Tag Archives: Hasbro

#0492: Ewoks and catapult

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

CHUBBRAY, STEMZEE, & CATAPULT

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION

Ah, yes, Ewoks. The very first thing to split Star Wars fans. No one is simply okay with the Ewoks. You love them or you hate them. And you certainly can’t ever, under any circumstances see the other side’s point of view. They’re wrong and that’s just how it is. They must accept it.

I fall into the camp that likes the Ewoks. I was probably 3 or 4 when I saw Return of the Jedi for the first time, so I never had a problem with the Carebears from Hell. Thing is, I never actually had any of the Ewok action figures for some reason, even though Jedi was my favorite of the movies growing up and I had just about every other Endor themed figure. But, things change, so here I am reviewing some Ewoks. Yay!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The two Ewoks and their catapult were released as part of Hasbro’s second go at the Vintage Collection line. The set was released exclusively through K-Mart stores and it was done in packaging that replicates the vintage line. So, no window boxes for these guys! I just had to trust that I was getting figures and not like, two rocks or something. (Incidentally, there are totally two rocks in this box! Also figures, but that’s not the point!)

CHUBBRAY

According to Wookiepedia (which I totally had to use to figure which of these two was which), Chubbray is “an Ewok who participated in the Battle of Endor alongside the ewok Stemzee.” Which I actually could have figured out on my own, just from this set. Hilariously, the entry on Stemzee reads: “Stemzee was an Ewok who participated in the Battle of Endor alongside ewok Chubbray.” That’s sort of the equivalent of two words using each other in their definitions. I’m honestly shocked that there’s not even some sort of EU stuff for them. I mean, there’s a freaking entry for Ice Cream Maker Guy! Obviously, these two have gone over looked for far too long. So, I’ll just have to give them some backstory myself.

“Chubbray is the greatest Ewok warrior of all time. The Chubster (as he is known to his friends) is a total mechanical genius (especially impressive in a society still based around trees and rope technology.) He is a revolutionary, responsible for leading the cavalry charge against the tyrannical Empire. In Ewok language, Chubbray is synonymous with death, because that’s what Chubbray rains down upon his enemies. Also, he makes a killer martini.”

See? That wasn’t so hard! Chubbray is about 2 ¾ inches in height and he features 14 points of articulation. While that’s certainly more articulation than most previous Ewoks, the lack of elbows and knees do make the figure a little stiff. I don’t have an expert on the previous Ewok figures, so I don’t know if any pieces are shared here. Regardless, the sculpt is nicely done. It looks like the creatures from the movie, and there’s some very nice detail work on the fur and the head covering. About the only downside of the sculpt is that the joints are really visible. Chubbray’s paintwork is generally pretty clean, though, to be fair, it’s not the most complex paintjob of all time. Still, it’s all well applied and all the colors are well chosen. Chubbray includes a spear, which is probably just a normal spear, but I’m going to pretend it’s some sort of an energy spear that’s powered by some minutely scaled generator that Chubbray built himself. I mean, the greatest Ewok warrior that ever lived has to have a top-notch weapon, right?

STEMZEE

“Stemzee was the best friend of Ewok hero Chubbray from childhood. When Chubbray led the Ewoks against the Empire, Stemzee stood by his side the whole time. Stemzee proved himself quite the formidable warrior. After the battle, Stemzee professed his long-standing love for Chubbray, and the two settled down in a house built from the skulls of the freshly killed Empire forces. Stemzee drinks a killer martini.”

Aw, wasn’t that one kinda sweet? They’re so happy together! Stemzee is roughly 3 inches tall and features 20 points of articulation. Check out those elbow joints! Those are certainly a nice thing. Stemzee’s sculpt seems to be a more advanced one than Chubbray’s, which leads me to think that these two use bodies from previously released Ewoks. It’s a pretty good sculpt, with lots of fine detail work and such, and the articulation is even pretty smoothly worked in, which is good. Stemzee features a slightly more complex paintjob than Chubbray, and he’s a better figure for it. The colors look nice and everything is applied rather cleanly. Stemzee includes a spear, which is different from the one included with Chubbray.

