Tag Archives: Hasbro

#0755: PZ-4C0

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

PZ-4C0

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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The toys from The Force Awakens were supposed to start out with a bang, but then Force Friday happened and turned out to be more of a fizzle. Since then, there’s been sort of a slow trickle of figures for each of the various lines. The 3 ¾ inch line seems to be getting most of the focus, with a handful of new characters being added with each assortment. Of course, until the movie’s actually released, we won’t know which characters are actually major parts of the film and which ones are background scenery. So, let’s take the gamble and see what we got, starting with one of the brand new droids, PZ-4C0.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PZ4CO2“PZ-4C0 is a constant fixture in Resistance base control rooms, offering tactical data and communications support during important operations.” So, there’s your background on this character. Check out that epic tale. Anyway, PZ-4C0 was released as part of the second round of basic 3 ¾ inch The Force Awakens figures. She’s part of the second assortment of the “Jungle” sub-set of figures. She stands about 4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. PZ has an all-new sculpt, based on her design from the movie. The design is a tweaking of the basic protocol droid design introduced with C-3PO, with a slightly more alien set of proportions. I don’t know that it’s a perfect design; the functionality of the neck joint is definitely a bit impaired; but, it’s pretty visually interesting, and definitely fits in well with the other designs we’ve seen so far. The quality of the sculpt is actually pretty good. The armored parts are more smooth, and they have a nice symmetrical balance to them, and the circuitry bits are well detailed and add a lot of depth to the figure. PZ’s color scheme is definitely another unique aspect of the figure. The main blue color is a nice change of pace, and the painted accents and scuffs are all pretty cleanly done, so that’s cool. PZ-4C0 includes no character specific accessories, but she does include two pieces for the weird build-a-thingy. These are a set of rocket attachments, and they can be placed on her legs, which makes for a sort of a nifty look.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Whilst on a trip to visit my family in NC, I stopped by the nearby Wal-Mart, which just so happened to have a few of the latest Force Awakens figures, PZ included. I had actually seen shots of PZ online and thought she had a pretty neat design, so I was pretty excited to find the figure in-hand. She’s actually a pretty fun little figure, and one of my favorites of the smaller-scale TFA figures I’ve picked up.

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#0753: B.A.T.

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

B.A.T.

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

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After being a fairly straightforward military-based line of toys, and then a mostly down to earth adventure series for the first 20 years of its life, in the 80s, G.I. Joe gave up on that whole real world thing and threw caution to the wind. Okay, that’s not true. The first year of the 3 ¾ inch line was actually pretty modest. Then 1983 added Destro and Gung-Ho to the line and all bets were off. Prepare for the neon colors, the wacky specialists, and even the Battle Android Troopers!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BATVint2The B.A.T. was released in the 1986 series of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (which, as I noted in my Lifeline review, was a pretty good year for the line). The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and has 15 points of articulation. That’s one more point than most of the line! Structurally, the figure was all new at the time, though his pieces would get used for a few other figures (though, none of them were B.A.T.s. It depicts the B.A.T. in its Cobra uniform, but there are actually some nice hints at it being a robot under the clothes, rather than just a normal person. The details are generally pretty sharp, at least for a figure of the time, and the mechanical arms in particular are very nicely detailed. The B.A.T. definitely looks unique from the other Cobra forces, while still fitting in great stylistically. The figure originally had a lenticular piece in the middle of the torso, detailing some of the B.A.T.’s internal mechanics. Sadly, my figure does not have this piece. The paint on the B.A.T. is decent, though not the greatest thing ever. The orange/yellow bits are a bit on the sloppy side, especially around the edges. That said, the overall look is pretty good. The Bat is pretty well accessorized, with four different right hand attachments (normal hand, claw, flame thrower, and gun), as well as a backpack to hold the extra attachments. Also, my figure has a small pistol thrown in, but that isn’t from the original figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up the B.A.T. loose from local toy store All Time Toys this past summer. I’ve always loved the B.A.T. design, and I’ve had several of the figures over the years, but I never had the original. Now I do! He’s a pretty nifty little figure, though I do think he’s been surpassed by a few of his successors.

