Tag Archives: Hasbro

#1164: Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader

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

SCARIF STORMTROOPER SQUAD LEADER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Like pretty much every single Star Wars film, Rogue One introduced it’s own set of faceless troopers, variations on the original Stormtroopers.  In addition to the basic Stormtroopers and TIE Fighter pilots, we also got Krennic’s bodyguards the Death Troopers, a few new vehicle pilots, and (my most favorite) the Scarif Troopers (also known as the Shoretroopers, a name I kind of prefer).  None of them really amounted to all that much in the final film, but they did make for a slightly more diverse selection of faceless mooks for the heroes to take out right and left.  There were a few different types of the Shoretroopers featured, and thus there are few different figures available.  I’ve already looked at the Black Series version of the basic Shoretrooper, but there’s also the Squad Leader, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

scarifsquadleader2The Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader was released as part of the second assortment of Rogue One-themed Star Wars: The Black Series figures, which, as I noted in yesterday’s Krennic review, is actually the eighth series of red-boxed Black Series figures.  The Squad Leader is figure 28, making him the second numerically in this series of three.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  For the most part, I’ve seen this figure before, both in terms of design, and in terms of the actual pieces in use.  Of course, he’s sporting the same design as the smaller Squad Leader, albeit slightly more detailed.  As far as pieces, he’s built on the Hovertank Pilot body, just like the basic Shoretrooper, and also makes use of the same helmet as the basic Shoretrooper.  These remain good pieces, and I can hardly fault the re-use, since they should be consistent.  He gets a new belt piece, which features the kama sported by the Squad Leader.  Surprisingly enough, the articulation isn’t all that affected by the new piece, and the general quality of the sculpt matches well with the rest of the pieces.  Most of the new-ness of this figure comes from the paintwork.  At the most basic level, it’s pretty similar to the basic Shroetrooper, which makes sense.  He’s also got a lot of very similar weathering to that figure, though it should be noted that it’s slightly different, which prevents the two of them from looking too cookie-cutter.  The main difference between the two figures is the presence of the blue detailing on his upper torso and left shoulder.  It does a lot to differentiate him, and I like the extra splash of color it adds.  In addition, the weathering seen on the rest of the armor is also seen on the blue sections, which looks pretty cool.  The Squad Leader includes a larger blaster rifle.  It’s got the same base as the usual Stormtrooper blaster, but with a number of extra add-ons.  It makes for a pretty fun new design.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Krennic, the Squad Leader was picked up for me by Super Awesome Girlfriend, during a bit of a “stress buy.”  After getting the smaller version of this guy, I definitely wanted the larger one too, though I initially thought I’d be okay with the basic Shoretrooper.  Once I saw this guy, I knew I needed him too.  He’s just as much fun as the basic trooper, and I’m very happy to have gotten him.

Also, fun fact: the Rogue One products were solicited to retailers using code names.  The Rebels and the Imperials were the “SEALS” and “SHARKS,” and each figure was then given a short descriptor.  It seems Walmart never changed the codenames to the real names in their system, so this guy rung up as “SHRK TOOPER” which I found rather amusing.

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#1163: Director Krennic

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

DIRECTOR KRENNIC

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Star Wars is a franchise just as much defined by its villains as its heroes (if not more so).  Darth Vader is pretty much THE iconic movie villain, and every subsequent movie’s villain has had to do their best to live up to the shadow cast by Vader.  Rogue One of course made use of Vader himself, but only as an incidental antagonist.  The primary antagonist was Director Orson Krennic, who is pretty much a departure from Vader in every possible way.  He’s small in stature, largely unimposing, speaks in a notably unrefined manner, is a fan of empty threats, and is even dressed primarily in white.  He was a refreshing change of pace for the franchise’s villains, and Ben Mendelsohn gave a fantastic performance in the role.  Krennic has proven to be one of the more difficult characters to track down in figure form, though he’s available in both primary scales.  I was fortunate to get ahold of the larger figure, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

