness on the head bears a decent resemblance to Bettany, and the texture work all throughout the body is definitely impressive.  He’s certainly on par with the recent kick of very strong MCU sculpts.  Even the cape has a nice flow about it, and captures the intricate nature of the design from the films.  Vision’s paintwork is pretty decent.  The metallic colors are fun, and he uses the same face printing technique as the others for his eyes.  His cape is a slight letdown; the semi-translucent effect is nice, but rather than fully detailing the back of the cape like in the movie, he’s just got several streaks of metallic pink going down the back.  It gets the general effect alright, but it does rob the sculpt of some of its impact.  Vision’s packed with two sets of hands.  The standard ones are in open gestures, which feel very true to the character, and there’s also a pair of fists.  You know, for punchin’.

SCARLET WITCH

Scarlet Witch’s design has only changed minimally since Civil War, so it follows that this figure is mostly just a retread of that one.  It’s the same exact sculpt, which is fine by me, since that sculpt was a favorite of mine.  It still holds up well two years after its release.  The figure gets a new paint scheme, detailing her lighter hair color from this film, as well as upgrading her to the new face printing tech, which has improved her likeness to an amazing level I didn’t realize was possible.  I thought the Civil War release was pretty solid at the time when it hit, but this release makes that one look kinda goofy.  This figure also ditches the effects pieces form the last version, and adds in a new set.  I thought the old effects pieces were by far the weak point of the last figure, so the new pieces are a very welcome addition.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been wanting Vision since 2015, so I was happy to hear he’d be getting a figure courtesy of Infinity War.  I was less happy to hear it would be a TRU exclusive, and even less so when they announced the impending closures.  I initially thought I might be missing this set, but then when Entertainment Earth put it up for pre-order, I planned to just wait to get it from them.  Then TRU started clearing out their warehouses, and I walked in one day to find a case of this set sitting on the shelf.  That was most definitely a pleasant surprise.  If only I’d had more experiences like that *before* they were going under.  Vision isn’t a perfect figure, but he’s a very, very good one, and an awesome addition to my collection.  Scarlet Witch takes a figure I already loved and makes it bafflingly better than it was before.  This is a fantastic set, and I hope everyone who wants one can get one.

The Blaster In Question #0050: Vulcan EBF-25

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BlasterInQuestion1

VULCAN EBF-25               

N-STRIKE

vulcan1

I told you I was bad at this whole scheduled posting thing but you didn’t believe me.  Well here we are, BIQ review #50 and boy is it a good one.  It’s not my ultra-rare black chrome rubber band gun (teaser for #100), but it’s still quite a special blaster. If you read the title of the post or looked at any of the pictures before you started reading this like a normal person might do, then you’re probably aware that I’m reviewing the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 machine gun.  Aside from blasters like the Centurion, this is probably one of the most specialized, purpose-built blasters in my collection, and that purpose is absurdity.  Let’s take a look at that absurdity.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