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#0748: Darth Vader

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

DARTH VADER

STAR WARS HERO MASHERS

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So, hey, there’s like a Star Wars movie or something coming out this year. Did you guys hear about that? With a new Star Wars movie come new merchandising opportunities. That’s why Star Wars is showing up on everything, from kitchen timers to cans of soup. And of course, it wouldn’t be Star Wars merchandise without a healthy helping of toys. Hasbro, the masters of all Star Wars toys, have decided to add the Star Wars characters to their recently launched Hero Mashers brand. They’re starting things off easy, only tackling the pre-Force Awakens characters right now. Let’s have a look at the baddest dude to come out of the Star Wars universe, Darth Vader!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

VaderMasher2Vader is part of the first assortment of Star Wars Hero Mashers. There are three different “levels” of Mashers and he’s one of the basic figures, which seems fair enough. The figure is 6 inches tall and has 18 points of articulation. Unlike previous Mashers figures I’ve looked at, Vader’s shoulder joints are just simple cut joints, rather than the usual disc and pin style joint. The downside is that the joints look virtually the same aesthetically, but these are just lacking a whole range of movement, which is a bummer. And, judging by the Ant-Man figure I recently picked up, this appears to be something that’s happening across all the Mashers lines, which kinda sucks. Structurally, Vader’s very similar to just about every other Mashers figure. He takes the traditional Vader design and tweaks it to fit the line’s style a bit more, so he’s a fair bit chunkier and much more angular. It’s actually a look that works pretty well for Vader. Following the established Mashers gimmick, Vader can be disassembled at his neck, elbows, and knees, and his parts are completely interchangeable with all the other Mashers figures. I noticed that his pieces seemed to swap out a bit easier than previous Mashers, which is nice. Plus, they weren’t so loose as to ruin his integrity as a proper action figure, either, which is also nice. His cape and skirt are both separate add-on pieces; the cape plugs into place, but the skirt just sort of balances on his hips, which can be a bit frustrating. The paint on Vader is pretty simple, but effective. He’s got a few details for his various armor bits, but he’s mostly just black. Fortunately, the black has a multitude of different finishes, which helps to bring a bit of visual flair to the figure. Vader’s one accessory is his signature lightsaber, which has had its proportions tweaked to match him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After passing on the Star Wars Mashers for a few weeks, I finally broke down and got this guy at Target. For whatever reason, he just spoke to me. I don’t know. I do think that he’s the best Mashers figure I’ve gotten. His design just translated very well. Don’t know that I’ll pick up any more characters, but this guy was fun!

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#0740: Snake Eyes – Commando

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

SNAKE EYES – COMMANDO

GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

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When most people think of Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe, I’m pretty sure the default thing that pops into people’s heads is the whole “ninja” thing. It’s kind of become a defining trait of the character.  That’s actually pretty funny, because he wasn’t originally a ninja. His official designation was commando, and his original figure didn’t even include a sword! Over the years, Snake Eyes has gone up and down the scale of ninja-ness, as Hasbro tries to bring him back to his original roots as just a faceless commando, but it never sticks. Still, it results in some interesting figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SnakeEyes90s2Snake Eyes was a part of the first series of Dollar General exclusive G.I. Joe figures. Yes, that does seem like an odd place to sell exclusive action figures. Just go with it, I guess. Also, point of reference, this is 59th version of Snake Eyes in the small scale line. That’s a whole lot of Snake Eyeseseses. The figure stands roughly 3 ¾ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. This figure is meant to replicate the somewhat unique look of the fourth version of character, released in 1991. It was the first attempt on Hasbro’s part to take Snake Eyes back to being a commando, before they threw caution to the wind and went full on Ninja Force. This figure has been constructed entirely from re-used parts. Most of them are from the 25th Anniversary update of the third Snake Eyes figure, with a few other assorted pieces thrown in. There’s also an add-on piece for his web gear, which I believe is also a re-use, but I’m not sure from where. The end result is a figure that looks kind of like the original figure, like if you squint or something, but isn’t anywhere near as accurate as some of the other entries in the line. That said, the pieces all work pretty well together, and he still looks pretty cool, so it’s hard to really complain. The paint on this guy certainly does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of conveying the design this is based upon. That figure was pretty distinct with this color palate, playing up the whole “American Hero” part of the title a bit more. This one does a pretty serviceable job of capturing the look. The colors have been toned down ever so slightly, but the overall look is still there. Snake Eyes was packed with a katana and a black display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never had any luck finding this guy at Dollar General, so I kind of missed out on him for a while. I ended up finding him at nearby small toy shop All Time Toys. I never actually cared all that much for the original figure of this design, so I really don’t mind the changes Hasbro made. He’s a pretty nifty toy, and that color scheme certainly sets him apart from the other Joes!