krenicbs2Director Krennic is part of the second series of Rogue One-based Star Wars: The Black Series figures, which is technically Series 8 of the “red box” Black Series that was launched with The Force Awakens.  Krennic is figure 27 in the line, making him numerically the first figure in the series.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  Krennic is sporting an all-new sculpt, but I’ll be genuinely surprised if we don’t see most of this body again for Tarkin at the very least.  It’s a very good translation of the Imperial officer’s uniform seen in all of the OT films.  All of the smaller details are properly placed and there’s even a nice bit of texturing on the tunic and pants, showing the fiber of the fabric.  The neck is rather on the scrawny side (which, admittedly, is another point in favor of this being re-used for Tarkin), but that’s actually covered pretty well by the cape.  The cape is sculpted, which is different for the line, since all the prior capes/robes have been cloth.  I’m certainly not complaining; it’s obviously a bit restricting, but for a character like krenicbs4Krennic, who’s not incredibly mobile, and the end result is immensely better looking than a cloth piece would be.  The head sculpt is okay, but not anything outstanding.  From certain angles, you can see Mendelsohn in there, but by and large he’s rather off.  Still, it’s not an awful sculpt, and far from the worst likeness the line has given us.  Krennic’s paintwork continues the general upward trend we’ve been seeing on Hasbro’s collector oriented lines.  While he’s not as impressive as, say, K-2 or the Scarif Trooper, the work here is still very clean, and matches well with what’s seen on screen.  Of note, the hair is greyer here than it was on the Force Awakens Han from earlier this year, though it’s still a little closer to a light blonde than what’s seen in the movie.  Clearly, someone in licensing is against grey hair.  In addition to the removable cape, Krennic includes his custom blaster pistol, which can be stored in his holster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While Super Awesome Girlfriend was looking for the Leia figure I reviewed yesterday, she came across this guy and decided that I needed him.  She does that a lot, but she also tends to be right about that a lot too, so yeah.  After seeing the movie, I’m definitely happy to have him, and this figure looks really cool when flanked by all of the specialized Trooper’s from the movie.

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#1162: Princess Leia

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

PRINCESS LEIA

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Okay, I’d like to start today’s review by saying that the subject of today’s review was picked and put on the review schedule over a month ago.  Obviously, I wasn’t expecting Carrie Fisher’s recent heart attack.  I and everyone else here at the FiQ are praying for the best for Carrie and the rest of her family.  In honor of her and in support of her ongoing recovery, here’s this Princess Leia figure.

EDIT: I just learned of Ms. Fisher’s passing.  My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.  She will be greatly missed.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

leiarebels2Princess Leia was released in the second series of Star Wars: Rogue One figures.  She’s not actually based on Rogue One, but is instead based on her appearance from Rebels.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  In Rebels, Leia’s design was based on some of the early Ralph McQuarrie designs for Leia, which is in keeping with the aesthetic of the rest of the show.  The figure gets an all-new sculpt, which does a pretty solid job of translating the design into plastic.  While Leia is a cartoon version of her character and meant to be a good decade or so younger than her movie appearances, you can still see a bit of Carrie Fisher in there, thus allowing you to pretty easily identify who she’s meant to be.  The proportions are all pretty sound (though obviously a little on the exaggerated side), and the details are all nice and sharply defined.  The hip articulation coulee possibly be worked into the sculpt a little more smoothly, but that’s really the only negative I can think of.  Her paintwork is probably some of the sharpest work I’ve seen on any of these smaller scale figures.  The color palette is nice and distinct, and all of the application is nice and clean.  No misplaced lines or wonky hair on this figure.  For accessories, Leia sports the E-11 Stormtrooper blaster, as well as yet another version of the grapple piece included with Cassian and Sabine.  It’s getting common enough that I think the missile launchers should be worried about being replaced.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was unable to find Leia when I picked up the rest of the Series 2 on Black Friday, which actually let me down a bit, since I was quite looking forward to the figure.  I ultimately found her a few weeks later at the same time as the Black Series Scarif Trooper, but only had the funds for one, so the trooper won out.   However, I mentioned it to Super Awesome Girlfriend and if you know anything about her, you know where this is going.  Yep, the next time she was at Walmart, she made a point of finding this Leia figure for me.  This is a pretty fun little figure, and a nice addition to my steadily growing Rebels collection.

