Tag Archives: Hasbro

#1135: C-3P0

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

C-3P0 w/ EWOK THRONE

STAR WARS: THE SAGA COLLECTION

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For the third day of Star Wars week, I’m actually jumping back a little.  No, not back to the vintage line, or even the ‘90s revival, but rather to the post-Revenge of the Sith line. Hasbro’s license actually went up for renewal not too long after RotS’s release, and there was some discussion (admittedly, not *a lot* of discussion, though) as to whether they were really going to pick the license back up, or if Star Wars toys, now without a steady stream of new movies, had run their course.  But, Hasbro and Lucasfilm renewed, launching the whole franchise encompassing Saga Collection.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of the earlier figures from that line, C-3P0!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

c3po2C-3P0 was released in 2006 as part of the Star Wars: The Saga Collection line.  He was figure 42 out of 74, so he hit a little past the line’s halfway point.  He’s based on Threepio’s appearance from the Original Trilogy, specifically the scene in Return of the Jedi where the Ewoks believe him to be a god.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation.  He comes from a period when the line was just starting to produce decently articulated figures, and it’s worth noting that he’s actually the very first Threepio to feature moving knees (though, it’s likely that the only reason he was given them was so he could sit properly in his chair).  This version of Threepio had an all-new sculpt.  I can’t say for certain, but I’m fairly confident this one got used at least a few more times, too.  It’s a pretty decent sculpt, and certainly does his design justice.  There’s a lot of nice detail work, where really makes him feel like an authentic recreation of the character, and he looks far more accurate than even the RotS version, released only a year prior.  The paint on this figure is mostly reliant upon the vac metalizing, to give him the proper shiny finish.  They even got the silver for his right shin correct!  He’s still got actual paint for all the important details, such as the eyes, mouth, wiring on his torso, and even the black on the undersides of his hands (a detail very frequently left out).  There were two variations of this figure’s knees.  He initially shipped out with two gold knees, but later figures (including mine) had knees that matched the lower legs.  It’s a small detail, but does make a noticeable difference.  Threepio was packed with the wooden throne constructed for him by the Ewoks (with removable carry poles), a Saga Collection display stand, and a little holographic Han Solo.  There were 12 different hologram figures, each available in both red and blue, included with all the Saga Collection figures, and packed in at random.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Threepio here was a slightly early birthday present from my pal Phil.  Last year he got me Maria from Metropolis, so it’s only fitting that this year he’d give me a character famously inspired by her (it’s entirely possible this was not intentional on Phil’s part.  He tends to give me something either Star Wars or robot related, so Threepio showing up isn’t that far-fetched).  He may be a decade old, but this is still possibly the best version of Threepio Hasbro ever put out!

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#1134: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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Here’s another Star Wars review for Star Wars Week!  Alright!  As I noted back in my first Force Awakens Han Solo review, Han (along with pretty much all of the returning guard from the original trilogy) was left out of the initial rounds of product for TFA.  While his 6-inch figure ended up showing up within a month or two of the film’s release, neither of his 3 3/4-inch figures proved quite as timely.  I ended up finding the Walmart-exclusive Starkiller Base version over the summer, but his basic small-scale version proved somewhat illusive.  But, in case you haven’t figured out by this point, I found one, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

hantfa2Han was released alongside Resistance Rey in the second “Forest” assortment of Star Wars: The Force Awakens figures.  (The third figure in said assortment was the Hassk Thug.  Who’s the Hassk Thug?  Good question.  Perhaps the sort of question that should have been asked before Hasbro decided to pack him in equal numbers to two of the higher-demanded figures in the line, thereby adding to the already frustrating over-abundance of “unknown” characters.  I’m getting off-topic; sorry).  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has the typical 5 points of articulation.  Han’s sculpt is unique to this figure.  It’s overall pretty good.  The head has a decent Harrison Ford likeness (better than the Starkiller version, at the very least), and the general pose is pretty natural.  The level of detail is okay; some of the details are a little on the soft side compared to other figures in the line.  My biggest issue with the figure is the jacket piece.  It’s a little on the thick side, and the shoulders on the arms aren’t sculpted to compensate, which makes it look like he’s wearing like a life jacket or something.  It’s not awful, but they’ve done better, and for someone as important as Han, it’s something of a letdown.  Han’s paintwork is fairly straight forward, but certainly not bad.  What’s there is pretty clean, and the eyes in particular are much cleaner than a lot of the other figures in the line.  This figure, of course, still has the issue with the hair being light brown, rather than the grey that it should be.  There’s some traces of grey in there, which is better than the other two, so at least they were trying.  Han includes his usual blaster pistol, which is really cool, as well as the usual build-a-thingamajig piece.  In this case, it’s a big gun, which is at least a little better than some of the pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like Rey, I found Han out of the blue at Cosmic Comix.  He was definitely a major want for me, since the Starkiller version wasn’t really cutting it.  He’s a decent enough figure; not perfect, but pretty good.  I wish the sculpt were a little sharper, and the jacket’s annoying, but I’m honestly just happy to have him.