#0738: Hulkbuster

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

HULKBUSTER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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If you’ve been keeping up with the last week of reviews, the focus of today’s review being the Hulkbuster really shouldn’t come as much of a shock to you.

So, umm, yeah. Hulkbuster! Whoooooo! That’s…well, not really new or different, or anything. Not that that’s a bad thing! Just, everybody and there mother’s been doing Hulkbuster figures recently (gee, I can’t imagine why…), so I’ve kinda run out of things to say about the armor. Let’s just get to the freaking review already!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HulkbusterML2The Hulkbuster armor is the build-a-figure for the (appropriately named) “Hulkbuster Series” of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series line. This marks the second time that the Hulkbuster’s made into the Marvel Legends line, but it’s the first one in quite a while. He’s based on the design from Avengers: Age of Ultron, so he goes with that subset of Legends figures, though he also fits in just fine with the comic-based legends. The figure is 9 ¼ inches tall and has 31 points of articulation, which is pretty darn impressive for a figure this bulky. He also weighs a metric ton. No lightweight build-a-figure this time! Hulkbuster gets an all-new sculpt, and while it’s not Hot Toys level of detailing, it’s pretty great. Everything is nice and symmetrical, and they’ve done a pretty decent job of balancing the aesthetic of the sculpt with range of motion on the joints. As far as accuracy to what’s on the screen, he’s a little bit off. Not a lot, but enough to make it noticeable. In general, it seems Hasbro opted to give HulkbusterML4the suit a slightly more “heroic” build, broadening the shoulders, shrinking the head a bit, and lengthening the arms and legs. All minor nudges, but the end result is a bit different. Of course, it also ends up being something that looks more at home with the rest of the figures in this series, so I can see why they might tweak him. If there’s one area on this figure that has room for improvement, it’s the paint. Now, let me follow that up by saying that this figure’s paint is by no means bad. In fact, it’s actually pretty good for Hasbro. What’s there is bold and cleanly applied. It’s a good looking figure. However, the color palate is much too bright to be movie accurate (especially noticeable when this figure is placed next to the Mark 43) and the sculpt would very much benefit from a paintjob that does a better job of accentuating it. As is, it’s solid work, but with a better paint job it could be fantastic work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Yeah, so, umm, see that build-a-figure part up there? Wanna take a guess as to how I got mine? As soon as this guy was shown off, I knew I wanted one. None of the other Hulkbuster stuff really excited me, but this one did. The final figure may have its flaws, but, like I said, this is still a really solid figure. Both metaphorically and physically. Seriously, in event of my house getting broken into, forget the baseball bat, I’m grabbing this guy!

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#0737: Blizzard

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

BLIZZARD

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Remember how I talked about Hasbro refusing to let a Marvel Legends prototype go unused? Well, guess what? Yep, today’s another of those figures! This one’s kind of special though, because he rounds out the famed “Jubilee Series” from before Legends’ switch to the Infinite Series branding. Last year’s TRU exclusive X-Men series got us the Jubilee Build-A-Figure, the holiday season Avengers three-pack gave us Radioactive Man, the Thanos series brought us Batroc, and the Ultron series threw in Tiger Shark, leaving just poor old Blizzard out in the cold. Fortunately, that didn’t last long, and now we’ve officially gotten every figure from the most impossible series of Marvel Legends ever thought up.*