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#1155: Kanan Jarrus

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

KANAN JARRUS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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So, when The Black Series was launched, the focus was most prominently on the Original Trilogy characters (with one or two Prequel characters here and there, but definitely secondary).  As the line has continued, it’s become a bit more inclusive, adding The Force Awakens, of course, but also some Clone Wars and Rebels characters (and in the most recent series, even a proper EU character).  Today, I’ll be looking at one of those Rebels figures, namely Kanan Jarrus!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

kananbs3Kanan was released in the sixth series of the third round of Star Wars: The Black Series (i.e. the sixth series of Force Awakens Black Series).  He’s figure #19 in the line, which I believe makes him the first Rebels figure numerically.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  This figure takes Kanan’s animated design and sort of real-world-izes it.  It’s a good plan on Hasbro’s part; with the smaller scale figures, you’re guaranteed to get a larger quantity of them, so the stylized look won’t stand out as much, but for the larger figures, where animated releases will be far more spaced out, it’s far better to have them fit with the rest of the established line.  This way Kanan can get right to mowing through Stormtroopers without waiting for a proper Rebels Trooper release.  Overall, I think Kanan’s sculpt does a reasonable job of taking Kanan’s animated design and translating into how he might look in a live action film.  It’s not perfect, and I do really think Hasbro would have been smart to base Kanan on his voice actor Freddie Prinze, Jr in terms of likeness and build.  While it certainly looks like Kanan, he still ends up being a little more cartoony than a real person; his eyes (and head in general, really) are rather large, and his torso and arms seem very scrawny.  They’re certainly not as exaggerated as his animated counterpart, but when compared to some of the other figures from the line, he does look ever so slightly famished.  On the plus side, the texture work on the figure’s clothes is pretty outstanding, even better than a few of the other Black Series figures.  I like that each article of clothing has its own texture.  As far as the paint work goes, Kanan matches up with most of the more recent Black Series releases.  He’s a notable improvement over some of the prior figures, and most of the work is pretty sharp.  He could probably stand to have a little more accent work in a few spots, but what’s there works.  There is this weird clump scratched paint on his neck thing, almost like he was scratched before the paint had completely dried, but that’s the only real nit.  Kanan is packed with sidearm blaster, as well as his lightsaber, the hilt of which is designed got separate into two pieces that clip onto his belt, just like on the show.  It’s not the world’s largest accessory complement, but it’s better than several other figures in the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, Kanan was released prior to me getting into Rebels, which means I saw him a number of times and passed him up, since I didn’t know the character (yes, I know I bought all of the Rogue One and Force Awakens stuff before seeing the movies and “knowing the characters.”  You’re very smart.  Now shut up).  By the time I got into the show and actually wanted this guy, he had pretty much disappeared from shelves.  Fortunately for me, there are still some cases of series 6 making their way out there, and one such case had hit the Target where I found the second series of Rogue One figures, allowing me to grab this guy at the same time.  Karan has his flaws, but so did a lot of figures in this particular series, and at least his don’t prevent him from being a fun action figure.

#1151: Scarif Stormtrooper

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

SCARIF STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Last night, showings started for Rogue One. I was traveling yesterday, so I won’t actually be seeing it until later this evening, but I sure hope it’s good. I’ve got one more Rogue One-related review lined up for today. This one gives us another look into some of the Empire’s new (well newly appearing, anyway) Troopers, specifically of the Scarif variety. I’ve already looked at one of the Squad leaders, but now I’m looking at one of regular grunts!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

