Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3599: Nightcrawler

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

NIGHTCRAWLER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0078: Nightcrawler’s creation predates the All New, All Different X-Men, and in fact predates his creator Dave Cockrum’s time at Marvel; he was originally intended to be part of Legion of Super Heroes spin-off book from Cockrum’s time at DC.  When Dave left DC, he took Nightcrawler with him.

Though certainly a popular X-Man, it feels like we never get enough Nightcrawler figures.  He’s always just a little sparser than you might expect.  Since the introduction of Marvel Legends, he’s gotten two, now three figures.  That’s not a lot.  They’re always pretty good, though, and after the last one, it felt like there wasn’t much room for improvement.  Well, about that…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightcrawler is part of the second X-Men ’97-tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  He was notable for being the only figure in the line-up *not* featured in the first three episodes of the show.  He finally made his return last week, and boy was that an episode of…like…things.  Just…okay?  Now he’s in the opening credits, and it’s a whole thing.  Look, new figure.  That’s the point.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  Sculpturally, this figure uses a handful of parts from the prior Nightcrawler, namely the torso, pelvis, and tail.  Those were solid parts, and are hard to beat for a standard Nightcrawler set-up, so it’s worth a re-use.  He replaces the Pizza Spidey arms and legs with new, albeit similarly built ones.  Now, they have no visible pins, and the glove and boot details are etched in, rather than just simply painted.  He also gets new hands and feet, which are *slightly* different from the prior versions, but not drastically so.  It’s all topped off with two new heads based on Nightcrawler’s updated show design.  One is calm and slightly friendly, while the other is gritting his teeth.  Both have the same swooshy hair, which is a lot of fun.  I very much dig them.  His color work is a lot of molded colors, but there’s some paint work in there too.  Some of the base work, especially on the gloves and boots, is a touch uneven, but the detailing on both heads is incredibly sharp.  Nightcrawler is packed with two sets of hands, one set open, the other set in fists.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t gonna buy this one.  Honest.  I saw him with the rest of the set and I was all set to say “I don’t need that.”  I’ve got my Wendigo Series one, and he’s fantastic, and just can’t be topped.  He’s the Nightcrawler I always wanted, and I have no need to replace him.  And I won’t be.  Because I’ve just decided I’m gonna *also* have this one.  Look, if I can do it with Cyclops, I can also do it with Nightcrawler.  And you can’t stop me.  I mean, I guess you could, if you really tried.  But why?  Why would you do that?  Anyway, I saw this one in person, and I resisted for a bit, but only for a bit.  He’s not drastically different from the last one, but he’s different enough that I see him as an alternative, not a replacement.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3597: Goblin Queen

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

GOBLIN QUEEN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0076: Though she’s existed since 1983, Madelyn Pryor has had, to date, only two action figures, more than 20 years apart from each other.