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blizzard2Blizzard (or “Marvel’s Blizzard” as he’s listed on the box) is the last single-release figure in the Hulkbuster series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. It’s interesting to note that he’s one of three figures in the series to get his own name on the box, which is a tad surprising, given that he’s freaking Blizzard. Not exactly a name that’s gonna get people lining up, but hey, I don’t mind. I’m just happy to have the figure! Blizzard stands about 6 ¼ inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. He’s built on the Bucky Cap body, which is a good fit, and he gets an all-new head sculpt. It’s not really anything groundbreaking, but it’s a pretty great sculpt of a dude in a full face mask. So, that’s cool. Most of what makes this figure Blizzard is paintwork, which is actually pretty great. They’ve gone with the design of the more recent Donny Gill version of the character. It’s not my favorite of the two looks, but it’s certainly not bad. This could have been a pretty bland paintjob, but Hasbro opted to make the blue metallic and the white pearlescent, which makes him look pretty darn spiffy! Also, it’s a minor thing, but it’s really great to see that they successfully matched the painted and molded plastic colors, so the figure doesn’t clash. A lot of figures don’t get that down, so I’m really happy this one did. Blizzard gets no character-specific accessories, which is a bit of a letdown, but he does get the upper torso of the Hulkbuster, so that kind of makes up for it!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Blizzard is a figure I’ve been waiting for pretty much since he was originally announced. After getting the other three figures from the set, I was anxious to get him to finish up the group. He ended up being one of the four figures from this series I found at Walgreens, which was pretty cool. While I still think Valkyrie is the best figure in the series, I think I’d give this guy second best. He may not do much new, but he’s a pretty solid figure, and he’s got a fair bit of novelty to him.

*Seriously, can we address the Batman-level gambit that Hasbro played here? They legit showed off an entire series of villains who are at best C-list, with a Build-A-Figure of a has-been X-Man from the ‘90s (and a GIRL, no less). No big names, no special gimmicks. There was no way a retailer was gonna touch that line-up. But they showed it off at Toy Fair anyway, and built up all this pent-up fan demand for these literal nobodies, allowing them to slot every single one of those figures into a later assortment. The final scenario is literally the only case that any of these guys would have ever seen release. That’s damned impressive.

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#0736: War Machine

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

WAR MACHINE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Recently, Hasbro’s been putting a lot of effort into making sure that no Marvel Legends prototype gets left behind, so a decent percentage of just about every new series of the line in the last year has been made up of figures we’ve seen in some capacity before. Most of the time, these figures are comic-based figures who take advantage of movie popularity to get their sales, but today’s figure bucks that trend, actually being a movie-based figure who was salvaged from the scrap heap. So, let’s have a look at War Machine, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WarMachine2War Machine is the second to last figure in the Hulkbuster Series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. He also has the notoriety of being the only movie-based figure in a series with a movie-based Build-A-Figure, which has caused some people a bit of frustration. This figure was originally supposed to be a part of the third series of the Iron Man 3 Marvel Legends, but that series ended up cancelled. He was meant to be based on the concept drawings for the pre-Iron Patriot War Machine 2.0 armor, but now he gets to be based on the actual armor design from Age of Ultron. Yes, it’s the same design, but now it’s more official, right? The figure stands roughly 6 ¼ inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation (counting the shoulder pads and the mounted gun). Sculpturally, this figure is an almost 100% re-use of the Iron Man 3 Marvel Legends Col. James Rhodes/Iron Patriot figure. Literally the only difference between the two sculpts is the left hand, which was open on the Iron Patriot figure, but is closed here. However, this is one of those cases where re-use is not only warranted, but pretty much necessary for the appropriate look. They’re supposed to be the same armor in-universe. It helps that the Iron Patriot sculpt was a pretty good one, too. The fine detail work is just great, it’s super accurate to the source material, and he has decent proportions to boot. The only real downside to this guy is the mounted gun, which doesn’t get the full mobility of the film version, resulting in it being stuck in a somewhat hard to work with pose. It’s workable, but a little frustrating. The main difference on this guy is that paint job. The Iron Patriot figure was (obviously) in more patriotic colors. This figure returns Rhodey to his more traditional black and grey color scheme for which he’s what he’s more known. It’s not the most exciting color selection of all time, but it’s accurate. Plus, he still has all the small writing and insignias that were seen on Iron Patriot, which is definitely nice to see. Another big difference between this guy and his predecessor is his accessory compliment. In addition to the requisite Hulkbuster piece, War Machine also gets an alternate head with his faceplate up, revealing a pretty decent Don Cheadle likeness.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I definitely got this guy for the Hulkbuster piece. There’s no two ways about that. When he was initially announced for the IM3 Legends line-up, I was definitely going to pass. I like the armor design and all, but I find the Iron Patriot color-scheme much more exciting, so that was the figure for me. But, then he got moved to this set and I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Honestly, he’s a pretty great figure. He’s the same great sculpt, plus he gets that cool new head sculpt, which really makes him work. I don’t regret getting this guy.