CATAPULT

“The Catapult is the unsung hero of the Battle of Endor. It’s life began when it was built by brilliant Ewok warrior, Chubbray the Great, who was having something of an off day. The Catapult, known as ‘Leslie’ to its closest friends, fought bravely throughout the battle, and was personally responsible for saving an entire platoon of Ewok soldiers. Leslie was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice while facing off against one of those chicken-walker-thingies. It was given an honorary medal of…honor, and another catapult was constructed in its honor. There was a lot of honor. It may or may not have been killed by a killer martini. Evidence was inconclusive.”

Oh no! We killed off Leslie the Catapult! The tragedy! So, the catapult isn’t really a figure, but it is the centerpiece of the set, so it gets its own section. It’s about 3 inches tall, 4 inches long, and 2 inches wide. It doesn’t actually have any articulation to speak of, but you can wind the winch up to pull the arm back for a throwing action. It doesn’t work fantastically, but it’s okay. The sculpt of the catapult is rather nicely detailed, and it actually does look a little like it was constructed out of something that at least resembles wood. It’s like imitation wood. There’s also some nice work on the ties and such, which helps to further illustrate the “built from trees thing.” The paintwork on the catapult is pretty decently handled, with lots of nice accent work to bring out the details of the sculpt. The catapult includes two large rocks, each with a small hole on the bottom so they can be placed on the catapult’s arm.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was picked up while I was killing some time at a K-Mart with my Super Awesome Girlfriend (it was the same trip which got me the FOOT NINJA!!!!). We were wandering through and I noticed this set in the clearance section for about $10. With a little encouraging from SAGF, I figured “why not?” and went for it. I can kinda see why the set might get clearanced. It’s not the most thrilling set, and I can imagine the whole “not being able to see what you’re getting” thing probably turned some people off. Still, I kinda feel bad for the poor set. It’s really not a bad set, and at clearance prices it’s a fantastic way to get a couple of Ewoks. Plus, there’s a really cool catapult!

#0489: Odin

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

ODIN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Yesterday, I looked at Thor, God of Thunder! How about a look at his dad? As luck would have it, Odin happens to be the Build-A-Figure of the very series that Thor was a part of! Isn’t that convenient? Or perhaps just proper planning on Hasbro’s part. I guess it could be that. If you wanna be all practical and stuff. So, let’s have a look at the Allfather, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Odin is the Build-A-Figure for the first series of Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. Technically, he doubles as both Odin and Future Thor, but the series is dubbed the “Odin” series, so I’m going to refer to him as Odin, and include the Future Thor parts as accessories (for the most part, anyway). Odin is about the same size as Thor (fitting), clocking in at about 7 inches tall, and he has 30 points of articulation. I don’t actually know which particular Odin this is based on, or if it’s a particular Odin at all. I think they’ve actually used the Future Thor design as a starting point and just made it work for Odin, which, when you’re dealing with a character who doesn’t really have a definitive look, like Odin, isn’t a bad move. The look is mostly armored and has an appropriately regal look to it. The sculpt is fairlyt detailed, with a lot of texture work and such. Also, you’ll note that the left arm is armored, while the right is not. This actually isn’t completely accurate for Odin, as the left arm is meant to be Future Thor’s Destroyer arm, which replaced his missing arm. However, the regular Odin arms were packed with Sentry, and I didn’t really want to get him, so I settled for the Thor arms. Plus, the armored arm is a little cooler anyway. As a build-a-figure, the figure works pretty decently. He snaps together pretty easily and, aside from his legs popping off from time to time, he stays together pretty well. Odin’s paintwork is generally pretty clean, and it has some decent weathering to help ring out the sculpt’s details. The blue cape is definitely a cool touch, and it nicely separates him from Thor. It would be a little better if there were a some more gold on the actual body armor. As it stands, it’s entirely confined to his helmet, which looks just a bit jarring. Also, some gold on the body might make the figure a little brighter; it’s just a little on the drab side. Odin includes his trusty spear Gungnir (which never gets the credit it deserves!) as well as a spare head and cape for Future Thor, as well as Future Thor’s axe Jarnbjorn. I think this may be the first Build-A-Figure to actually get an accessory compliment. Let’s hope that idea sticks around!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, Odin is the Build-A-Figure that resulted from my getting all of the figures in this series. I actually kind of wanted to finish him. I’m not the world’s biggest Odin fan or anything, but he’s certainly a fixture in the Marvel Universe. He also makes for a pretty neat figure, drab color choices aside. Odin’s one of the few B-A-F’s I’ve finished of late, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that not only is he a pretty solid figure, but also none of the figures required to build him were the dud’s that we’ve inevitable come to expect from the B-A-F model. I’m glad to see Hasbro applying equal effort to all of the figures in the series!