scariftrooperbs3The Scarif Stormtrooper is Walmart’s Star Wars: The Black Series exclusive for 2016. He just started hitting right at the beginning of December, but as is always the case with these sorts of figures, he might be more prevalent in some areas than others. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation. I’ve already covered a lot of this figure before, thanks to most of his parts being shared with the TRU-exclusive Hovertank Pilot. This figure is really just a new head and belt/skirt. The designs share a lot of common pieces on the actual costumes, so the reuse is certainly warranted, and I had actually guessed this reuse was imminent when I reviewed that figure. It’s certainly a decent base body to start with, and I like it just as much here as I did the first time around. The new pieces mesh quite well with the preexisting parts, and look to be fairly accurate to the movie. The paint work on this guy is pretty solid, and actually a bit better than a lot of prior Black Series releases. The colors match up pretty well with the movie designs, and the base work is all pretty clean. What’s really cool is there’s even some additional accent work and weathering, which helps to make the Trooper look nice and battle worn. After a disappointing number of totally spotless figures, it’s a refreshing change of pace. The Scarif Trooper’s only accessory is a basic Stormtrooper blaster, though it’s worth noting that this blaster’s got the extra detailing that we saw with the Eadu Jyn, which is cool to see be a continuing trend.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Oh boy, this guy. Was getting this guy a fun trek. So, he wasn’t ever really announced by Hasbro. News of him instead broke when someone’s Walmart started running the ad showing off the figure on their in-store monitors right around Rogue Friday. Most other stores, including the one closest to me, followed suit shortly thereafter. Of course, while there may have been an ad, there was no sign of the figure anywhere. It was quite surreal, because it’s very rare to see an ad for any action figure these days, and it’s usually for figures that have long since left shelves. Getting the ad for the figure months before we see even a production sample? That’s weird. With no indication of when the figure would be showing up, I ended up stopping in at the closest Walmart rather frequently, and getting more and more disappointed with each visit. But, as luck would have it, after almost completely giving up, I stopped once more last week on a whim. I actually almost missed him at first; he’s supposedly hitting in solid cases of just him, but there was only the one left by the time I got there. I’m really glad I finally found him. The Scarif Trooper is my favorite of the new designs, and this is a very well put together figure too!

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#1150: Darth Vader

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

DARTH VADER

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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I don’t have any specific numbers off of the top of my head, but if I had to hazard a guess as to which Star Wars character had the most action figures, I’d probably go for Darth Vader.  Something about this guy speaks to the fans, and that results in a lot of merchandise with his face (or mask, I guess) plastered all over it.  It’s not really a huge shock that Rogue One found a way to include good ol’ Darth in the film, especially since getting him in there didn’t take too many insane jumps of logic (I mean, I think.  Still haven’t seen the movie).  Vader has found his way into a few of the toylines for the film, because really, what licensee in their right mind wouldn’t take advantage of his latest appearance.  Today, I’ll be looking at his newest 3 3/4 inch figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

vaderro3Darth Vader is another figure from the second series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Rogue One line.  The figure stands about 4 1/4 inches tall and has a whopping 6 points of articulation.  Waist articulation FTW!  Can that become standard again?  Believe it or not, Vader’s actually an entirely new sculpt, which is a pretty big deal.  He’s based specifically on his Rogue One design, which is itself just a slightly cleaned up version of the A New Hope design.  Believe it or not, ANH-accurate Vader’s are few and far between, which means this guy offers up something pretty darn cool, despite just being another Darth Vader.  On top of the ANH accuracy, the sculpt is also just one of the best Vader sculpts out there, especially when compared to Hasbro’s last few attempts at the character (including the less than stellar Black Series figure).  The scaling is right, the proportions are well matched, the details are sharp, and his left hand is doing his ANH force choke (which was slightly different from later films).  I suppose the lightsaber grip on the right hand could be a little better (his hold on the hilt is a little loose and awkward), but that’s really the only major complaint I can come up with.  He even gets a nice sculpted cape, which is much nicer than the mediocre cloth capes included with the last few Vaders.  Even the paint’s pretty good on this guy.  The color work is all pretty tight, and there’s some nice variation on the finish of the different blacks of his costume (to be truly ANH-accurate, the helmet should really be matte finish, but it looks like the shiny helmet was kept for Rogue One, meaning this guy’s still accurate).  Vader includes his lightsaber, as well as a big missile launcher, which is really, really goofy, especially with Vader.  He makes missile launchers goofier.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, oddly enough, Vader was my most wanted figure from the second series.  It’s strange, because it’s not like I don’t already have a handful of smaller-scale Vader figures, but I guess after getting the Rogue One Stormtrooper, which was such a great rendition of that design, I just really wanted a version of the big boss man himself that was of a matching quality.  Like the last four figures I’ve looked at, I picked up this Vader figure from Target late on Black Friday, and I was quite happy to find him.  The figure really turned out well, and this is definitely my go-to Vader moving forward!

