Tag Archives: Hasbro

#0271: Flint

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

FLINT

GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

Flint

Yesterday, I took a look at the GI Joe line’s second version of Snake Eyes, released in 1985. 1985 was rather important year for GI Joe as it served as the year that introduced a new style of movement on the neck joints, and also introduced several characters that would go on to become key characters in the franchise. One such character was Chief Warrant Officer Flint. Interestingly, Flint officially first appeared in the GI Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon 1984, before his release in the toyline.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FlintWilsonFlint was part of the fourth series of GI Joe: A Real American Hero, released in 1985. This is the very first version of Flint released in the line.  The figure stands 3 ¾ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. Flint featured an all-new sculpt, though it would go on to be reused on two additional Flint figures, as well as donating several pieces to fellow Joe Claymore. The sculpt is pretty much in line with what the rest of the line’s sculpts looked like. It’s a nice sculpt, with some pretty nice detail work, especially in the folds in the uniform. The head also offers quite a bit of character, giving Flint one of the more distinctive looks in the line. The paint work on Flint is really nice. There’s pretty much no slop or bleed over, and he features a whole lot of small details, such as the camo pants, or the rounds in his suspenders. Flint included a backpack and a shot gun, although mine was purchased loose, and therefore lacked the shotgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I purchased Flint last week from Yesterday’s Fun, which I visited while on vacation with my family. While looking through a box of vintage GI Joes to find Snake Eyes (reviewed here), I came across Flint in rather good condition. I’ve always rather liked the figure, but never had the opportunity to get one. He’s a cool little figure, and I’m happy to have him.

#0270: Snake Eyes – V2

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

SNAKE EYES – V2

GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

SnakeEyesV2

The 3 ¾ inch line of GI Joe first launched in 1982, with 16 figures, sharing as many parts as possible. It was a hit, and those original 16 have since gone on to become rather memorable, simply for being there first. However, many people don’t see that first year as the one that defined the line, but rather see 1985, the line’s fourth year. It’s the year that introduced the ball jointed neck articulation that would become standard for the line, as well as introducing fan favorite characters like Flint, Lady Jaye, Shipwreck, the Crimson Guards, and Tomax and Xamot. It also featured the line’s first re-do of a previous Joe, Snake Eyes, beginning his reign as one of the line’s central characters. Today, I’ll be taking a look at that second Snake Eyes figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SnakeEyesV2WilsonSnake Eyes was released as part of the 1985 series of GI Joe: A Real American Hero, which was the 4th series of the line. As indicated in the title, it’s the second version of the character in the line. It is also considered by many collectors to be the definitive take on the character. This is the figure that added the character’s definitive knight-style visor. The figure stands 3 ¾ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. The figure features a brand new sculpt, which interestingly enough never saw any re-use or re-release, which is surprising given Hasbro’s penchant for re-use and the popularity of this particular figure. The sculpt is pretty much par for the course for a vintage GI Joe figure. It’s fairly basic, but that’s part of the appeal of the figure. The simplicity works especially well for Snake Eyes’ design. The paint on Snake Eyes is once again fairly basic, with a few areas of dark grey details and some silver on his right arm. For the most part, it’s pretty cleanly applied, although there is some bleed over on his bandolier.  Snake Eyes included a sword, a back pack, an uzi, and his pet wolf, Timber. However, my figure was purchased used, so he only has the back pack.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Snake Eyes version 2 is a figure that’s eluded me for roughly ten years. When I got into GI Joe with the GI Joe vs Cobra line back in 2002, I was thrilled with the line, and quickly began looking into older figures from the line. Snake Eyes was by far my favorite character at the time, so I was very interested in versions of him. Not too long after, the magazine Toyfare ran a feature on the Top 20 GI Joe toys, with this particular figure ranking #3 on the list. As soon as I saw him, I knew I wanted one, but acquiring one was no easy feat. Toyfar eventually ended up releasing an exclusive Snake Eyes figure, but that one was built out of the first version, not the second one that I really want. Still, I got that one to tide me over (incidentally, that one still remains one of my favorite GI Joes). When Hasbro launched the 25th Anniversary line, I picked up the update of the V2 figure, once again to tide me over.