#0488: Thor

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

THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

When you’re doing a series of figures based on the Avengers, there’s a few characters you are pretty much required to include. Generally, those characters are Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Cap got a few slots in the Winter Soldier themed Infinite Series line-ups last year and Iron Man got a spot in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, so I guess Hasbro thought it was Thor’s turn. So, he’s got the prominent spot in the first series of AoU stuff. Yay Thor.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Thor was released in the first series of Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. Unlike Hawkeye and Iron Fist, Thor doesn’t have the “Marvel’s” qualifier on his name, which is actually a little weird, since adding “Marvel’s” to Thor’s name seems like it would be the only way hold the trademark on an otherwise public domain name. Maybe there’s more to it. The figure is gargantuan, at roughly 7 inches tall, and he features 30 points of articulation. He’s based on Thor’s Marvel Now! look, just before the switch to the female Thor. It’s after he got the cape back and lost the chainmail sleeves, resulting in an amalgam of his classic and Copiel looks. It works as a very nice summation of all of the Thor looks over the years and it’s pretty well in line with how he looks in the movies right now, so it’s a good look. The figure is built on the New Thor body that Hasbro sculpted for the first series of re-launched Legends (the one with Terrax as the Build-A-Figure). It’s easily one of the best Thor sculpts put out by any company in the last few years, so it’s a great starting point. They’ve added a new head and arms, which match up very well with the pre-existing pieces. The head exhibits some minor changes, mostly to make the helmet more elaborate, but the face is also a little more intense in expression and it’s a bit more squared off. The helmet is a separate piece, and that works to give the head some really great dimension. The arms have of course been re-sculpted to remove the sleeves. They’re well done, if maybe a little veiny. Overall, the figure’s paint is pretty decently handled, with nice color work and some great texturing on the metallic parts. However, there are a few areas with some issues, most notably the rather obvious slop on the figure’s right wrist. Random flecks of black paint have just gone everywhere. Thor is accessorized with his hammer Mjolnir which is freaking huge and amazingly detailed, as well as a sword which I think is meant to be the Odin Sword (or possibly Gorr’s Sword. I’m not up to date on Thor comics) and the right leg of Odin/Future Thor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, Thor is another figure that I pretty much only got because I was getting the rest of the series. That said, I actually really like this figure. For one reason or another, I only have one of the previous Legends Thors and it’s not even a “default” one, so this figure fills something of a hole in my collection. This a really solidly put together figure and he ties up a really solidly put together series.