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#1133: Rey – Resistance

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

REY – RESISTANCE

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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I think it’s about time we had another theme week.  And, since this is my site, my word is law, so here’s another Star Wars week!  (That’s code for “Ethan’s been buying a lot of Star Wars stuff lately and sometimes it’s hard to space it all out).

Star Wars has long been keen on giving us lots of costume changes for the main characters (because it’s easier to sell more toys that way), and The Force Awakens did a little of that, giving each of the three main characters (and Han and Leia) at least two distinct looks.  As luck would have it, however, the only character who could have both looks represented in the initial TFA assortments without violating Disney’s strict embargo on certain parts of the film was Poe.  Now, for Finn, you could get his second look easily enough by swapping his head onto a standard Trooper, but this left poor Rey without a second figure until after the film’s release.  To make matters worse, the assortment featuring her was held up by the second assortment not moving at retail, meaning it took today’s Rey figure as much 10 months to show up in some areas.  That seems excessive.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

reyresistance1Rey was released as part of the second “Forest” assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens figures.  She and the other two figures in the set technically hit in February, but as I noted in the intro, they didn’t arrive a lot of places until after the Rogue One stuff.  Rey is presented here in her Resistance garb from the end of TFA.  It’s only in the movie for like five minutes or so, but it’s there for the film’s final shots, and is a pretty sharp design in general, so it was begging for a figure.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Rey is head-to-toe a new sculpt; nothing re-used from her prior figures here.  Across the board, this figure’s sculpt is a pretty substantial improvement over the Starkiller Base version.  The proportions feel a bit more balanced, she doesn’t feel as frail, and the pose seems a bit more natural.  The vest is an add-on piece, and it adds some depth to the figure.  The head is probably the best Daisy Ridley likeness in the smaller scale (only the Titan Heroes figure is a challenger in terms of all the scales).  It’s still not perfect, but it’s a lot closer, I think mostly because rather than upscale the strands of hair at the sides of her face so they wouldn’t break (and thus making them look like braids or something), they just left them off, which looks much more accurate at this size.  Rey’s paint is generally pretty good, with one caveat on my figure.  The basic scheme is nice, and matches alright with what we see on screen.  There was some controversy about what the color of her vest should be, grey or tan.  It seems Hasbro went with the color of the actual costume, and didn’t replicate the effect of the lighting from the film.  It’s Han’s jacket all over again!  The application is mostly pretty clean, but my figure’s missing most of the paint representing the bottom of the shirt at the top of her left leg.  It’s really weird, because the app isn’t missing entirely; there’s a small sliver of it around the hip joint.  Not sure how it ended up like that.  Rey was packed with the blaster given to her by Han, Luke’s lightsaber, her staff, and a piece of the build-a-whatsit.  The blaster’s definitely the coolest piece.  The saber is neat too, though she never actually wields it ignited in this particular garb.  The staff is frustrating because it’s worked into the build-a-thing, and so it’s got this big block right in the middle of it, which is really annoying.  Sure, I’ve got several of them, but not everyone does.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been on the lookout for this figure since January, to no avail.  I refused to pay scalper prices for her, so I held out that I might find her in an actual store.  Hasbro recently announced she’d be getting a re-release in a Target-exclusive 7-pack, so I figured that would be my ticket.  As luck would have it, while I was up visiting my parents for Halloween, I went to pick up my comics, and my store had just randomly gotten in a case of this series (these would be the first Force Awakens figures they’ve gotten).  So, hey, I’ve got a Resistance Rey!  Yay!  I really hope this is a sign of the series getting a wider release, because this is probably Hasbro’s best small-scale Rey. 