Last week, while on vacation with my family, we visited a nearby toy store called Yesterday’s Fun. We’ve been there a few times before, and they always have some pretty cool stuff. I walked around and found a few figures I was interested in, and when I walked up to the counter, I noticed a box of loose GI Joes in a glass case. I politely asked to go through them, hoping to find that Snake Eyes figure. Alas, he wasn’t in the box (although I did pick out a few others I’d wanted). Then, as the owner put back the box, I noticed a small selection of Joes sitting next to the box. Sure enough, there sat Snake Eyes, front and center. I can’t begin to describe how excited I was to finally get him after looking for one for so long!

#0264: Puck

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

PUCK

MARVEL UNIVERSE

Puck

One of the most overlooked superhero teams is Alpha Flight. If you’re going “Whaaaa?” at the name, allow me to fill you in. Alpha Flight is the premier Canadian superhero team, sort of like the Canadian Avengers. Marvel’s tried to push them on the general population a few times in the past, but they’ve never really caught on outside of the hardcore fans. Anyway, one of their more memorable members (in my opinion) is Puck, whose power is that he’s short. Or something. So, he’s got a figure from Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Puck was released as part of Series 20 of the Marvel Universe line. The figure features 17 points of articulation, and stands about 2 ½ inches tall, which puts him about right for a 3 ¾ inch line. Puck appears to be an all new sculpt. The sculpt is short and stocky, which is perfect for Puck. The head sits a little bit too high, and the neck is a tad too thin, which makes his head look a little bobbly, but otherwise, everything looks great. The paint work is pretty decent. The eyes are a bit googly, and the hair on his arms and legs might be a tad uniform, but overall it’s all clean and without slop and bleed over. Puck includes a white bird, which I assume is meant to be teammate Snowbird in her…uh, snowbird form, which is a repaint of Falcon’s pet bird Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Puck isn’t one of my favorite characters, but I don’t mind the character. He’s certainly one of my favorite Alpha Flight characters. Anyway, I hadn’t intended to pick up the Marvel Universe version of the character, mostly due him being full price, but only half the size. However, I was at my local mall’s Disney store with my friend Tim, and, in addition to the previously reviewed Winter Soldier, I also came across a poor lone Puck figure, marked down to $3. For less than half of his original value, I was more than happy to pick up Puck for my modest MU collection. Sure, I don’t own any other Alpha Flight members in this scale, but Puck’s a decent enough figure on his own.

#0227: Boomerang – Deadliest Foes

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

BOOMERANG – DEADLIEST FOES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Boomerang

I’m almost done with my recent round of Marvel Legends reviews. One more to go, and then I’ll be jumping back to the usual retrospective reviews. This one doesn’t come from Captain America: The Winter Soldier set, but its sister Spider-Man line. It’s based on Boomerang, one of Spider-Man’s lesser known foes, and one of my personal favorites. For more on Boomerang, head here. Let’s take a look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boomerang is a part of the Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Officially, he’s referred to as “Deadliest Foes,” and is shipping in the second wave of the series, as a replacement for the initially shipped Beetle figure. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on Boomerang’s more recent redesign from his stint as a member of the Thunderbolts, and most recently his starring role in Superior Foes of Spider-Man. I know there’s been some contention over the decision to use the redesign instead of his classic design, but I actually am happy with the choice. The new design is actually quite striking. The figure is built on the basic male body, that same one used for Baron Zemo, flared boots and gloves and all. Interestingly, the prototype on the box features painted on boots and gloves. I think I like the final product more. The base body is quite a nice starting point, and the head sculpt is also a solid piece of work. I’m not 100% in favor of the gritted teeth look, but it’s not terrible, and it doesn’t look as bad as other attempts at such an expression. And it does add a lot of character to the figure. In what seems to be a running theme for all of my Hasbro reviews, a great sculpt is let down by bad paint. It’s less an issue with slop/bleed over and more an issue with consistency of application. The white areas of the paint seem to need another coat, and the head paint seems exceedingly…gloppy. It’s almost like they dabbed the paint on. Really weird looking, and certainly disappointing. The figure includes a “backpack,” four boomerangs of two different sizes which can be stored in the backpack, and the left leg of Ultimate Green Goblin, the series’ Build-A-Figure.