#0487: Iron Fist

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

IRON FIST

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

The latest series of Marvel Legends from Hasbro is definitely based on the Avengers, and all of the figure’s I’ve looked at so far have attested to that. Today’s figure, Iron Fist is probably the one most removed from the team. Admittedly, Iron Fist has been a member of the team in the past, but he’s never really been a member of note, and even when he was on the team it was more due to his connection to Luke Cage. But, Iron Fist’s prototype was sitting there unreleased and that’s something that Hasbro doesn’t like very much! So, here he is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Fist is a part of the first series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Like the Hawkeye figure, he’s a figure that got displaced from one of the last regular Marvel Legends series. Iron Fist was originally intended as a swap figure for the Protector figure from the Hit Monkey series. The figure is about 6 inches tall, with 34 points of articulation. The figure is based on Iron Fist’s most recent comic, which is a variation on the costume he’s had for a few years now, just with white in place of the green. It’s the costume the character’s had for a little while, so it’s a reasonable choice for a figure. The figure is built on the body that started its life as Bullseye back in the ToyBiz days. Over the years, it’s gotten a new set of shins, feet, and forearms, but it’s the same basic body. It was one of my favorites from the ToyBiz years, and it’s a decently proportioned and articulated body, but it’s a little clunky and outdated compared to the newer base bodies like Bucky Cap. Iron Fist also features an all-new head sculpt and an add-on sash piece. Both are well sculpted and look good on the base body, though the sash does sit weird in some poses. The figure’s paint is pretty good. The gold is a nice shade, and most of the line work is clean. There is a fairly noticeable bit of bleed over at the edge of the mask, but other than that things are pretty well done. Iron Fist is one of the best accessorized figures in the series, with an pair of fists, knife hands, grabbing gesture hands, and two-figure gesture hands, as well as the leg of Odin/Future Thor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Iron Fist is really one of those figures I got because I was getting the rest of the series. I wanted that leg for my Odin. I have to say, he’s not the most fantastic figure in the series (in fact he may actually be the weakest), but he’s not a bad figure, and he’s certainly an improvement over the original ToyBiz figure. Plus, it’s really great to see a figure with a large selection of hands. That’s a rarity in domestic release figures. Let’s hope Hasbro does more of that in the future!

#0486: Hawkeye

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

HAWKEYE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

When you talk about the Avengers, there’s one quintessential Avenger who often gets overlooked. Someone who’s been with the team almost since the beginning and has stuck with the team for most of its career. I speak, of course, of Hawkeye. Hawkeye is easily one of the most popular Avengers (Outside of the big three and Hulk, who’s only actually had a short career with the team), and he’s even more popular following his introduction into the movies. And yet he still gets the short end of the stick on action figures. It seems that Hasbro is finally wising up, though, and they’ve chosen him as one of the anchors of their latest Marvel Legends line-up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkeye was released as part of Series 1 of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s the first figure I’ve reviewed from this series that actually has his own name on the box (okay, technically he’s “Marvel’s Hawkeye” but that’s splitting hairs!) This Hawkeye figure was originally meant to be a variant version of the Modern Hawkeye figure that made it into one of the last pre-Infinite Series line-ups, but the refresher cases he was meant to be a part of never happened, leaving him unreleased. Hasbro seems to be dead-set against letting any of their prototypes go to waste, so here he is now. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on the look that Hawkeye was sporting during the “Heroic Age,” right after Clint returned to the Hawkeye mantle. It’s a good look because, while it’s technically a modern look, it’s got all the trappings of a classic Hawkeye. And that’s a good thing, because the last classic Hawkeye in this scale was way back in Series 7 of ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends line (and that one still goes for quite a pretty penny!) The figure is built on the ever-popular Bucky Cap body, with the cuffed boots like we saw on Zemo and Boomerang. The left arm has been replaced with that of the Cap Marvel Legends Infinite Series Winter Soldier, to give it more of an armored look, and that’s a change from the initial prototype. Aside from the slightly small wrist size, it’s a good change, and it does add some diversity to the figure’s sculpt. In addition to the re-used pieces, Hawkeye has an all-new head and a rubber overlay for his upper torso, straps, and loincloth. The head certainly shows some more character than the last classic Hawkeye did, but it seems a bit too… square? I don’t know. It just feels a slight bit off. It’s not terrible, though. The overlay is a pretty good piece, with some very nice sculpting. It would be nice if it were a little thinner, and the snap on the side where it connects is rather obvious, but it’s a good piece. There’s also a quiver piece that plugs into his back to complete his look. It appears to be the same piece from the modern Hawkeye this was meant to be a swap of, which means it’s technically not accurate to the costume, but that’s a minor nit. The biggest issue with it is that it just doesn’t want to stay on his back. It just keeps popping off! The paint on the figure is generally rather straightforward. I might have liked for the purpled to be a little brighter, but he looks pretty good. Everything is applied pretty cleanly, and there’s no real slop or bleed over. I also dig the metallic purple for the arm. It’s a nice touch. Hawkeye includes a bow (molded in purple) and the torso of Odin/Future Thor. The lack of any arrows to hold is criminal, especially since the Toybiz Hawkeye had a metric ton of them!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never got really, super excited by this Hawkeye figure. I mean, I fully intended to get it when it was originally announced, and I was a little bummed when Hasbro said it wasn’t coming out, but I was pretty content with the ToyBiz figure. In hand, I do really like this figure, and I think it may have a slight edge on the previous one (mostly due to the superior base body), but it doesn’t blow it out of the water in the way that, say, Scarlet Witch does to her original figure. This figure still has a few minor issues that hold it back from perfection. That said, it’s the best Hawkeye in this scale, so that’s certainly a plus.