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#1149: Chirrut Imwe

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

CHIRRUT IMWE

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Of the five Star Wars figures I’m looking at today, only one of them is actually a new character (well, one of them’s debatably a new character, but it’s iffy at best), and that’s today’s focus, Chirrut Imwe.  Chirrut is portrayed Donnie Yen, who isn’t the biggest name in the States, but is a pretty big name action star in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.  Given just how much of the original Star Wars was influenced by Asian cinema, Yen feels like a more than natural fit for the franchise.  I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him in action in the film.  Now, onto his figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

chirrut2Chirrut is another piece of the second series of Star Wars: Rogue One figures.  Given his prominence in the trailers, he was one of the more notable absences from the first wave of products, but he’s here now, and that’s what’s important.  The figure stands a little under 3 3/4 inches tall (he the shortest of the Rebels, excepting Jyn) and he has the usual 5 points of articulation.  I’m a little saddened that Hasbro didn’t take advantage of the loose sleeves to give him extra movement on the arms they war they did with the first Jyn figure, but oh well.  Chirrut’s sculpt is alright, but there are some oddities to it.  First and foremost, it’s by far the most pre-posed of the Rogue One figures. He’s posed sort of mid-stride, or something, but like only from the waist down.  His upper half is rather on the rigid side, but he also seems to have a slight hunch.  All that being said, the head sculpt has a halfway decent Donnie Yen likeness, which is certainly better than a number of other figures in the line.  The sculpt also does a nice enough job of translating his costume into plastic form.  It’s worth noting that we’re back to cutting the robes into an odd set of legs.  It actually works a bit better here than it does sometimes, though it’s quite clear it was sculpted as a solid piece and had the articulation cut into it.  The paint work on Chirrut is fairly well handled.  Th colors a pretty nice match for those from the film (well, I think so, anyway), and the application is all pretty clean.  His irises seem a little on the dark side, since he’s supposed to be blind and all, but they’re different enough from the normal figures’ eyes to be noticeable, which I guess is the important part.  Chirrut includes his staff, which he has a little trouble holding, but is overall a nice piece, as well as a giant missile launcher, which looks to be patterned after his crossbow-looking thing we’ve seen in some of the posters.  He has a lot of trouble holding the missile launcher, but it’s not like I’m really going to complain about that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember where I got the last two figures?  Wanna guess where I got Chirrut?  Yeah, same bat-place, same bat-story (wait, I thought this was a Staaaaar Wars post!).  Of the figures in Series 2, Chirrut was nearer the top of the list of the ones I wanted.  Ultimately, he’s not the best figure in the smaller scale line, but he’s hardly the worst either.  He’s certainly a nice addition to the team.