Boomerang2 Boomerang3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Boomerang on Amazon, once his price had stabilized to essentially retail. The figure leaves me feeling very mixed. I’m glad to have a Boomerang figure, and it’s a great sculpt, but the paint leaves quite a bit to be desired. I really want to support Hasbro in their attempts to do good with this line, and they do really seem to be trying, but the paint apps on this figure and the Mandroid are really, really bad. It holds both figures back from being as good as they should be, and I’m certain it’ll end up turning people off of the line, especially with the ever increasing price-point.

#0226: Mandroid

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

MANDROID

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Mandroid

I think I’ve probably said all I can about the awesomeness that is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you still haven’t seen it or don’t agree, there’s probably no helping you at this point. You’re just doing it wrong. If you’ve been following the site, you know I just picked up Hasbro’s most recent set of Marvel Legends, meant to coincide with the film. I’ve been pretty happy with them so far, and I was definitely for the line’s Build-A-Figure, based on the Mandroid. Quick sum up on the Mandroid: it’s battle armor worn by certain SHIELD Agents in big battles with super-humans. It’s super cool. Let’s see how the figure fairs, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandroid was released as the Build-A-Figure for the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series line, with pieces packed with six (technically eight, with the swap figures) figures over the course of two series of the line. The figure stands about 7 inches tall and features 28 points of articulation (29 if you count the mounted gun). The Mandroid seems to be loosely based on the classic Mandroid design, with a movie-style flair added to it. It’s a strong enough design, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it in the more proper gold color scheme somewhere down the line. The figure makes use of the Iron Man 3 Marvel Legends Iron Monger Build-A-Figure’s legs and lower torso, as well as slightly tweaked versions of that figure’s arms, all coupled with a brand new head and upper torso. The re-use all works well for the design, and seems to fit pretty seamlessly with the new parts. The newer pieces look pretty spot on to the classic Mandroid design. As seems to be a running theme with this series, the figure’s sculpt is let down a bit by the paint application. The figure is mostly molded in the appropriate silver, so there are no issues with those parts, but the black paint shows a few areas of bleed over, and the yellow paint is just plain messy. The visor on the head has serious amounts of bleed over on the outlying areas. The left arm gets it the worst, with the yellow bits barely even lining up with the sculpted lines they’re meant to follow, plus a general inconsistent coating, and random blotches of yellow in incorrect places all over the arm to boot! Fortunately, the yellow is a rather minor part of the figure, and most of the offending areas aren’t oft seen, but the visor is utterly inexcusable. The sculpt of the figure is impressive enough that I’m willing to overlook the paint, but the figure could have been so much more impressive if they had been a bit more careful.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve been following my previous reviews of the CA:TWSMLIS line, then you pretty much know how I acquired this figure. It’s not terribly exciting, but it did lead to me picking up some figures I wouldn’t have otherwise in order to get Mandroid pieces. So, was it worth it? Well, there are some serious issues with the figure’s paint, which really let me down, but overall, I’d have to say yes, the figure was worth the extra purchases. The Mandroid is a cool design, regardless of the issues the figure faces, and the excess figures were overall acceptable. Honestly, this is probably the happiest I’ve been with a full set of figures in a fair bit of time!

Cap&Mandroid

#0225: Captain America – Now!

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – NOW!

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

CapNow!

In my Spider-Girl review, I discussed the different reasons for buying figures. My decision to purchase the figure of today’s review is firmly planted in the “completing a Build-A-Figure” camp. I wouldn’t want my poor Mandroid figure to forever be headless, now would I? Getting that piece also meant getting this figure. In all fairness, I’ve bought worse figures for sillier reasons. Anyway, the figure is the somewhat demanding sounding Captain America – Now! Let’s see how this one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cap was released as part of the first series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series, and is also going to be seeing a re-release in the second set of revision cases for series two. Cap stands a bit over 6 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. As the title indicates, Cap is based on his appearance from Marvel’s recent Marvel Now! initiative. I don’t think it has the lasting power of the classic design, but it’s not a bad design, and it is the character’s current look, so it’s nice to see it released. Cap features an all new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one. He’s got some great texture work, and I quite like the hexagonal pattern on the torso and upper arms. For some reason, the sculpt on the face seems a bit off for Cap. I think that the chin might be a bit too short and the mouth might be a touch too big. The paint work is okay overall, but there are a few spots of noticeable slop, plus a fair bit of inconsistent application on the red stripes on his lower torso. It’s not too distracting, but it is quite noticeable with minor inspection.  Cap seems to be a bit light in the accessories department, especially compared to the rest of the line. He’s limited to his shield, which is reused from Ultimate Cap from the previous Marvel Legends line, and the Mandroid’s head, which happens to be the smallest of the Mandroid pieces as well. It leaves the figure feeling a bit light, but I suppose the figure itself does seem to have a bit more heft than the others.