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

#0485: Scarlet Witch

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

SCARLET WITCH – MAIDENS OF MIGHT

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

What’s that? Two female action figure reviews in a row? And they’re from the same line? The same series even? Man, the odds certainly weren’t pointing towards that!

So, yeah, the latest series of Marvel Legends from Hasbro has two female figures, shipping at the same time. It makes sense, seeing as it’s an Avengers-themed series, and the Avengers have historically had some pretty strong female characters on the team. It also helps that one of the two figures, the one reviewed today, is Scarlet Witch, who’s not only one of the longest running members of the team, but also set to have a pretty important role in this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. So, let’s see how she turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlet Witch is in Series 1 of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. She share’s the name “Maidens of Might” with Captain Marvel. Like I said in my Captain Marvel review, I’m not a big fan of that name. It seems just a little below her, especially since Machine Man and Sentry got the less pandering “Avenging Allies” name. Also, Scarlet Witch was married to the Vision for quite a while, so maiden isn’t even an accurate term. Scarlet Witch is a little over 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation. This is her second Legends figure. The first was released way back in the 11th series of ToyBiz’s run on the line, and it was notoriously bad even then! An update was long overdue, especially on such an important character. I can’t quite put my figure on exactly which of Wanda’s looks she’s based on here, but it’s definitely one of her more “classic” ones, and it sums up the character pretty well. The figure uses the Moonstone body as a starting point, with some pieces from the most recent version of Emma Frost. She features the high-heeled feet, as opposed to the flat-heeled feet seen on Captain Marvel. They’re well sculpted, but a super pain to get her to stand on with any stability. The figure’s new pieces are her head and cape. The head, while not perfect, is pretty darn good. It’s actually attractive, which is an improvement on the last Legends figure. The hair has some nice flow, and the head piece doesn’t look silly, which is always a triumph. The cape is well sculpted, but it’s too long to let her stand up properly and too short for her to use it for support. If you can get it just right, she can actually stand, but it’s tough. The paint work is overall pretty clean. They’ve chosen a red and pink which don’t clash, which is good. The face is cleaner than Captain Marvel, with no slop or bleed over, and the cape has a fairly nice wash to accent the folds and such. Scarlet Witch includes two translucent pink spell casting pieces, which are a little difficult to get on, but look pretty nice, as well as the head, cape, and staff of Odin, (one of) the series’ Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Scarlet Witch was part of the full set of this series that my Dad got for me. Machine Man may have been the figure I was most excited for, but Wanda wasn’t far behind. She’s one of my favorite Avengers, and the last figure was just the worst. Seriously, if you look up the worst in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of that figure. Clearing the bar set by that figure wasn’t hard, but Hasbro went above and beyond with this figure and finally gave Scarlet Witch the figure she deserves!