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#0735: Valkyrie

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

VALKYRIE – FEARLESS DEFENDERS

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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One of the cool things about the Marvel Universe is that it actually has a pretty wide range of differing female heroes and villains. They aren’t simply limited to one single type of role, just like their male counterparts. So, a few years ago, when a lot of the interesting female characters got booted out of the spotlight in favor of a near-unending stream of gruff, emotionless women who must compensate for not being as physically strong as their male counterparts, I was a little bummed. Good ol’ Valkyrie here managed to not be totally cast aside, mostly due to already being a somewhat minor character to begin with. She hasn’t really been a focus character or anything, but rumor has it that she’ll be making an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, which should certainly boost her visibility, at least a little bit!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Valkyrie2Valkyrie is a part of the Hulkbuster Series (aka series 3) of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. She’s listed as Fearless Defenders on the package, a name she shares with Thundra. The name is a much better fit for Valkyrie, given that she’s spent most of her career as a member of The Defenders, and she was in fact a main character in the recent Fearless Defenders comicbook. This figure opts to present Valkyrie in her most recent costume, which she started wearing towards the tail-end of the first volume of Secret Avengers, the same costume used for her Marvel Universe figure. I don’t find the design to be quite as striking as her classic look (I really miss the cape), but it’s a serviceable enough look. The figure stands just over 7 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. She uses the same She-Hulk base body as Thundra and Hela, which is reasonable, but does have one notable issue: she’s just too tall! Her listed height is 6’3”, which puts her at just an inch taller than Captain America. At this scale, that should be a negligible difference; she certainly shouldn’t tower over the average male the way this figure does. On the other hand, Hasbro does seem to be up-scaling the Asgardians in general for this line, so compared to the most recent Thor figure, for instance, she isn’t quite as out of scale. Maybe the Asgardians have been juicing? Anyway, this figure has the same arms and legs as the other She-Hulk body figures, along with an all-new head and upper and lower torso pieces. The head is very nice piece. She’s got a nice, determined look to her; not as angry as Thundra, but certainly not as laid back as Wasp or even Captain Marvel. The face is much more angular than most female faces, which certainly works well conveying Valkyrie’s Nordic features. The hair is a separate, glued on piece, which is pretty nicely sculpted. The braids actually don’t look too ridiculous, which is always good, and the texturing on the various strands adds some nice dimension. She does have a pretty noticeable seam running along the right side of the hair, which is a bit distracting, but that’s the only real issue. The torso pieces are just a slight tweak on the more generic parts, really. One weird thing I noticed is that she’s got these weird ridges running down her backside; they aren’t present on any other figures using this body type, and I don’t believe they come from the comic design, so I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be. Weird. The collar and ….little circle things (?) are sculpted on, and look pretty good, certainly better than if they’d been painted. She also has an add-on for her belt, which is glued in place. The paintwork on Valkyrie is decent enough. It’s not terribly exciting (that’s kind of true to the comic design too, thought). The colors are pretty good and the transitions are pretty clean, so that’s good. The hair gets a nice warm brown wash to bring out the details. The face is pretty clean, even the eyes; not a huge fan of the bright red lips, but they don’t ruin the figure. Valkyrie includes her trusty sword Dragonfang, which is a little generic, but pretty good, as well as the arm of the Hulkbuster figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This marks the second time that Valkyrie has made it into the Legends style; her first figure was part of a Fan’s Choice two-pack, which also included an Ed McGuinness-styled Hulk. However, the set wasn’t the easiest to procure and holds a pretty hefty after-market value.  What’s that got to do with this? Well, I missed out on the first Valkyrie, which kinda sucked. So, when this figure was announced, I was pretty excited. I was a little bit down on her at first (since the costume’s not the most exciting thing) but I have to say, the figure’s really grown on me, and I think she might very well be the best single release figure in the series.