I find Madelyn Pryor a generally tedious character.  The concept’s not awful, I guess.  I can certainly understand Claremont’s initial desire to give Scott Summers his planned “happily ever after” even with the adjustments to the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” resulting in Jean’s demise.  But, it does put Madelyn in an unfortunate spot of being nothing more than a placeholder, which isn’t ideal.  The whole dissolution of her marriage to Scott is sloppy at best, and “Inferno” is making the best of a bad situation.  So, X-Men ’97‘s take on the entire thing is, honestly, a refreshing reinvention of the set-up, which I actually quite enjoyed.  And it got her a second figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Goblin Queen is the third figure in Series 2 of Hasbro’s X-Men ’97-tie-in sub-line of Marvel Legends.  I suppose you could get technical and say she’s *actually* the second of two Madelyns in the set, depending on how you treat the second head with the Jean Grey figure.  But, you know, let’s not focus on that for now.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is generally what we’ve come to expect for this line at this point, at least in terms of set-up.  In terms of range, Madelyn is rather restricted.  It comes with the territory, at least as far as the design is concerned.  She’s good for standing around, provided you can get her balanced, which is admittedly a little tricky, but not impossible.  Madelyn’s sculpt is largely new; the arms appear to be the standard double-jointed female arms, but everything else looks new.  It’s a solid piece of work, though on mine the upper part of her chest doesn’t slot quite right into the rest of it, so there’s an odd shelf and the edge of her skin…which is odd.  Beyond that, though, I do generally like the sculpt.  The head in particular manages to stay consistent with Jean’s sculpt, while still having its own flair of character.  Madelyn’s color work is decent enough, if not 100% accurate to the show.  I don’t know if there was a change to the design during production, but in the final product, the leggings on her thighs are much closer to regular skin tone than what we see here.  It throws the vibe of the look off a touch, but it’s ultimately not the end of the world, I guess.  The rest of the paint is pretty nice, and I do quite like the slight variations in the colors on her outfit.  Madelyn is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), a pair of energy effects, and, most importantly, baby Nathan Summers.  Nathan is using the body of the baby Hulk/baby Nightcrawler, but gets a new head, and even gets the special x-printing on the blanket, which is extra fun.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I may find Madelyn’s storyline’s questionable at times, but I don’t hate the character or anything, and I’m not opposed to a figure.  This was certainly high on my list when these figures were shown off.  I do like her, though I can’t say she quite shines for me the same way as Cyclops and Jean.  It could certainly be worse, though, and I especially like the baby Nathan.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3594: Jean Grey

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

JEAN GREY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0073:  This figure’s technically two figures in one!

Well, X-Men ’97 continues to deliver on the awesomeness front, so I’m going to keep jumping into that particular well.  I already looked at Cyclops earlier this week, and what better follow-up to him is there than Jean Grey!  Jean’s gotten her fair share of ’90s inspired figures, and here’s one more!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jean Grey is part of the second X-Men ’97 tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  She’s the first ’90s Jean at regular retail since the Rocket Raccoon Series figure, which was quite a while ago.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  The last ’90s Jean re-used the 3-Pack Jean molds, just done up in animated colors.  This one, however, is an entirely new sculpt, based on her updated model for X-Men ’97.  It’s a really nice sculpt.  I wasn’t much of a fan of the prior one, but I made do with it because I felt I had to…but, like, now I don’t?  Because, again, this one is so nice.  All of the costume elements are actually sculpted this time around, which makes them a lot cleaner and pop-ier.  There are two different head sculpts, one with the hair up in a ponytail, and one with it down.  The ponytail head is undoubtedly my favorite, but I may be slightly biased on that front.  Both sculpts are really strong, and again so much nicer than the ones from the prior figure.  Jean’s color work isn’t bad.  It’s a lot of molded color work, of course, but there’s a little bit of paint as well.  The faces are nice and clean.  Her belt is a real mess on my copy, which is a bummer, but it’s also not the end of the world, since it’s just a belt.  Jean gets the two different head sculpts, as well as two sets of hands.  It still feels a little light, but she does at least get the extra head.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve gotten two versions of ’90s Jean for my Legends X-Men already, and I didn’t dislike them, but I didn’t love them either.  I was bummed by the less animation-specific elements of the VHS figure, so getting another chance is really awesome.  Cyclops may be my favorite figure in this series, but I think Jean is the most needed one.  I really love this figure, and I think she’s a fantastic Jean Grey.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3592: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0071: Since taking over the Marvel license, Hasbro has released Cyclops as a Marvel Legend 13 times.