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

#0484: Captain Marvel

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL – MAIDENS OF MIGHT

MARVEL LEGENDS

So, Hasbro’s finally gotten around to releasing some of their merchandise for the upcoming summer-blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron, and it’s… not quite what I expected. So far, there are four possible scales to collect: 2 ½-inch, 3 ¾-inch, 6-inch, and 10-inch. Curiously absent from every line-up is the titular antagonist, Ultron, which is a bit of a bummer. The 6-inch line actually isn’t getting any proper movie figures until Series 2, meaning the first series is made up of comic-based figures who tie-in at least a little with the movie (although some ties are looser than others…), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still no Ultron, though…. Anyway, I’ll be taking a look at the line’s take on the current Captain Marvel. She’s not in the movie, but she’s been a recurring member of the Avengers since the 70s, so she’s run into Ultron once or twice.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Marvel is part of the first series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. She’s listed under the name “Maidens of Might,” a title she shares with Scarlet Witch. I can’t say it’s the best name; in fact it kinda feels like it’s down playing both characters. Carol’s a colonel in the air force for God’s sake! “Maiden” seems just a tad below her, especially when the character only recently got away from being saddled with Ms. Marvel. Ultimately, it’s a minor issue, but still. The figure is about 6 inches tall and she features 27 points of articulation. This is Carol’s second Marvel Legends Infinite Series figure, and her third ML figure overall. However, it’s the first figure to depict Carol as Captain Marvel, the title she inherited a few years ago. From the neck down, Captain Marvel’s sculpt is a re-use of the Moonstone body. It’s one Hasbro’s best base body’s and it’s very nicely sculpted and pretty well proportioned (odd abdominal cut aside). It’s also the same body used for the three-pack Ms. Marvel, so it’s good for consistency’s sake. The figure features a new head and an add-on for her sash, which is different from the one on Ms. Marvel. The default head depicts Captain Marvel sans helmet with windswept hair. Windswept hair doesn’t always work, but with the shorter hair it actually looks okay. The paint on Captain Marvel is decent, if maybe not perfect. The biggest issue is the face. My figure has a chunk of her left eyebrow missing, and her eyes are a little wonky. Other than that, the line work is nice and clean, and the colors are pretty great matches for those in the comics. Captain Marvel includes an extra helmeted head, an energy blast attachment, and the head, cape, and axe of Future Thor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Machine Man, Captain Marvel was purchased for me by my Dad, from Walmart of all places. I think Captain Marvel’s probably the figure I overlooked the most, and that’s too bad, because she’s a really good figure. The new costume is pretty great, and it’s awesome to see it get a figure.

#0483: Machine Man

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

MACHINE MAN – AVENGING ALLIES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Super hero comics are a pretty big, wide ranging medium, so it only follows that they would have an equally wide selection of characters. Characters who can range from really well-known and widely popular to almost unknown. When it comes to action figures, it can be pretty hard to justify releasing a C or D-list character. While a comic can create or feature an obscure character by printing a few lines, a toy has to be sculpted, tooled and packaged, and then they actually have to find not only a customer base for an item, but a retailer interested in carrying it. So, when a character like Machine Man gets a figure, that’s a pretty big deal.