#0733: Doctor Strange – Marvel Heroes

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

DOCTOR STRANGE – MARVEL HEROES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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One does not simply review one or two Marvel Legends figures. Oh, no no. If you’re gonna review Legends, you gotta go all in, do a whole series. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself, anyway. Hey, so, Marvel Legends. Yaaaaay. Today, I’ll be looking at an up and coming player (for the MCU anyway) Doctor Stephen Strange (yes, that’s his real name), the Sorcerer Supreme!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DrStrange2Doctor Strange is another figure from the recent Hulkbuster series of Avenger Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. He is officially named “Marvel Heroes,” which he share with series-mate Vision. Still feel it’s a bit generic, but whatever. He is presented here in the look he received not too long before Marvel Now!, which was his primary look until the month this figure was released. Well, they tried to be topical, I guess. Honestly, it had a decent enough run in the comics that it feels worthy of a figure, so I can’t complain. The figure stands about 6 ¼ inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. Sculpturally, he is head-to-toe identical to the Astral Projection Doctor Strange from this year’s SDCC set. That seems sensible, since he’s the same guy and all. I liked the sculpt a lot there, and I continue to like it here. Rather than being molded in clear plastic, the good doctor is now showcased in full color. He’s…well, he’s alright. The paint is actually pretty clean for a Hasbro figure, so that’s good. The red and black looks pretty sharp as a color scheme, even if I do miss the classic blue look a bit. The only real trouble with the paint is the head, which isn’t bad, just kind of…meh. The eyes are definitely the worst part of it; they look just a bit off. If they were better, I think the figure as a whole would be better. Doctor Strange is packed with a pair of the same spell-casting pieces we saw with both Scarlet Witch and his Astral form, but in a nice, muted green this time. They still remain very cool pieces, though they are a little difficult to get seated properly on his wrists. He also includes the left leg of the Hulkbuster, which continues the trend amongst Hulkbuster pieces of being freaking ginormous.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Doctor Strange is one of the four figures from this series I was able to grab at Walgreens. I’d actually been looking forward to him a little bit, since the Toy Biz version was always one of my favorite Legends figures. That being said, in-hand he was a little bit of a let-down. I think that’s largely due to having already seen the sculpt on the Astral version, which was aided by not having to rely on the Hasbro paint apps. Compared to that figure, this guy just feels like the inferior figure. Which is a shame, because I think he’s actually pretty well done, just not quite as well done as the last figure.

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#0733: Iron Man – Marvel Now!

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

IRON MAN – MARVEL NOW!

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Well, after looking at a totally new to toys, out of left field character with yesterday’s Thundra review, we jump right on over to a guy who’s had sooooooooooooooo many figures. Yep, it’s another Iron Man. Hey, somebody had to sell this series to retailers, right? Let’s look at the increasingly inaccurately named “Marvel Now! Iron Man.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

IMNow2Iron Man is actually figure 1 in the latest set of Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. He’s also one of the three figures in said series to actually get his own name on the box, but that’s not a huge shock. Hasbro was definitely not going to miss out on the chance to get Iron Man’s name on the box. The figure stands 6 ¼ inches tall and has 31 points of articulation, counting the shoulderpad movement. The hips are a little archaic in motion, and the neck is really loose, but the rest of the movement works very smoothly. Iron Man is seen here in the armor he was wearing at the beginning of the Marvel Now! relaunch from a few years ago. Structurally, this guy is 100% the same sculpt as the Iron Man 2 Mark IV figure. Since the Iron Man book’s primary artist Greg Land lifted his interpretation of the armor pretty much wholesale from the movie design (other artists actually stuck to more visually interesting look of the design sheet, but that’s another thing all together), this seems like a pretty reasonable bit of re-use on Hasbro’s part. The sculpt is certainly well-done, so that’s good. One thing I would note is that the shoulder pads have a tendency to pop off from time to time, so definitely be mindful of that. The paint work on this figure is kind of important, it being a repaint and all. Fortunately, the figure actually delivers quite nicely on that front. The gold parts are all nice and clean, and the changes are very sharp, especially for Hasbro. The various red dots don’t line up with the sculpt (except, obviously, the big central one) but they’re accurate to the design. The arc reactor even has a nice gradient bit going on, which is marred only by the small dash of missing paint at the center. Iron Man gets no accessories for him directly, but he does include the leg of the Hulkbuster, which distracts nicely from the lack of anything else. Seriously, it weighs twice as much as him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After finding four of the seven figures necessary to complete the Hulkbuster at Walgreens, I ended up splitting a full set of the series (courtesy of Big Bad Toy Store) with my dad. I wouldn’t have ever bought this figure if not for the Hulkbuster piece, but he’s actually not that bad. At the very least, the black/gold combo is sufficiently different from all the other Iron Men Hasbro’s given us, so he sticks out a little on the shelf.

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