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#1120: Baze Malbus & Imperial Stormtrooper

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

BAZE MALBUS & IMPERIAL STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE (HASBRO)

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Who wants more Rogue One stuff?  I sure hope the answer is you guys, ‘cause otherwise I’m writing for the wrong audience.  As noted yesterday, in the just over a month since Rogue Friday, a few new products have been slowly hitting, offering us a few new characters from the upcoming movie.  Slowly but surely, we’re getting all of the members of the lead team of Rebels.  Today, I’ll be looking at the latest member of the team, Baze Malbus, alongside an Imperial Stormtrooper.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Baze and the Stormtrooper are part of the second Battle-Packs assortment of the Star Wars: Rogue One line.  There are only two two-packs this time around, and this is the only Rogue One set in this assortment (the other is from Rebels).

BAZE MALBUS

bazetrooper2I don’t really know much about Baze.  His bio on the back of the box reads: “Hardened by the harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world, pragmatic soldier Baze Malbus is a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon who uses his natural bravado during the occupation of Jedha to face off against the Galactic Empire’s deadly, white-armor encased loyalists, the Imperial Stormtroopers.” He also looks a little like a Ghostbuster.  Which I guess is cool, depending on how you feel about Ghostbusters.  The figure stands a little under 4 inches tall and has the same 5 points of articulation as most of the other figures in this line.  His sculpt is all-new, and matches up pretty well with the other figures from the line so far.  It does a decent job of capturing Baze’s look, at least from what we’ve seen so far.  The head sculpt presents a decent likeness of actor Jiang Wen.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close, and it’s very easy to tell who this is supposed to be. Base is ever so slightly preposed, with his arms at a slight bend and his legs sort of mid-strut.  In the case of the legs, this is mostly to offer Baze a bit more balance to offset the big thing attached to his back.  It’s a smart move on Hasbro’s part and makes Baze here a lot easier to stand than he might otherwise be.  I do sort of wish that if they were going to prepose the arm anyway, that they’d just go ahead and sculpt him to hold his weapon two-handed, but he looks alright holding it one-handed, I suppose.  Paint is perhaps the weakest part of Baze.  As with so many Hasbro figures, it’s not that it’s *bad*, but it’s just sort of bland, and also notably thick on the face and hair.  A little subtlety would go a long way, and might make him a little more interesting to look at.  Baze includes his repeater cannon/backpack, which is all one piece, and plugs into his back.  The piece can be removed and swapped with a big missile launcher thing (because Hasbro), which at the very least fits stylistically.

IMPERIAL STORMTROOPER

bazetrooper3Okay, do you remember when I looked at the basic Rogue One Stormtrooper?  Remember how awesome that guy was?  Yeah he was pretty cool.  Well, the good news is, if you like that guy, you’ll like this one, because he’s the same figure with an extra pauldron piece.  The extra piece is actually pretty cool, and thanks to its removable nature, you can use him as either an all-new figure, or just another trooper.  The paintwork is a bit improved this time around.  A few of the details missing from the standard figure have made their way onto this guy, for those that care about that sort of thing.  Also, it’s worth noting that this figure’s white is ever so slightly more yellow in hue than the single-carded figure (due to the single-carded figures being produced in China and the two-packs in Vietnam, thereby using slightly different materials).  He still includes the standard blaster from the single figure, but loses the “exploding” chest piece, which, given the added pauldron, seems forgivable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

No particularly exciting story here, I’m afraid.  I found this pair at my new local TRU about two weeks back (at the same time that I got Dr. Strange and Enchantress).  Baze is a pretty fun little addition to the Rogue One team, and I’m certainly happy to have him.  He’s got a fairly unique design.  I loved the basic Stormtrooper from this line, so getting a variation on that so quickly is definitely a plus in my book.  The more Troopers, the better!

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#1119: Jyn Erso – Eadu

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

JYN ERSO – EADU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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And we’re back with the Rogue One toys!  Alright, alright.  After the initial surge of product for the September 30th “Rogue Friday” event, there’s been a slow trickle of additional products making their way out over the course of the last month or so. Everyone and their mother seems to be getting in on the store-exclusives for this one, including K-Mart, who presumably wanted another chance to send out shampoo to those poor customers who try ordering their exclusive online (genuine flip side question: do you think there’s someone out there who opened a box expecting some Head & Shoulders and instead found themselves with only a Jyn Erso to treat their dry, itchy scalp?)  I’ll be looking at the K-Mart-exclusive Jyn Erso today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