CapNow!2CapNow!3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This Cap was not amongst the figures I recently received from Big Bad Toystore. However, when I realized that I’d have all of the Mandroid pieces save the head, I figured I’d go ahead and pick him up. I ended up getting him from Amazon, at a slightly marked up price. Seems the figure’s become a bit more desirable since Series two was released. He’s not a bad figure, but he’s not my Cap. At best, he’s an amusing variant. Which isn’t the worst thing, truth be told. He’s a solid addition to a great line.

#0224: Winter Soldier

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

WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITY SERIES

WinterSoldier1

Let’s see, so far in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series reviews, I’ve discussed the quality of the film, the quality of the toys, the stupid decisions regarding the pack outs, oh yes, and Nazis, of course. This review ends up getting the short end of the stick, I’m afraid. Well, it’s a review of the film’s title bad guy. If you didn’t know by this point, he’s… SPOILERS

 

…actually Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, saved from near death and brain washed to become the ultimate assassin. Fun times.  So, let’s take a look at his figure, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winter Soldier is part of the second series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and he features 30 points of articulation. He is, of course, based on the character’s appearance in TWS, but is specifically from the middle-ish area of the movie, after he loses the coat he sports in early scenes and before he loses the mask and eye-liner. The figure gets a brand new sculpt, and it’s an impressive one at that. I thought the 3 ¾ inch version’s sculpt was pretty good, and this one just adds even more detail, and a fair bit of extra articulation. The wrist, ankle and abdominal articulation really gives the figure a whole new dimension. If I had one complaint, it would be that the robot arm doesn’t look quite as good with the smaller one, due to the double jointed elbow. However, the added movement is important, so I’m willing to let it slide. The paint work on WS is probably the cleanest I’ve seen on the line so far, which is a comforting thing to see. However, once again, I don’t like the robo-arm quite as much. They’ve given it a dark wash that makes it look rather scummy. It does bring out the details, but the Soldier’s arm was consistently clean and shiny in the movie, so it looks off. Not terrible, mind you, just slightly off. The downfall of this figure, is the accessories. They’re all fine in theory, just not really in execution. First off, there’s the Mandroid leg. That’s pretty straight forward, with no issues. I’ll be looking at that in two days, along with the rest of the Mandroid. Then, there’s the alternate head. Here’s where the trouble begins. Sculpturally, it’s not a bad depiction of Bucky, sans mask. The paint is what messes it up. First, the eye shadow goes waaay to far down his face. It pretty much covers the entirety of his face, for Pete’s sake! Then, they gave him these really thin, drawn on eyebrows, which are set way to high up. He looks very surprised, I must say. With a proper paint job, this head would actually be pretty good. I’ve included a quick photoshop job to demonstrate this. As it is, it’s just…eughhh. Lastly, and leastly, there’s the gun. Well, I say gun. It’s more of a strange red fish thing that happens to have a handle. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be, but it’s certainly not anything he carried in the movie. Is there a reason he can’t have a real gun? Zemo and Red Skull have real guns. Why must Bucky be stuck with this monstrosity? He can’t even hold it like a real gun! I suppose it’s not as bad as Widow’s total lack of guns, but I don’t think it’s much better.

WinterSoldier2(unmasked) WinterSoldier5 WinterSoldier4(accessory) WinterSoldier2(unmaskedCompare)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bucky is the last piece of my series two set I received from Big Bad Toystore. I knew even before I saw the movie I was going to want this guy, so I’m happy to finally have him. The wonky gun thing is a bit of a bummer, but I swapped in the larger rifle from one of my Star Wars: The Black Series Stormtroopers, and that seems to work a bit better. Sure, it’s still not right, but at least it’s based on a real gun, and it’s not a bright color. The alt head is also a bit of a disappointment, but I always intended to display the masked one anyway, so I’m not really bugged by that. Truth be told, Winter Soldier is probably my favorite figure from this line up. He’s a heck of a lot of fun!