vulcan2The Vulcan EBF-25 was released waaaay back in 2008 as part of the original N-Strike line.  No Elite here.  The whole thing is just… I mean, it’s a machine gun.  What more do you want?  Instead of using a magazine or rotating cylinder, the Vulcan actually uses a belt to feed darts into the action which, itself, can be operated in two ways.  The primary method being full auto because come on, it’s a machine gun.  Provided you had installed the 6 D cell batteries in the tray, you could then load in the belt, flick the switch just above the firing grip, and hold the trigger down making the blaster fire repeatedly with a rather noisy “wheeee-CHUNK! wheeee-CHUNK! wheeee-CHUNK!”  While it was technically full-auto, the rate of fire was not exactly impressive.  With good coordination, you could easily out-pace it by cycling the bolt manually which had the added benefit of not requiring the aforementioned 2 cubic tons of batteries to work.  You could, in theory, run the blaster entirely without batteries.  Just leave them in a little pile over there… just 2 cubic tons.  While it undoubtedly made the internals of the blaster a lot more complex, it is a feature I’m disappointed didn’t make it to later electronic blasters like the Stampede.  The ammo belts, I feel a little differently about.  There is a certain level of novelty in using a legit ammo belt in a toy blaster, but man, are vulcan3they a pain to reload.  Maybe if there had been another blaster that also used the same belts, I might like them a bit more, but the novel factor goes away after the third or fourth time you have to reload the dang things.  It’s not just a matter of putting the darts back, when the belt is emptied, it falls out the right side of the blaster, or if you want to reload without firing off all 25 shots, you need to pull the remaining belt out of the action in order to reset it.  Once you have a loaded belt, there’s still the process of setting it in the ammo box attached to the left side of the blaster in just the right way that the feed gear can actually pull the belt into the blaster, and THEN you have to open the top hatch on the blaster body to seat the first link onto the feed gear, close everything up again and prime the bolt.  Once you’ve done all of that, now you can shoot.  BUT WAIT!  Now you have to decide, are you going to carry the blaster by hand and fire from the hip like some kind of sexual tyrannosaurus, or are you going to mount it on the included tripod, realize the tripod kinda sucks, and opt for the Blaine method anyway?  But what does Mr. “The Lovebird” Ventura have to say about that body?  Probably something rambling and largely incoherent about having to keep him away from it, but it’s worth noting that the Vulcan has all original sculpt work which includes a vulcan4hinged top handle for use in the “Old Painless” style of carry and a detachable ammo box for holding the belt while in or out of use.  The front end of the Vulcan also sports 3 Nerf accessory rails, but I can’t honestly think of what you could possibly want to put on them.  There are, in fact, a set of sights along the top of the blaster that you’re welcome to use if you think it’ll help.  Sadly, these days, the Vulcan doesn’t quite stand up to other blasters in terms of range or power.  If you play your cards right and rely mainly on the shock value of busting into your younger siblings’ room holding this, they might not even notice that the shots aren’t hitting very hard.  The Vulcan comes packaged with the tripod, the ammo box, two belts, a sling which I have since lost, and 50 whistler micro darts.vulcan5

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Oh how times have changed.  I remember going to purchase this blaster from a local Wal-Mart and thinking to myself, “Wow, $50 for a Nerf blaster sure is a lot.  I can’t possibly imagine spending more than that on a Nerf Blaster.”  BAHAHA foolish child.  While the performance isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, the Vulcan succeeds on raw novelty and gimmicks and I think that’s part of why I like it so much.  That and the potential to stick it to the roof of my car and drive around with someone standing up through the sunroof.

 

#1641: Black Panther

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

BLACK PANTHER

MARVEL MIGHTY MUGGS (HASBRO)

While I have come to tolerate Funko’s Pop! line in recent years, and even put together a sizable collection, there’s no denying that they’ll always be my second choice for pseudo designer vinyl media tie-in figures.  Number one will always go to Hasbro’s sadly under-appreciated Mighty Muggs.  Fortunately for lovers of the Muggs, they’ve made a comeback this year.  I’ve looked at one of the Star Wars ones, but Hasbro’s also launched a Marvel line alongside them, and I’ll be looking at my first of those today with Black Panther!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Panther is figure 07, the second figure numerically in the second assortment of Marvel Mighty Muggs.  Panther’s design is based on his appearance from Captain America: Civil War.  A movie design allows Hasbro the chance to offer some more detailing, and of the two film designs, I’m still pretty partial to the original design.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has articulation at each shoulder.  Panther uses the same standard body used for Luke, with a different head piece depicting Panther’s mask.  Only the actual “face” of the mask is left uncovered.  It works with the natural lines and breaks of the mask, so the changeover from the sculpted headpiece to the painted face is fairly subtle, and doesn’t look to jarring.  The sculpted details of the headpiece are simple enough to fit the style, but still plentiful enough to add some nice depth to the overall design.  As I discussed in my review of Luke, the new Mighty Muggs all feature an action feature, allowing for changing facial expressions.  As a masked character, his expressions have to be a bit more inventive than Luke’s, I suppose.  It all comes down to the eyes.  There’s wide-eyed, squinty-eyed, and a mix of the two.  There’s a lot of variety offered by those different eyes, and it’s an impressive handling on Hasbro’s part.  I think the basic wide-eyed is my personal favorite, but all three are a lot of fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After being so impressed by the Luke figure, I was definitely on the lookout for some of the others.  Panther certainly looked cool, and Super Awesome Girlfriend ended up picking him up for me one day while she was at work.  My excitement for this line has not subsided at all; Panther is just as well handled as Luke, and I’m definitely on board with both currently running Mighty Muggs lines.