jynbseadu3As noted in the intro, Jyn is a K-Mart-exclusive, but more specifically, she hails from the popular Star Wars: The Black Series line by Hasbro.  Jyn follows the K-Mart exclusive trend started by Starkiller Base Kylo and Rey, being a standard-sized Black Series figure packed with a large environment base/diorama.  Unlike the prior two, however, the actual Jyn figure is more than just a simple repack of her non-exclusive figure, but is rather a (mostly new) figure based on her Eadu look.  The figure is about 5 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She shares her lower half, hands, and possibly her torso (it’s hard to tell) with the Jedha version of Jyn, which, given what we’ve seen of the two designs, is accurate.  In addition, she gets a new head, arms, and an add-on for her jynbseadu4poncho.  There’s also a removable hat and breathing mask.  Unlike the hood from the Jedha figure, the removable pieces here don’t feel overly bulk or out of place.  That being said, that’s likely because (especially in the case of the hat), she wasn’t really meant to be seen without those pieces.  It’s still a much more pleasant end look, though.  The new pieces on Jyn are all nicely sculpted, and match up with the smaller Eadu Jyn in terms of specific details.  The new head has a stronger resemblance to Felicity Jones.  I’m not sure if that’s specifically the sculpt or the paint, but I feel this figure just looks more immediately like her.  It’s kind of too bad she’s jynbseadu6got hat hair, or else I might suggest swapping this head onto the Jedha version.  One of my more minor issues with the Jedha Jyn was that, while her paint work was clean, it was rather bland in terms of accent work.  Fortunately, this Jyn does a lot to fix that, offering a much wider variation of color on her poncho, and making her look less like a cartoon and more like a real person.  There’s still some room for improvement, but she’s generally a step up from the regular release.  This Jyn includes the same blaster pistol as her Jedha counterpart, as well as a collapsed version of her baton we’ve seen from the trailers (which she can hand from her poncho), a Stormtrooper rifle, and the previously mentioned environment base, which is made to look like a rocky cliff of sorts (if the Kylo/Rey pairing from last year is any indication, we’ll probably be seeing another figure shortly after the movie with a corresponding base).  Those accessories, along with the removable hat and breathing mask, mean that this Jyn feels like a much better deal than the standard retail version, even at $5 more.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Some K-Marts got this figure on Rogue Friday (some even got it a bit earlier).  The K-Mart nearest me may have, but they decided to open late that Friday morning, so I went to Target instead.  I ended up hitting the store up a week later, which got me this figure.  Yay.  Honestly, I’m wishing more and more that I’d just skipped the standard Jyn.  She’s not bad, but this figure’s just much better (and I’m gonna end up with another standard Jyn anyway, due to the Target set).  If you just want one Jyn figure, I wholeheartedly recommend this one if you can find it.  She’s easily the coolest version of the character on the market.  She’s even worth stepping into a K-Mart to get her!

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#1116: Doctor Strange

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

DOCTOR STRANGE

MARVEL LEGENDS

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In my Mordo review, I noted that Chiwetel Ejiofor’s performance was one of my favorite parts of Doctor Strange.  While a movie’s supporting cast is certainly important (and Doctor Strange probably had one of the MCU’s best supporting casts so far), you’ve got to have a good lead to make it truly work.  Fortunately, Doctor Strange had a very strong lead in Benedict Cumberbatch, who got just the right mixture of bombast, pomposity, arrogance, and a tiny bit of genuine likability, which made Stephen Strange a great centerpiece for his self-titled movie.  I know some people were hating on his American accent, but I actually didn’t think it was that bad. For some reason, the trailer’s opted to use the one or two lines where he slips up, which seems unfortunate.  Regardless, I look forward to seeing more from Cumberbatch’s Strange in future films.  In the mean time, here’s one of his action figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