For those of you who don’t know the character, Machine Man, aka X-51, aka Aaron Stack, is a Marvel character from the 70s. He was created within Marvel’s 2001 comics, after which he made his way into the main universe. In a nutshell, he’s a robot who was raised to be as much like a human as possible. He also saw a jump in popularity a few years ago when he served as one of the principle characters in Warren Ellis’s Nextwave: Agents of Hate. So, with that out of the way, let’s move on to the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Machine Man was released as part of the first series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s been released under the name “Avenging Allies,” a name he shares with Sentry. Unlike most prior shared-name figures, Machine Man and Sentry are both in the initial shipments of the series as opposed to one of them being swapped for the other in refresh cases. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. He’s very definitely based on Machine Man’s original design, which is nice to see, especially in an assortment of otherwise modern figures. The figure is built on the basic male body which originated with Bucky Cap, along with a new head and belt. The Bucky Cap body has been showing up with increasing frequency in Hasbro’s Legends releases, but that’s hardly a bad thing. Aside from the slightly odd veins at the top of the pectorals, it’s a very nicely sculpted body, and it works great for Machine Man. The head sculpt is somewhat simple, but it’s sharply detailed and absolutely perfect for the character. The belt is a good sculpt on its own, however, it’s fit on the figure is a bit iffy. Mine was stuck up a little too high, which caused it to get stuck in the ab joint, leaving the belt rather mangled. It’s not obvious unless viewed directly, but it’s the sort of thing that really shouldn’t happen, especially as prices continue to climb. The figure’s paint is pretty decent. He’s molded in a metallic purple (which is really great) and the silver, flesh tone, and red are all paint. The paint application isn’t bad, but it’s not perfect either. There are one or two spots of bleed over, mostly on the face. That said, it’s a lot cleaner than Hasbro’s recent offerings in the line, which is a good sign. Machine Man includes a set of extended arms with hands attached and a set of arms for the Build A Figure. There are two possible Build-A-Figures this time; one is Odin, and the other is Future Thor. They use the same torso and legs, with different heads and arms included with the “swap” figures. Machine Man includes Thor’s arms.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Machine Man was picked up for me by my Dad, along with the rest of the series. This is the figure I was most eager to get from this series, as I’m a really big Machine Man fan. In fact, back when ToyBiz was still doing Marvel Legends I even made my own custom Machine Man. I’m thrilled beyond belief to have a proper figure in my collection, and I’m happy he turned out as well as he did. Now, is it too much to ask for a Nextwave version?

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

#0466: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS HERO MASHERS

If there’s one glaring omission from the numerous figures I’ve covered on this site so far, it’s Transformers. Transformers was a huge hit in the 80s, and it’s one of those toys that kind of forged its own path. The thing about Transformers is, they’re kind of their own thing. While the name technically refers to a very specific set of figures, it also loosely defines an entire genre of figures. There are “transformers” of practically everything. And none of that seems to have hurt the main brand, which doesn’t seem to be in any danger of falling out of popularity. That’s pretty impressive.

Amazingly enough, actual, name-brand Transformers make up about 0.14% of my action figure collection. That’s FOUR figures. Out of 2800. And only one of those actually transforms. Transformers thoroughly missed me. That said, I do like some of the characters, specifically Soundwave, the one that used to turn into a cassette player. He amuses me (three of my four Transformers are Soundwave). Recently, Hasbro has been getting into the “mix and match figures” idea, under the heading Hero Mashers. The line started with the Marvel brand and then expanded to Transformers. Soundwave was amongst them, so I picked him up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is part of the second assortment of Transformers Hero Mashers. He’s part of the regular assortment of figures, rather than a deluxe or multipack. He’s based on Soundwave’s original design (referred to as his G1 design), though I’m certain there are a few design changes that a more die-hard fan than I could point out. The figure is about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation. As far as I can tell, the sculpt is wholly original to this figure, but I don’t have any others to check. It’s a well sculpted figure, though he’s definitely been adapted so as to fit the style of this line. Most of the work is on the simpler side, with no really fine detailing, but that seems to be in line with the rest of the line, and it’s done well. The figure has a few ports here and there for various add-ons and accessories to be plugged in. While it’s fairly evident that they are there, they meld pretty well with the rest of the figure. I’d be interested to see if that carries to the non-robotic designs in the Marvel line. The paintwork is roughly on par with the sculpt. It’s rather straight forward, with no real fine detail work or anything. There’s also a little bit of bleed over in a few spots, though nothing atrocious. Soundwave is accessorized with his standard shoulder cannon, as well as a handheld missile launcher (because Hasbro), two gold rocket add-on thingies, a gun of some sort, and an alternate left hand (which, going by the Colossus pieces included with a few of the Marvel characters, I’m going to assume is from another character). In addition to the accessories, Soundwave also has the main point of the Hero Mashers going for him: interchangeability. He comes apart at the elbows, neck, hips, and knees (but not the shoulders, curiously). The pieces are a bit of a tight fit and some, such as the neck/head joint, are really hard to get back in place once they’ve been removed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Soundwave was purchased from the Kmart nearest the place my family and I stayed over the holidays. In all honesty, he was something of an impulse buy. Well, the closest that I come to an impulse buy, anyway. I had seen him a few times before and passed him up, but I was at Kmart, and they had him and I hadn’t seen anything else I wanted and I sort of caved. As just an action figure, he’s fun, though not the greatest figure I’ve ever owned. As a figure built for swapability? Hasbro’s got a little ways to go before they’re on par with something like Minimates. It’s a neat idea, and the toys are good, but the joints are just a little too tight for frequent swapping.