I have spent the last few weeks in a X-Men bliss, thanks to X-Men ’97.  X-Men: The Animated Series was an unquestionable influence on me as a kid, and I was thrilled by the announcement of the continuation.  The end result (or the four episodes we’ve seen of it thus far) has been nothing short of phenomenal, and one of my very favorite things about the show has been its fantastic focus on the X-Men’s field leader, Cyclops, who has gotten to be sufficiently awesome.  Perfect time for some action figure love, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops headlines the second X-Men ’97 tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, which hit retail just shortly before the launch of the show.  Like the first series, these ones are on the retro-style card.  It’s the same retro-style card, in fact, with the line-up of characters on the top of the card even just being the first series line-up again, which is a little humorous.  But now’s not the time for humor; now’s the time for ’90s Cyclops!  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Cyclops’s sculpt is almost entirely a re-use from the VHS Cyclops, which is at its core built on the Vulcan base body.  It’s a very strong offering, so its re-use makes a lot of sense here. This Cyclops gets not one, but two new heads. There’s a standard head, and one built to interact with the included optic blast effect. They’re both based more directly on Scott’s updated show design. I’m admittedly not as big a fan of the standard head here as I was either of the last two Jim Lee-inspired sculpts; something about the exact shaping seems a touch off. I think it’s more a direct

comparison thing though, because it’s certainly not a *bad* sculpt. The alternate head, however, is just amazing and I love everything about it. That grimace with the teeth is just perfect. Cyclops’s color work is basic, and mostly molded tones. He’s using the same basic color palette as the VHS release, just without the cel-shading. Cyclops gets the two heads, an optic blast effect, and five hands (in fists, open gesture, and the usual two fingers extended left hand).

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Have I mentioned I like Cyclops? How about my love of X-Men ’97? Both. Cool. I got this one the day after the show premiered, which was really just peak timing. Yeah, I’ve already got the VHS one. And the love triangle one. And the Warlock Series one. And the X-Men: Classics one. But, my need for Jim Lee Cyclopses is unyielding. And this one’s really, really fun. Boy, do I love this figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3585: Fennec Shand

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

FENNEC SHAND

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0064: Fennec Shand actress Ming-Na Wen has been a Disney Princess, a Star Wars Bounty Hunter, and an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., giving her a tri-fecta of Disney franchise appearances!

Star Wars: Retro Collection has somehow steadily become my main go-to line for modern Star Wars collecting, which is, I guess sort of paradoxical, with it being branded “retro” and all.  I don’t know, I just like my Star Wars figures to be more on the basic side, and the death of the 5POA line after Solo really bummed me out, so I like having *something* in that range.  That said, I’m finding myself a little less attached to all things Star Wars, so I wound up skipping pretty much all of the Book of Boba Fett tie-in set from the line.  Admittedly, it was a little bit same-y for a lot of it.  I didn’t want to miss out on Fennec, though, so here she is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Fennec Shand is one of the seven figures in the Book of Boba Fett assortment of Star Wars: Retro Collection.  She kind of hammers home the set’s place as a Mandalorian continuation, since she’s had several appearances there, but hadn’t yet gotten a figure from the specifically Mando assortments.  Thankfully, she kept the same look in Book, so this figure can pull double duty, just like the Black Series and Vintage Collection.  The figure stands just over 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  The movement on the neck is slightly limited by the ponytail, but the way it’s draped, it’s not entirely restricted, which is certainly a plus.  Her sculpt is unique to her, and it’s pretty nice.  It does a good job of threading the needle on keeping a lot of detailing, but also still dialing into the retro Kenner vibe.  She’s clearly meant to be aping one of Kenner’s later figures, especially given the removable helmet set-up.  The underlying head isn’t a perfect match for Ming-Na Wen, but it’s respectable enough to be obvious who it’s supposed to be, and it works well within the style.  Fennec’s paint work is actually pretty solid, with some subtle dark grey detailing mixed in with the molded black color, as well as the proper orange highlights seen in the show.  The application is pretty clean, and the whole thing looks very proper for the line.  Fennec is packed with a removable helmet (which sits very nicely on her head) and her blaster rifle.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wanted Fennec when these figures were first shown off, but when they actually arrived, it was at the same time as the Ahsoka assortment, which I wanted more.  I’ve also been trying to scale my collection back where I can, so I didn’t want to buy just to buy.  That said, I gave it some thought and realized I still wanted the figure, so I wound up going back for her.  She’s pretty fun, just like the rest of the line.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3580: Ultimate X-Spanse

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

ULTIMATE X-SPANSE

X-MEN X TRANSFORMERS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0059: The X-Men’s primary mode of transportation, the Blackbird, was introduced by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum in X-Men #94, the first regular issue of X-Men following its major re-work in Giant-Size X-Men #1.