drstrangemcu2Doctor Strange is the fifth figure in the Dormammu Series of Marvel Legends.  It seems a bit odd for him to be nearer the end in the numbering, especially since the Astral variant of this figure (which he shares his packaging, name, and bio with) is figure 1 and the comic-Strange is 2.  Seems weird to me.  Also, for a character who’s still being introduced to the masses, his bio is the painfully short, painfully generic “The Sorcerer Supreme combats evil using many forms.”  Like, his actual name isn’t even mentioned.  What’s up with that?  Honestly, I’m probably making a bigger deal out of all of this than I should.  It’s just packaging.  What about the figure?  Well, he’s 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  He’s an all-new sculpt, albeit one that is mostly shared with the Astral Doctor Strange.  It’s a very nice sculpt, definitely among the best of the MCU sculpts Hasbro’s put out.  There’s a lot of really nice layer work on his various costume pieces, as well as some really cool texturing, especially on the tunic.  The head sculpt presents a pretty good likeness of Cumberbatch, though he’s a lot cleaner looking here than he is for most of the drstrangemcu5movie (by the time he’s fully geared up, he’s taken a bit of a beating).  At the very least, I feel like his hair should be a bit messier.  That being said, disheveled isn’t the easiest thing to translate into sculpted media.  Both the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamoto are both removable pieces.  The Cloak is nicely sculpted, but seems just a bit on the thick side for me.  It doesn’t ruin the figure, but it does make posing him a little more difficult.  The Eye is a nice enough piece, but it’s hard to get it to stay in place, though the Cloak being on top of it helps in this regard.  Strange’s paintwork is pretty solid.  It’s certainly clean, though, as with the head sculpt, it’s a bit cleaner than he was in the movie.  Also, like Mordo, Strange still lacks any sort of accent work, but, unlike Mordo, he’s got enough distinct colors present that he’s not too drab looking.  Strange includes two sets of hands in gripping and spell-casting poses, as well as a magic shield thingy, and the left leg of Dormammu.  The hands are fun (and I’m always appreciative of extra hands).  The shield looks cool from the front, but is a bit silly from behind, since he’s just holding it with a dinky little handle.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I found Strange at the same time as Enchantress (after not finding him when I got Mordo and Iron Fist).  I wanted him, but wasn’t 100% sure I was going to get him right then.  Of course, then Super Awesome Girlfriend intervened and insisted on buying him for me (to be fair, the TRU trip where I found him was at the end of a rathe rough week for both of us, and she apparently feels better when she buys people stuff).  I’d say he were my favorite figure in the series, were it not for the other there figures I have from this series being really, really good too.  I don’t know that I can fairly pick a favorite.

And that’s it for the Dormammu Series reviews.  It’s worth noting that there are four more figures and a Build-A-Figure, but they’re largely very similar to prior items I’ve already looked at, with Astral Strange being mostly the same as this one (with the obvious change in coloring), Comic Strange being pretty much the same as the HB Doctor Strange (just with an added cape), Brother Voodoo being a slightly tweaked version of the SDCC version, and BAF Dormammu being largely the same as the Dormammu from that same set.  The only unique figure I haven’t looked at is Nico, who is actually in Super Awesome Girlfriend’s collection, so it’s up to her to review that one.

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#1115: Enchantress – Mystic Rivals

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

ENCHANTRESS – MYSTIC RIVALS

MARVEL LEGENDS

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The Enchantress?  I thought I wasn’t looking at any more of that Suicide Squad stuff!  Oh wait, that’s the *other* Enchantress.  Yes, the Enchantress is one of those times that both DC and Marvel overlap on a character’s name, thereby providing immense confusion for all those non-comics readers out there.  Marvel’s Enchantress appeared first (in 1964, two years before DC’s), and has generally been the better known of the two characters, which makes DC’s version of the Enchantress being the first one to grace the silver screen all the weirder.  Neither version of Enchantress has ever been all that lucky in terms of action figures; up until this year, there was exactly one figure out there of the Marvel version, and that was it.  Fortunately, she seems to be lucking out this year, with two figures already out and another on the way (curiously, DC’s Enchantress is still left out in the cold, as perhaps the only major member of the Suicide Squad cast left unreleased).  I’m looking at one of those figures today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