WinterSoldier3(Comparison)wbubble

#0223: Red Skull – Agents of Hydra

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

RED SKULL – AGENTS OF HYDRA

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

RedSkull

Nazis. I hate these guys.

Today, It’s another figure from Hasbro’s most recent round of Marvel Legends. This one once again draws from the comics side of things, presenting us with another take on Captain America’s #1 foe, the Red Skull. Let’s get to the review!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Skull, or “Agents of Hydra” as he is officially called, was released in the first series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Like Zemo, he was released again in the second series. He is shares the “Agents of Hydra” title with an actual Hydra Agent. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and features 31 points of articulation. He seems to be based on the Skull’s appearance from the Mid-90s, during Mark Waid’s run in the Heroes Return era. He’s based on Hasbro’s Trench-coat buck. This is my first run in with the body, and I have to say I’m not impressed, especially when it’s compared to the other body’s used in this series. From a sculpt stand point, it’s not the worst. It has some decent textures, and it looks okay just standing there. However, the articulation is awkward at best, especially the legs and shoulders, which seem impossible to get into a natural position. The trench coat is an add-on piece, and they’ve also stuck a shoulder holster under it. I think the figure actually looks a bit better without the holster piece on. One thing I do really like is his head, which is a really great sculpt, with lots of character. The paint work is actually pretty clean on this figure, though that might be due to his more simplistic paint scheme. The Skull includes a red pistol, some strange laser gun thing, a Cosmic Cube, and the left arm of the Mandroid. The pistol can fit snuggly in either of the Skull’s holsters, with the laser thing can fit in neither, leaving him with an empty one. The Cube is really cool, even if it is just a clear blue plastic cube. It’s the little things, you know?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Red Skull was amongst the Series Two set I received from Big Bad Toystore. Like Zemo, I had initially planned on getting his swap figure, the Hydra Agent, instead of him. But, he was in the set, so here he is. My opinion hasn’t drastically changed for the Skull like it did with Zemo, but he’s an alright figure. I don’t regret owning him. If you get him into an okay standing pose, he looks fairly intimidating, and he is the best available version of Cap’s arch enemy.

#0222: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

BlackWidow2(Long)

Toy companies have long insisted that female action figures don’t sell as well as male action figures. So, their response to fan demand is usually one of two things: they shortpack the figure, making it impossible to find, or they put no effort into the figure, making it a monstrosity nobody wants. Or they do both (case in point: Marvel Legends Scarlet Witch. Eughhh…). These actions lead to female figures not selling as well, which leads to companies saying they don’t sell well, which leads to shortpacking and poor figures. Which leads to, you guessed it, bad sales. It’s one of those self-fulfilling prophecy things.

Anyway, this mentality lead to Black Widow being the only team member absent from Hasbro’s 6-inch scale Avengers line, meant to tie-in with the 2012 movie. It was really annoying, but Hasbro said they’d make it up to us. When the Captain America: The Winter Soldier figures were announced, they informed us that Widow would be including two heads, so she could be displayed from either movie. How could it go wrong? Well, Hasbro decided to pack Widow one per-case. For a ratio, there are eight figures in a case, and three of them are Captain America. To make matters worse, Widow included the most essential piece to the line’s Mandroid Build-A-Figure. Fortunately, Hasbro seems to be learning, and has announced that they will be sending out revision cases with Cap, Widow, and Winter Soldier all evenly packed. Maybe their starting to get it…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was released in the second series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. She’s actually a bit too tall, which is the reverse of the problem that most female figures suffer from. It doesn’t ruin the figure, but she’s almost as tall as Cap, and there’s a difference of almost a foot between Scarlet Johansen and Chris Evans in real life. The figure appears to have a brand new sculpt, and it’s a very nice sculpt at that. I’m not sure if I like the body sculpt quite as much as Hasbro’s Spider-Girl sculpt, but it’s a very close second. Like that figure, she has very nice, mostly realistic proportions. Her stance is perhaps a bit too wide, but other than that, everything looks pretty good. The basic TWS head is a great sculpt, and it looks pretty much spot on to what Ms. Johansen looked like in the movie. The long hair is a little bit restricting to the neck articulation, but that’s understandable given the style. It certainly isn’t as bad as it could have been. In the paint department, Black Widow lucks out compared to the previous two figures I’ve looked at. There’s still a bit of bleed over in a few spots, but she seems to have less of the fuzzy lines and slop of the other two. She includes an extra Avengers-styled head, an extra set of trigger finger hands, and the Mandroid torso. The head is a nice touch, given Widow’s absence from the 6-inch Avengers line and the closeness of the costumes. It looks like the same face with new hair, and it looks pretty good, though the hair might be sitting a smidge too high on her forehead.Widow also includes two pistols…sculpted into their holsters. Remember how I said she had trigger fingers? Yeah, she has nothing to hold in them. It’s seriously disappointing and mars an otherwise great figure.