I’m still in a very X-Men mood.  Can’t imagine why that might be….certainly nothing to do with the launch of X-Men ’97 this week, right?  In an effort to keep things a little more diverse, however, I’m not *just* looking at strictly Marvel stuff, right?  No, I’m also going to look at a Transformer.  For variety.  So, um, here’s “Ultimate X-Spanse.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultimate X-Spanse was released under Hasbro’s Transformers: Collaborative banner.  He hit in early 2021, as a shared exclusive between Hasbro Pulse and Target.  As with a number of other exclusives, he was also offered up in limited quantities later through other Fan Channel outlets.  In his robot mode, he’s roughly 8 inches tall and he has 21 workable points of articulation.  X-Spanse uses the Leader Class Studio Series Jetfire as a starting point, largely for the purposes of his alt-mode.  The robot mode, on the other hand, is fairly unique.  Rather than dial in on one particular X-Man, X-Spanse’s design incorporates a number of different ones, for something more general purpose.  To my eyes, he still reads the heaviest as a Cyclops, but I’m more prone to seeing specifically the Cyclops elements, I feel.  I really like the flip-up visor on the head; it’s a lot of fun.  Beyond that, it’s a nifty design in general, and it certainly feels very X-Men-y.  X-Spanse is packed with three different effects pieces, all loosely patterned on Psylocke’s psychic weaponry.  One’s just a “blade” attachment, and another mimics Wolverine’s claws.  There’s also a version of her “psychic butterfly,” but it doesn’t actually go on his face at all, which makes its presence…odd.  Lastly, we get a small Wolverine and Sabretooth.  No Cyclops feels like a missed opportunity, right?

As with most of the Collaborative releases, the alt mode to this guy is an important selling point.  He turns into the Blackbird…or at least some approximation of it.  While the packaging plays up the ’90s angle, the actual vehicle looks more like the real world vehicle the Blackbird was based upon.  This is in part thanks to the re-used Jetfire pieces, since he was based on a real vehicle as well.  The transformation process is a bit tricky, and in full vehicle mode, the wings have a tendency to flap out of place very easily.  Still, it’s pretty cool.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wanted one of these when he was new, but he was exclusive, and I had some other stuff going on in 2021.  I had the opportunity to get one later when he got the Fan Channel release, but the moment had passed, and I didn’t jump on it then either.  But, then a used one came into All Time, and it felt like the moment was now unavoidable, so now I have one.  He’s fun.  I don’t feel like I really missed anything by waiting, but I do like finally having one, and he ties into my general X-Men excitement nicely.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3578: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

X-MEN ’97 EPIC HEROES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0057: Cyclops’ Jim Lee re-designed costume has appeared in figure form 19 times, before the arrival of the X-Men ’97 tie-ins.