enchantress2Enchantress is the seventh figure in the Dormammu Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s officially titled “Mystic Rivals,” a name she shares with Runaways’ Nico Minoru.  This is our second Legends version of Enchantress this year, following the figure included in Hasbro’s SDCC-exclusive “The Raft” set.  The two figures are very similar in construction (it’s really just the arms and paint that are different), which has led to a bit of contention amongst the fanbase, some of whom feel exclusives should not be released.  Of course, a whole other section of the fanbase was upset that she was an exclusive in the first place, so I don’t know.  Personally, I’m happy to have gotten the second release (and, as someone who owns two of the other SDCC figures being re-released in this series, I don’t really see the problem with reissues on popular enough characters).  The figure is about 6 1/2 inches tall (a bit on the small side compared to our other Asgardians from this line) and has 26 points of articulation.  The SDCC Enchantress was built on the Scarlet Witch body from the Allfather Series, with a new had and skirt piece.  Obviously, Hasbro’s desire to reuse the Scarlet Witch base is what’s caused her to be slightly under-scaled, and, if I’m totally honest, I don’t mind all that much.  She’s still pretty suitably tall and imposing, and I think it would have been a little weird for her to be as hulking as, say, Valkyrie.  The new head is quite nice, and does a pretty suitable job of capturing Enchantress’ typical look.  I really like the slight sneering grin, like she’s up to something.  Very in character.  The skirt is a decent enough piece, though it’s a little bulky, and sort of exaggerates the smallness of her waist in comparison to her hips.  On this version of Enchantress, the Scarlet Witch arms have been swapped out for the arms from the new female base body (seen on Phoenix), which I find to be a much nicer set of arms than the prior ones.  I’m glad they made the switch.   The paint on Enchantress marks another change from the SDCC version.  The SDCC one was a bit more subtle, with everything being a slight variation of green, and an overall metallic sheen on the costume bits.  For this figure, the belt has been changed to yellow, and the base green is now darker and matte in finish.  Thanks to slight variations in coloring over the years, both figures are more or less accurate, so it really comes down to personal preference.  The quality of the application is very clean on this figure.  In general, the Dormammu figures are some of the best painted Legends we’ve gotten from Hasbro, which is a definite plus. Enchantress includes a pair of the Scarlet Witch spell casting effects, this time in a bright yellowish-green, as well as the torso of Dormammu.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when the SDCC set hit, I had contemplated trying to track down the Enchantress from the set, since she’s kind of an important character.  But, within a week or so, this figure was confirmed as being part of this set, which certainly made my life a whole lot easier.  I didn’t find her with my first find of this series, which was a little disheartening, but when I found the set again at my new local Toys R Us, she was right there with them, and I happily snatched her up.  I really like how this figure turned out, and I’m glad I didn’t have to pay the big bucks to get her!

*Want an Enchantress figure of your own?  She’s currently in-stock with our sponsors over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check her out!

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#1114: Iron Fist

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

IRON FIST

MARVEL LEGENDS

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Hasbro seems to have a lot of trouble placing Iron Fist.  Why?  Well, the guy’s now gotten two different figures from their re-branded Marvel Legends line, and in both cases, he was the one figure in the set whose connection to the overall theme was tenuous at best.  I’m not complaining, mind you.  I like me some Iron Fist.  And, since he’s got his own Netflix show on the horizon, it’s not exactly a huge surprise that Hasbro opted to get out another figure of him sooner rather than later.  Now, if someone can explain to me what he’s doing in a Dr Strange set, we should be all good to go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ironfisthas3Iron Fist (who, like so many figures in this line, gets that “Marvel’s” possessive added to his name, just so you don’t mistake him for someone else’s Iron Fist) is part of the recent Dr. Strange-themed Dormammu Series of Marvel Legends, where he’s figure 8 in the lineup.  He’s seen here in the green jump-suited look he had during Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker’s defining run on the character.  It’s one of those modern updates I can get behind, where it takes all of the important elements of the character, but also removes some of the sillier, more dated bits, like the huge collar, deep, deep, (deep!) neckline, and slippers.  It’s also nice to see it here because, despite being the character’s main look during a very popular run on his series and for some time after, it hadn’t yet gotten the Legends treatment (it got the Marvel Universe treatment, but the less said about that, the better).  The figure is about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Iron Fist is built on the Pizza Spidey body, a choice that surprised a few people.  Generally, Iron Fist is depicted a little larger than this body (it’s been a story point that he can convincingly double for Daredevil, who was on the Bucky Cap body).  That being said, this body allows him a wider range of posability, and it’s not too far removed from the build David Aja gave him when he first started wearing this costume.  Danny gets a new head sculpt and sash, which are similar to those seen on the prior Iron Fist, but notably improved in a few ways.  The head in particular is less boxy and smooth than the last one, which is a definite step up.  He also gets a new set of forearms, with two sets of swappable hands.  Sadly, he doesn’t have the huge selection of hand poses that the last figure possessed, but he does get a pair of translucent fists demonstrating his power, as well as a pair in thick wraps.  I prefer the wrapped look myself, but both sets are pretty cool.  Iron Fist’s paintwork is pretty solid.  The colors match up pretty well with those seen in Immortal Iron Fist, especially the slightly muted green.  In addition, everything is pretty solid in terms of application, and the wrapped fists even have a nice wash to bring out more of the details.  In addition to the previously mentioned swappable hands, Iron Fist also includes a pair of flame effect pieces, which can easily fit over either set of hands, as well as the shoulder pads of Dormammu.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t 100% sold on this figure, since I already had the Allfather Series version of the character.  When I found Mordo at the store, I also found this guy, but I had planned on leaving him there for a later time.  Of course, Super Awesome Girlfriend wouldn’t stand for this and ended up buying him for me anyway.  I’m actually really happy I got this guy.  In hindsight, I’ve realized that the last Iron Fist was already pretty dated when he came out and has become even more so in the last year and a half.  Plus, this costume is more linked with the character for me, and the new choice of body is pretty solid.  Now, if only we could get a decent Luke Cage to go with him…