BlackWidow3(Long)  BlackWidow1(Short) BlackWidow(Short)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Widow was part of my set of Series Two figures from Big Bad Toystore. She is the primary reason I bought the set, as I wasn’t going to fork over almost $60 for just her. She definitely lives up to the hype she’s gotten. It’s a great representation of Widow. She’s a great action figure in general. This is the second Hasbro female I’ve given that assessment is the last week. They’re definitely on to something here! However, the figure is hurt by the lack of firearms. I ended up finding a suitable handgun in my spare parts bin, but not everyone has a spare parts bin.

CapTrio

#0221: Baron Zemo – Soldier of A.I.M.

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

BARON ZEMO – SOLDIERS OF A.I.M.

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

ZemoII

If you’d told me a few years ago that two of my favorite lines of toys (Star Wars: The Black Series and Marvel Legends Infinite Series) would be coming from Hasbro, I’d have laughed in your face. I’ve never hated Hasbro or anything, and I’ve been pretty happy with their work on Marvel Universe, but they’ve never been known for anything downright outstanding. In the past year, they’ve really stepped it up in terms of sculpts, articulation, accessories, and general quality of figures. Sure, they’ve had a few missteps (re-packing Han in the third series of SWB instead of an extra Stormtrooper; making Black Widow, the Hydra Agent, and the A.I.M. Soldier one per case), but they do seem to be learning, and they actually are trying to make up for some of their failures. That’s down right admirable, especially after years of dealing with Mattel…

Today, I’ll be reviewing Baron Zemo from their recent Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Unlike yesterday’s Cap, he’s based on a comic design, and if you’d like to know more about him, head over to the Backstories section!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Baron Zemo, or “Soldiers of A.I.M.” as he’s officially named, is part of the first series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series and is also in the first revision case featuring series two. He is a swap figure with the A.I.M. Soldier, hence the name. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and sports 32 points of articulation. He’s based on Zemo’s more recent appearances. It’s honestly not far off from his classic design, sans the fur-lined boots and shoulders. The figure is built on Hasbro’s medium male buck, with flared boots and gloves. He also gets a new head and add-ons for his shoulder holsters and his belt/loincloth. The head is a perfect representation of Zemo’s look in the comics, and the body and add-ons look great too. I quite like the “Z”s embroidered on his holsters. They’re a nice touch. Like STRIKE Suit Captain America, the figure’s sculpt is let down a bit by some rocky paint apps. The forearms have been molded in yellow and painted purple, and not only did they miss some of the spots closer to the gloves, the paint also seems to be a bit too thin, allowing the yellow plastic to bleed through. The edge of the mask also has some pretty fuzzy lines, the whites of the eyes aren’t quite in line with the sculpt, and his crown piece isn’t totally painted. None of these are major issues, but they are annoying, and they detract from an otherwise great figure. Zemo includes a pistol, a sword, and the right arm of the Mandroid. I’ll be taking a look at the Mandroid after everyone else is reviewed, which leaves the gun and sword. The sword sadly suffers from similar bleed through issues to the forearms, but it fits well in his hand, and can also be slipped through the loop on his belt. The pistol is a nice piece, which has some great painted details. Sadly, he’ll be forced to always hold it, because both of his holsters have permanently sculpted guns. Drat it!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Zemo was part of the set of Series two figures I received from Big Bad Toystore. I wasn’t sure I was going to get him at first, as I wanted the A.I.M. Soldier a bit more. However, he was in the set, and I figured why not? I’m glad that was my attitude on the figure. Paint issues aside, he’s a great figure, and a very welcome addition to anyone’s Captain America shelf.