Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3484: Chasm

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

CHASM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A near-fatal battle between Peter Parker and his clone, Ben Reilly, leaves Ben rising from the quantum goo as the villainous Chasm”

Poor Ben Reilly just really can’t catch a break, can he?  He keeps dying or being evil.  He seemed to get a bit of an upswing when they made him the main Spidey again in 2022, but…then he seemingly died and then went rogue.  I mean, it’s not *exactly* evil, but he’s certainly on the edge.  It’s kind of humorous, because Ben’s not even supposed to *be* the edgy clone!  That was Kane’s whole gimmick.  Ben’s the light-hearted and carefree guy…right?  Well, maybe he’ll get there again.  He *is* currently living in paradise.  In the mean time, he’s a figure of him during his emo phase.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chasm is part of the latest Spider-Man retro card series of Marvel Legends.  He’s another very modern figure from a largely very modern line-up.  He’s also one of two different Ben Reilly figures in this particular line-up, which is an interesting switch up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Chasm is based on the ANAD 2099 body, which is a decent enough set-up, but is slightly hampered by being the inferior version of two different Spidey base bodies.  I imagine this one in particular is a little cheaper to produce, which makes more sense for a more one-off design like Chasm.  It does kind of suck that it means he’s still got the visible pins, though.  He’s got a new head and add-ons for his wrist cartridges, which are generally pretty basic, but well implemented pieces.  The rest of the design is carried by the paint work.  Chasm, to showcase his turn to a more villainous side, gets to be purple and green, the classic bad guy colors in comics.  They’re a particularly nice shade here, which I definitely dig.  Application is generally pretty good, apart from the right elbow on my copy completely missing the purple paint app.  Chasm is packed with a pair of effects piece, borrowed from Scarlet Witch, but in green this time.  That feels exceptionally light, given how few new parts this guy has.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Ben Reilly.  I really do.  I like him enough that I read his whole “Beyond” run in the comics.  It wasn’t awful, and the Chasm angle isn’t the *worst* thing ever, but it’s also a little frustrating to see this character caught in this sort of loop of characterization.  But, a good figure is a good figure, and I’m a sucker for a good Ben Reilly figure.  Chasm’s okay.  He’s pretty by the numbers, but if nothing else he’s got a fun color scheme.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3483: Kamakura

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

KAMAKURA

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Wow, two G.I. Joe reviews, just a week apart?  And they’re both Classified even?  How’d that happen?  Well, I sat one the first one long enough before reviewing it that I’d wound up with another in the mean time, that’s how.  Also other reasons, but I’ll get to them in a bit.

When Hasbro re-launched the 3 3/4-inch Joes in 2002, they also got a tie-in comic, courtesy of Devil’s Due publishing.  It was largely using the established characters, but since the premise of the comic was that they were progressing in real time from the end of the Marvel run, and they wanted to show some change, they gave Snake Eyes an apprentice, who he’d been training while the Joe team had been disbanded.  Sean “Kamakura” Collins was the son of a former Crimson Guard, who had briefly appeared during the Marvel series.  Kamakura came with Snake Eyes to join the re-banded Joes, and in turn became the era’s most enduring character, gaining not only a handful of figures, but also a role as a recurring character in the *next* notable Joe project, Sigma 6.  And now he’s even joined the Classified Series.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kamakura is figure 61 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up.  He was released at the beginning of the year as an Amazon-exclusive, and is at the slightly heightened deluxe price point that we also saw with Sgt. Slaughter.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  He’s sporting all the standard articulation for the line, and he’s totally pinless, so it all looks pretty good.  The sculpt here is an all-new one, courtesy of Fred Aczon, and it’s a pretty solid one.  Kamukura is very definitely based on that initial comics design, which really makes him the first figure of him to truly do so, since all of the others have done some sort of compromise on the look.  I do really think it’s a strong look, and it manages to adapt pretty well to this particular aesthetic.  There’s some fantastic texturing going on, and I really like how similar yet different the masked head is from the classic Storm Shadow release.  It shows commitment to keeping the different characters unique, which I appreciate, since Kamakura so frequently gets stuck as just a re-use figure.  Kamakura’s paint work is overall pretty basic.  There’s more involved work on what we can see of the face, and he gets his proper clan tattoo, but other than that, it’s base work.  Some of the base stuff is a little off-set on mine, but nothing too crazy out of the ordinary.  In order to justify his higher price point, Kamakura gets a slightly upgraded accessory selection.  He’s got an alternate unmasked head, two styles of hood (re-used from Storm Shadow), two swords, a backpack, a knife, and uzi, a handgun, a bladed staff, and two shorter blades.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I had been familiar with G.I. Joe as a brand since a very young age due to the vintage 12-inch Joes my dad had owned, my first introduction to the Real American Hero incarnation of the franchise was the 2002 relaunch.  As an avid comics reader, I of course followed the Devil’s Due series, and Kamakura was always a favorite of mine.  I’m always glad to see him show up in the toy line (even though most of his figures have been kinda rough), and I had my fingers crossed that he’d get the Classified treatment.  However, with him winding up as an Amazon-exclusive, and me becoming a bit disenchanted with the line overall, I wound up waiting on this one.  It worked out in my favor, because I was able to catch him during a Prime Day sale, which greatly incentivized the whole thing.  I really do like this figure.  Since he comes from a different era, he’s not slavishly modelled on a vintage figure, and is instead a more general adaptation of his DDP appearances, which I really feel works to his favor.  I’m glad I finally got one, and I’m on one hand kicking myself for waiting this long, while also kind of glad I did.  The point is, I have one now, and he’s very cool, and honestly the best figure Kamakura’s ever gotten…well, except for maybe his Sigma 6 figure.