*Want an Iron Fist figure of your own?  He’s currently in-stock with our sponsors over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check him out!

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#1113: Karl Mordo

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

KARL MORDO

MARVEL LEGENDS

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Last week, Marvel Studios’ latest film Dr, Strange hit theaters. Like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man before it, it was viewed as a slightly risky move for Marvel, since it would be rather different than prior films in style and “Dr. Strange” isn’t exactly a household name.  Also like Guardians and Ant-Man, the gamble seems to have paid off.  I saw Dr. Strange Thursday night and very much enjoyed it, from start to finish.  One of the standout parts of the film for me was Chiwetel Ejiofor’s turn as longtime Dr Strange foe Baron Mordo.  I’ve like Ejiofor since I saw him in Serenity (okay,fine, since I saw him in Love Actually.  Richard Curtis is my dude).  The guy is good at taking antagonistic roles and making them very likeable, and there’s a lot of that going on with his portrayal of Karl Mordo.   

THE FIGURE ITSELF

karlmordo2Mordo was lucky enough to be one of the three movie-based figures in the recent Dormammu Series of Marvel Legends (in fact, he’s the only non-Strange figure in the three).  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. In the comics, Mordo just sports a green bodysuit and a cape (he’s also bearded white guy who’s nothing more than a two-dimensional card-carrying villain, but that’s another matter).  His movie design mixes things up a bit, presumably to make him not only fit in a bit better with the rest of the movie’s designs, but also to make him a little more visually interesting.  The design is still definitely in keeping with Mordo’s comics look, and the comic incarnation certainly wouldn’t look out of place wearing something like this.  For the figure, he’s lacking his larger over cloak, which sort of replaces the cape stylistically.  Though it’s cool in the movie, it’s also only really present for a few short scenes, so Hasbro’s decision to go with this look (which goes with their MCU Dr. Strange, being the look Mordo has during the film’s climax) is certainly sensible.  The figure gets an all-new sculpt, which does a fairly decent job capturing Mordo’s onscreen design.  The details on his robes could maybe be a little sharper, but they aren’t bad at all.  I did notice one small inaccuracy on the belt: the small brown leather belt should really be the outermost belt, but on the figure, the it’s under his sash.  It’s entirely possible it was originally assembled as on the figure and Ejiofor just wore it slightly differently when actually filming.  The figure’s head sculpt presents a passable Ejiofor likeness.  It’s not spot on; certain angles are better than others.  It has some very nice detail work regardless.  The one thing that really jumped out at me was the lack of Ejiofor’s trademark scars on his forehead.  They were particularly noticeable in his performance as Mordo (to me, anyway), so their omission is just a slight letdown.  Mordo’s paintwork is pretty good for a Hasbro figure.  The colors match up pretty well with his on-screen counterpart, though he could really stand to have a few more variances of green on the robes.  They look a little bland as is.  This is a figure that would be greatly aided by adding just a little bit of accent work, just to make him pop a little more.  Mordo is packed with what I’m assuming is supposed to be the staff of the Living Tribunal, which is the relic that chose Mordo and is his primary weapon for the film.  That being said, the included piece really doesn’t look like the staff from the film at all.  It’s far too long and lacks the notches and other details seen on Mordo’s staff, as well as the strap Mordo uses to carry it on his back.  Like the issue with the belt, it’s possible Mordo was set to use a different prop initially and this changed during filming, but it’s still a little annoying.  Mordo is also included the right leg of Dormammu, as well as new versions of the flaming skulls included with the SDCC Dormammu, but this time in green and blue, which looks really cool!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in the opening, I’ve been a fan of Ejiofor’s work for a little while, so I was very excited to hear he would be in Dr. Strange, and intrigued by the new take on Mordo that the film was presenting.  He was easily the figure I was most anticipating from this particular set.  I ended up finding him at a nearby Walmart (like a day before the Hurricane hit, actually).  I loved the character in the movie, and while the figure isn’t perfect, he’s still a very good representation of the guy.