Do you guys know what day it is?  It’s X-Men ’97 day!  After a 27 year hiatus, X-Men: The Animated Series is back in the form of X-Men ’97, which makes its debut to Disney+ today.  I might be just the slightest bit excited about this.  No biggie.  There’s a whole plethora of tie-in merch hitting for the show, so I figured the launch day might be a good one to review one of those.  And, you know me: I’m a sucker for a Cyclops figure.  So, I’m definitely gonna review one of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is part of the first series of Hasbro’s X-Men ’97 Epic Heroes line, which is both a tie-in for the show, and also falls under their new “Epic Heroes” banner, which is what they’re classifying all their basic price-point 1/18 scale lines under.  Cyclops was also re-released alongside the rest of Series 1, plus the vehicle pack-in Storm, and a thus far exclusive Gambit, in a five-pack for Target, which hit towards the end of last year.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.  In terms of mobility, he’s about on par with the end of the Universe/Legends run.  It’s not a terrible set-up, and he’s honestly able to pull off most of the poses you’d need to get out of him.  Plus, he doesn’t feel as fiddly as some of the Universe figures, and he’s certainly more stable on his feet than the Universe ’90s Cyclops figure.  The sculpt on this figure is all-new, and it’s not bad.  It does appear that, in spite of him being specifically called out as a ’97 figure, he’s a little more in line with his design from the original show.  This is especially evident in the head, notably the way the hair sits.  Of course, it still works very much as an evergreen take on the character, which is far from a bad thing.  The actual detailing is all pretty sharp, and the proportions are nicely balanced.  Cyclops’ color work is decent enough.  Paint, especially the yellow sections, is a little sloppy.  I’m also not sure why they’ve neglected to paint his shorts yellow, but I assume there’s probably some sort of cost-saving element involved.  It’s a frustrating omission, but not the end of the world.  Cyclops is packed with an optic blast effect piece, which slips over his head.  It’s super goofy, but I unabashedly love it.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Last year, when these started to be sighted at retail, and their listings dropped on Amazon with no real info, I jumped on them, because, well, it’s ’90s X-Men, and how can I not.  Obviously, I’m not the main target audience for the line, which is part of the reason why I haven’t reviewed any of the four figures I’ve picked up until now.  But, like I said above, I can’t resist a good Cyclops, and, basic though he may be, this is a good Cyclops.  And now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna watch a new episode of X-Men: The Animated Series for the first time in two decades.

#3575: Morgan Elsbeth

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

MORGAN ELSBETH

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0054:  Morgan Elsbeth, a character of witch-y background, shares her name with Morgan Le Fay, witch of Arthurian legend, befitting Star Wars’ long-seated ties to Arthurian legend.

If you ask me to pick the things that stuck out to me about Morgan Elsbeth’s first appearance in The Mandalorian‘s “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” I don’t know that Morgan herself would have really jumped out at me, but she’s one of the parts that stuck around, getting upgraded to one of the main antagonists of Ahsoka.  She’s gotten action figures of all the main variety out of it, and I’ve opted to cover the Retro-style one, because why not?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Morgan Elsbeth is the final figure in the Ahsoka show tie-in assortment of Star Wars: Retro Collection.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is all-new, and it’s not bad.  It’s nothing thrilling, I suppose; Morgan’s outfit is kind of pedestrian as far as Star Wars looks go, but they do their best with it.  Like a proper vintage release, she’s got her skirt from the show sculpted into a pair of awkward legs.  It’s very silly, but it’s very proper to the style, and it helps to sell the idea well.  I do feel like the hands are a little large, and the arms a little skinny, for a proper vintage figure, but it otherwise feels pretty authentic.  Morgan’s color work is kind of bland, but that’s accurate, I suppose.  There’s some red and some off black.  Paint application is kept to a minimum, but what’s there is well applied.  Morgan is packed all on her own, with no accessories of any sort.  That’s unfortunate.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I bought Morgan for one reason and one reason only: I was buying the rest of the set.  It felt silly to just skip her and Ahsoka, so I didn’t.  She’s fine.  Not thrilling.  I get her relevance to the plot, but I do wish we’d gotten someone else instead, since a number of other notable characters didn’t get moved over to this style.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3572: Rumble

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

CONCEPT ART DECPTICON RUMBLE

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0051:  In 2018, there was a blue humanoid cassette bot released to tie-in with the Bumblebee movie, who was named Frenzy.  In 2024, there was a blue humanoid cassette bot based on concept art from the Bumblebee movie…named Rumble.  There has as of yet been no Bumblebee movie red cassette bot.