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#1148: Cassian Andor

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

CASSIAN ANDOR (EADU)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Perhaps the most glaring omission from the first 3 3/4 inch series of Hasbro’s Rogue One line was Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor.  He got a 6-inch figure, and he was included in the big U-Wing set, but there was no basic single release for him.  It’s not a huge surprise that he’s one of the main figures in the second assortment, albeit sporting a different look than the U-Wing figure (though it’s actually the exact same look as the 6-inch figure).  So, was he worth the extra wait?  Let’s find out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As noted above, Cassian Andor was released in Series 2 of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Rogue One line.  Like his larger counterpart, he’s based on his Eadu look, which is a look rather reminiscent of the Hoth looks from Empire Strikes Back.  It’s not a look we’ve seen him in very much in the trailers and such, but I suppose it’s just as valid as any, and it’s not like Cassian’s more prevalent brown-jacketed look isn’t getting it’s own share of figures in the coming months.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Cassian is sporting a brand new sculpt, and while it’s decent enough, I think it’s one of the weaker sculpts from the Rogue One line.  It’s possible that it’s because I saw this design on the Black Series figure first and that’s coloring my opinion, since this one is a bit simpler in terms of details.  On its own, the sculpt is a passable translation of the design from the movie (from what I’ve seen, anyway).  The proportions are decently balanced, and he does actually look like he’s wearing all of the appropriate layers (always a concern with the Hoth-style looks).  The lower portion of the coat is a separate piece, glued in place.  While I certainly don’t mind, I do kind of wish Hasbro could stick to either this style or the “cutting everything like a normal set of legs” style; the jumping back and forth makes the figures less cohesive. The hat isn’t removable like the larger figure’s was (though it is still a separate piece, just glued to the head), which isn’t a surprise at this scale, but it robs him of that extra look the other figure had.  The likeness on the face still doesn’t look much like Luna to me; it’s looking like he’s the Oscar Isaac of this particular film in that respect.  The overall stance of the figure is a little stiffer than I’d like, but it’s not awful.  The paintwork on Cassian, like the sculpt, is certainly passable, but a little bit disappointing.  A lot of the issues are on the face, specifically the beard, which is really, really inconsistent.  For some reason, there’s this whole strip on the underside of his chin that’s just clean, unpainted flesh.  It looks weird.  Aside from that, the rest of the paint is okay, but a little on the drab side.  Like so many others from this line, he really feels like he’d benefit from any sort of accent work.  Cassian was packed with a small blaster and a zipline contraption.  The zipline is a slightly different model than the one included with Sabine (though it works the same way), but it’s still a pretty cool accessory.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember how I got yesterday’s Rey figure?  Yeah, same story for Cassian.  Truth be told, this isn’t the Cassian I’ve been holding out for (that would be the jacketed one from the U-Wing, who’s set to be re-released in a two-pack sometime in the near future), but since I didn’t have the character at all in this scale, I felt sort of obligated.  I know, I have no restraint.  Ultimately, he’s not the most exciting figure, but I guess he’s not the worst thing ever.

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#1147: Rey (Jakku)

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

REY (JAKKU)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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This Friday will see the release of the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One.  In honor of the movie’s release, I’m going to be doing a week of Star Wars reviews to countdown to said release.  “But Ethan, didn’t you just do a Star Wars week?” Listen you, if you’re just going to ruin my good time, you can just go read someone else’s toy review site!  No. Stop. Come back.

All of this week’s reviews are coming straight from Hasbro’s various Rogue One product, but as we determined earlier, that doesn’t always mean that the figures are Rogue One-themed, strictly speaking.  There’s a steady helping of Force Awakens product mixed in with all of the new stuff, including today’s figure, Rey!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

reyro2Rey is part of the second series of Hasbro’s smaller-scale Star Wars: Rogue One line.  She takes Kylo’s spot from Series One as the resident Force Awakens character in this particular line-up.  We’ve gotten quite a few different Rey figures, and a lot of them look rather similar.  What sets this one apart from the others?  She’s got a new hat!  Okay, it’s more of a head wrap thing.  And, it’s not actually “new,” just in a different configuration from the last two times we saw it.  This figure takes the Starkiller Base Rey and the Rey’s Speeder Rey and sort of averages the two looks, giving us a Rey that is sporting her head wrap and goggles, but one you can still see the face of.  Perhaps not the most noteworthy look, but she does appear like this in the film, for like, seconds.  Maybe even a whole minute!  I look forward to the eventual wearing Poe’s/Finn’s Jacket Rey, that way I can have all three of the mains wearing the *same* coat!  Oh, the continuity nightmare!  The figure is about 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  The main body appears to be the same mold as the Starkiller Base Rey; it’s not a perfect mold, but there’s at least some consistency.  My only real complaint is the thinness of the arms, but that’s minor.  This figure gets an all-new head, as well as an add-on piece for the additional wrappings on her torso.  The head is a pretty solid piece, and seems to have a slightly better likeness than the Starkiller figure.  It’s not like it’s spot on, but it’s decent, and there’s plenty of solid work on the rest of the head to make the sculpt worthwhile.  The torso add-on is a nice addition, mostly because it hides the slightly flat torso of the original Rey figure, and makes her look much more on par with the Rogue One stuff.  As far as paint, Rey’s pretty standard fare. She’s got all the right base colors, and everything’s pretty clean.  She’s the sort of figure that might be benefited by some accent work to bring out more of the sculpted details, but I guess this way she matches up with the rest of the line.  Rey includes her staff, a back pack, and, of course, the requisite giant missile launcher.  The launcher is patterned after her speeder, so I guess that’s kinda cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, against our better judgement, my family, Super Awesome Girlfriend, Tim, Jill, and I all went out early Black Friday (well, late Thursday, I guess).  Rey was not purchased at this time, because oh gosh the insanity.  Instead, I got her when we went back out much later on Friday, when things had calmed down.  This isn’t a Rey figure I knew I wanted, but I gotta say, I was pretty excited to find her.  Sure, she’s in that weird area of not really being a default Rey, but also being really similar to the default Rey, but she’s actually a pretty fun figure, and a great way for Hasbro to get the character out there one more time.