*Want a Mordo figure of your own?  He’s currently in-stock with our sponsors over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check him out!

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#1112: Rey

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

REY (JAKKU)

STAR WARS: TITAN HEROES (HASBRO)

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Let’s talk disappointment.  No, wait, that’s not quite right, let’s talk misplaced expectations and poor decision making.  Shortly after the release of The Force Awakens last year, social media became aflutter with the hashtag #wheresrey.  After seeing the film, a number of people wanted to rush out and buy figures of Rey, the film’s unquestionable lead.  Unfortunately, as far as conventional figures went, there weren’t really any Reys to be found. No figures of the main character on shelves?  Foul villainy must be afoot!  …maybe not quite.  See, it’s important to note that #wheresrey started cropping up about a week after the film’s release.  Now, right after a film’s release, it’s not uncommon for figures from that movie to become a little scarce (for instance, a week after Pacific Rim came out, the figures were gone from shelves and commanding as much as three times their retail value on the aftermarket).  On top of that, the week after the movie came out, we also had this little event called Christmas, which has a tendency to leave toy aisles rather barren.  So, maybe expecting to find a ready supply of figures of the main character of one of the biggest movies of the decade the week of Christmas wasn’t the most realistic expectation.  That’s not to say Hasbro did everything spot-on, mind you.  While they did put out a number of Rey figures, she (and all the main characters barring Kylo in the 3 3/4-inch line and Finn in the 6-inch line) was only available in the initial assortments of figures, released three months prior to the movie.  What really kicked off the whole hashtag, though, was Rey’s absence from the Target-exclusive Titan Heroes 6-pack (and really, Titan Heroes as a whole).  Now, there are a number of credible reasons she was left out of this set, but ultimately, it’s the sort of thing that Hasbro should have avoided (and is looking to avoid in the future, if Rogue One has been any indication).  To their credit, one of the earliest items Hasbro released following the film’s release was a Titan Heroes version of Rey, who I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

reytitan2Rey was released in the second round of Force Awakens-based Star Wars: Titan Heroes, alongside a Stormtrooper Finn and the Fifth Brother from Rebels.  She’s wearing her Jakku gear that she spends the vast majority of the film wearing.  The figure stands just under 12 inches tall and she has 7 points of articulation.  Structurally, Rey is rather similar to her first 3 3/4 inch figure.  The only real difference is the size and the actual materials being used.  She’s made of a much harder plastic than the smaller figures, and her torso and legs are hollow, which makes her slightly weird feeling (and also a bit creaky when you move her).  Aside from being rather stiff, the sculpt on this figure is actually pretty strong.  The head is definitely the best part, and it gives us Hasbro’s best Ridley likeness so far.  It’s really spot on, in part, I think, because the strands of hair in front of her ears didn’t have to be sized up quite as much and thus don’t look like dreads or curls or something.  The rest of the body is all pretty solid work; not Hot Toys level or detail or anything, but still solid.  The paintwork on this figure is actually pretty impressive.  The base color work is all strong, but I think the best part is the subtle accent work on the skin-toned areas.  There’s just the slightest bit of a red hue there, and it makes her look incredibly lifelike.  There are still a few spots of bleed over here and there, and it’s worth noting that the harder plastic makes this figure more susceptible to paint scuffs, but for a $10 figure, this is pretty great work.  Rey included her staff, which, thanks to the wrist swivels, she can actually hold with two hands, albeit rather awkwardly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have to admit, because of the whole #wheresrey thing, I ended up buying just about every Rey I could get my hands on just to prove a point, and this figure was included.  I don’t actually have any of the other figures in this style, but beyond the novelty of it being another Rey figure, this figure really surpassed my expectations, and, from what I’ve seen looking at the other figures in stores, the quality of the rest of the line as a whole.