#0451: General Grievous

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

GENERAL GRIEVOUS

STAR WARS: REVEVENGE OF THE SITH

Here it is, Day 14, the last day of the Christmas Reviews. Today, I’ll be sticking with what I started yesterday: Star Wars reviews. Yep, it’s another SW prequel figure. This time around, it’s another of the characters I could actually tolerate, General Grievous (aside from the name. The name always bothered me. Seriously, his name’s just an adjective! What’s next, Savage Oppress? Oh, wait…) Grievous, like so much of the prequel stuff, was a good idea at the start. He’s got a cool design, an interesting enough backstory, and he had those four lightsabers! And then he went out like a punk. Well, at least he was in good company! Let’s look at the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Grievous was part of the first (and only) series of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 12-Inch figures. He’s a little over 12 inches in height (though not as over as he should be) and he features 17 points of articulation. I always marvel when companies manage to get less articulation into a character that has obvious joints built into their look. How do they miss the obvious joints? Anyway, the figure’s based on the character’s “live-action” appearance in Revenge of the Sith, which is, as I said in the intro, a pretty decent design. The sculpt of the figure is actually very well done, and it’s certainly above what Hasbro usually offered in this scale. For the most part, the sculpt follows the movies design pretty faithfully; the proportions all seem right, and all the little details and intricacies are present. The figure’s arms have been constructed so as to allow them to split as they do in the movie, and I believe this is the only of Hasbro’s figures of the character to actually do this the right way. Sadly, there isn’t really any mechanism to keep the arms together, so you have to fix them a lot. It’s also worth noting that, due to the lack of proper articulation, the figure is a bit pigeon-toed, which can make him difficult to stand. Given the character’s somewhat unique design, he’s mostly lacking the usual clothing seen on the 12-inch Star Wars figures. He does, however, get a rather nice cloth cape. It’s got two layers of fabric, so as to properly convey the two-toned nature of the cape, and it even has the pattern on the back like it does in the movie. It can easily go on and off of the figure, and it stays in place very well. The figure also has more paintwork than the average 12-incher. While it’s a bit basic in some areas, particularly the silver parts, there is some very nice work, especially on the lighter armor parts and around his eyes. Grievous included four lightsabers: two blue, two green. Unfortunately, due to the softer plastic used for his lower arms, it’s impossible for him to actually hold any of them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Obi Wan, Grievous was a Christmas gift from my pal Phil. What’s interesting about Grievous is that I fully intended to buy this figure when it was originally released. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the movie, but I remember seeing this guy on the shelf and thinking he looked pretty cool. But, then I never got around to it, and he vanished from shelves, so I didn’t think about it. I was quite happy to unwrap this figure after all these years. While the articulation isn’t the best and the plastic could be a bit stronger, there’s no denying that this is a pretty great looking figure.