#1144: Wonder Man – Energized Emissaries

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

MARVEL’S WONDER MAN — ENERGIZED EMISSARIES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

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Remember that bio I ran with Captain Britain that was no help as an intro?  I don’t think it’s any more help for Wonder Man.  That’s okay, I think I did an alright job of introducing the guy yesterday.  So, without further ado, here’s another Wonder Man figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

wondermanhas2Wonder Man is the fifth figure in the recent Abomination Series of Marvel Legends.  His official name is “Energized Emissaries,” which he shares with Captain Britain.  It’s…well, it’s not really a name that works particularly well for either of them.  They seem like an odd pair to share packaging really, since it’s not like they really have anything at all in common.  Ah, who cares about the names, it’s the figures that matter, right?  This figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s based on Wonder Man’s most recent costume design, which he was sporting in Uncanny Avengers.  Admittedly, it’s a design I have some issues with.  Most notably, the swapping out the belt for the straps on the upper arms and legs just feels like change for the sake of change.  Still, it’s far from the worst costume the guy’s ever worn, and at least it’s current.  Wonder Man is built on the Grim Reaper body, a fitting choice, given that Grim Reaper is Simon’s brother Eric.  It’s also the same body now being used for Captain America, who is canonically the same height as Simon, so it’s a good fit all around.  Certainly a better choice than the last ML Wonder Man!  Wonder Man gets an all-new head sculpt, which is a decent enough piece.  I personally would have liked the hair to be a touch longer, but this matches up with most of the character’s depictions while in this costume.  He also makes use of the bracer-wearing forearms we saw on the Walgreens-exclusive Namor figure, which are a great bit of re-use.  Honestly, it wouldn’t shock me to find out the pieces were deliberately designed for use with both of them, given how close the figures are in terms of release.  Wonder Man continues the trend of very clean paintwork that we’ve been seeing from Hasbro as of late.  There’s a little bot of slop on his leg bands, but aside from that, the work is very clean.  There’s even the slightest hint of blue on his hair, which adds a nice bit of pop.  Also of note: they actually got his logo right!  Finally!  The last few Wonder Men have all had the Ionic powers represented by a separate figure, but this time around they’ve just been rolled into the main figure, by way of some extra hands and some effects pieces.  He gets a pair of fists (slightly underscaled due to being outsourced from the Bucky Cap body.  How has Hasbro not yet sculpted fists for the Reaper body?) in translucent purple, along with the effects pieces from Havok done up to match.  It’s admittedly not a bad way of showcasing the powers, though I certainly wouldn’t say not to a fully Ionic re-paint.  I’m not sure the effects pieces work quite as well for Simon as they did for Havok, but they work well enough that they don’t bug me.  In addition to the Ionic pieces, he also includes the right leg of the BAF Abomination.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted yesterday, Wonder Man’s always been one of my favorites.  That, coupled with his last Legends figure being somewhat lackluster, meant I was pretty excited for this guy.  I ended up grabbing him off of Amazon at the same time as Captain Britain and Scarlet Witch.  Aside from not being my ideal costume choice, he’s a pretty solid take on the character, and a much worthier rendition than the last figure.  Wonder Man gets to be part of the default Avengers set-up again!

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