My love of Soundwave extends, at least somewhat, to his cassettes.  They’re his little buddies, and you always have to have at least a few of them, right?  What I’ve settled into is a desire to have certain ones in every style, and those certain ones are Laserbeak and Frenzy.  The trouble is, there’s some confusion about who’re Frenzy and who’s Rumble.  Now, I’m a firm supported of the blue guy being Frenzy, and I’m not about to let a label on a package tell me otherwise.  Okay, I might let it tell me otherwise, but I’ll still go to great lengths to file a formal complaint…in my mind.  The point is, sometimes, if I want a Frenzy, I have to convince myself a Rumble’s not really a Rumble.  Case in point.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Concept Art Decepticon Rumble was released in the ninth Core Class assortment of Transformers: Studio Series, which serves as the first Core Class assortment of 2024 for the line as well.  He’s alongside Mohawk and (humorously) a re-pack of the 86 Frenzy, who’s red, so as to be animation accurate.  In his robot mode, Rumble stands a little over 2 inches tall and he has 18 workable points of articulation.  He’s actually surprisingly mobile; the articulation scheme here does a lot in its small space.  The mold is all-new, and it’s a fun one.  I really dig this design; it grabs all the classic cassette boi vibes, but also modernizes a bit.  I love working the thumper weapons directly into the arms, even if it’s at the cost of him not actually having hands.  He gets two guns, which he can’t hold, but you can mount them on his back, I guess, so there’s that.  Like Ravage before him, Rumble turns into a prism thing, which can be fitted into the Voyager Soundwave’s torso.  I found the transformation on Rumble a lot simpler, and a lot less fiddly than Ravage, so I far preferred it.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Since there were no cassettes beyond Ravage in the movie, I didn’t expect to get anyone else to go with my Bumblebee Soundwave.  This was a pleasant surprise.  He sort of fell into a different batch of figures I was buying when he came in, so I forgot about him, and wound up opening him while in the car for a long road trip, which was another pleasant surprise when I realized just how much fun he was.  Sure, his name may be wrong, but he’s still an awesome figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3570: HK-87 Assassin Droid

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

HK-87 ASSASSIN DROID

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0049: The HK-87 Assassin Droid’s design is based in part on an unused concept drawing by Ralph McQuarrie for the character that would eventually become IG-88.

Well, I didn’t *intend* to miss a review yesterday, but the day just wasn’t having any of it.  Have no fear, I’m back and on track once more, and jumping headlong back into the Star Wars side of things.  I’m going back to the Retro Figures well again, this time having just a little bit more Droid-related fun with the HK-87 Assassin Droid!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The HK-87 Assassin Droid is the sixth figure in the Ahsoka tie-in assortment of Star Wars: Retro Collection.  This one is specifically meant to be one of the rank and file HKs, seen in both Mandalorian and Ahsoka.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is all-new and unique to this release.  It’s a pretty good breakdown of the design seen in the show, filtered through that vintage lens.  The design is the totally stripped down version of the droid, without any of the belts or cloaks they tend to wear in the shows.  It allows for extra customization, I suppose, if you were so inclined.  Beyond that, the details are generally hitting the broader design pieces, and they’re pretty cleanly handled.  His color work again goes for one of the rank and file droids, so he’s got the mix of grey, tan, and red.  It’s again a little broader and stripped down than the show design, but it works, and it sells the idea pretty well.  The HK is packed with a vintage styled-version of the battle droid blaster.  It’s surprising that no cloak or anything is included, but this does match with the more paired down approach of the vintage line.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

The HK design’s a fun one, and it’s one I’ve been wanting in some format, but I was’t sure I wanted to spring for the Black Series version.  This one hit just as I was trying to make the decision, which made the whole thing a lot easier for me.  It’s a basic figure, much like the rest of the line, but he’s fun.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.