#3482: Elektra Natchios Daredevil

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

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Martial artist and former assassin Elektra Natchios dedicates herself to fighting crime under the mantle of Daredevil when Matt Murdock is sent to prison”

So, it’s Halloween, and it’s usually a time for spooky and scary stuff, but, uhh, I don’t know, I guess I’m not overly feeling it?  Or perhaps I’m reeling from the horror of the very real passage of time and the changes that it brings!  OOOOOOOOOOOO!  SCARY! …Is that it?  Is that doing it for you?  Eh, close enough.  So, yeah, in any sort of serialized fiction, even long-running fiction with a bit of a status quo, there’s always a degree of change and growth.  Over in the Daredevil comics, Elektra has gone from being a rather deadly master assassin to dead to back again to Skrull to back again to actually heroic character, carrying on the mantle of Daredevil while Matt’s been off doing his own thing.  It’s the most recent turn that’s actually finally gotten me to care about Elektra in any way whatsoever.  And that’s perhaps the scariest thing of all.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra Natchios Daredevil is part of the latest retro card series of Spide-Man Marvel Legends, which is notably a very modern series of figures almost across the board.  So modern, in fact, that most of the figures aren’t even on properly retro style packaging, Elektra included.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Her movement is about what you’d expect from a Legends release at this stage.  Some of the joints are a little stiff, and I wouldn’t mind more range on the mid-torso joint, but she generally moves pretty well.  Elektra’s sculpt is an all-new one, handled by Rene Aldrete.  It’s generally pretty solid.  Her look and build is consistent with the standard Elektra from back in the Sp//dr Series, and the details from her new look definitely work well.  I dig the detailing on the hand and feet wraps, and the slight dynamic flow to the loin cloth and scarf is very fun.  If I have one minor complaint, it’s that we only get the one scarf piece, which is covering her face (as it does by default in the comics), meaning you can’t really see her lower face sculpt without taking it off, thereby throwing off her whole look.  But, if we’re only getting one scarf, this is the direction I’d prefer for them to go.  Elektra’s color work is pretty decent.  It’s not really anything crazy; just a lot of red and black, which is accurate to the source material.  A lot of it’s molded, so that’s very clean.  What paint work she gets is also very clean, and I do quite like the shading on the eyes.  Elektra is packed with her twin sais, which are the same ones from the last couple of releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, I’ve never been much of an Elektra fan.  She’s just really never clicked with me in any sort of way.  Not even her portrayal on the Daredevil show turned me around, and that’s the show that got me to like the Punisher.  So, when they moved her into the Daredevil role, I was skeptical…and then I actually started to like her, which was downright baffling to me.  I kind of *had* to buy the figure version at that point.  She’s fun.  I do wish she had an alternate scarf and maybe an extra unmasked head, but ultimately, even as just the core figure, I do really like this one.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3479: Gray Hulk & Dr. Bruce Banner

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

GRAY HULK & DR. BRUCE BANNER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Caught in the heart of a Gamma Bomb explosion, Dr. Bruce Banner now finds himself transformed when darkness falls, into the most powerful creature to walk the earth – the Incredible Hulk”

Did you know that the Hulk was gray when he first appeared?  Well, if you don’t, you really should; I mention it every time I review a figure of Gray Hulk.  It’s honestly because I’m not really sure what else to say about the look.  I mean, it’s all pretty cut and dry. He’s Hulk. He’s gray. Great choice for an anniversary year, so, he very often is. We got him for Marvel’s 80th in 2019, and now we’re getting him again for the Avengers’ 60th, this time with a comics styled Bruce Banner in tow!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Gray Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner are part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Marvel Legends. They’re one of a handful of two-packs from the line-up, hitting the same price point as the similarly balanced deluxe/standard split Destroyer and Thor.

GRAY HULK

This is, I believe, our fourth Gray Hulk for Legends, not counting the Joe Fixit versions. It’s the third under Hasbro’s tenure, with the last one being the previously mentioned 80th anniversary one.  This guy is effectively just a slight tweak on that one.  The figure is 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  From the neck down, he’s identical to the two 80th Hulks.  It’s a good, solid base, with a strong articulation scheme and a nice, balanced set of proportions.  It’s been the go-to for Hulk since the 80th introduced it four years ago, and it’s a solid case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  This Hulk gets not one, but two brand-new head sculpts, both courtesy of Paul Harding.  One’s baring his teeth in a sort of a sneer, while the other is closed mouth, while still very pissed off.  These two are slightly cleaner, and a bit more Kirby-esque than the prior version.  The color work this time around is less nuanced than the prior version, relying more on flat molded colors, and less on much in the way of accent work.  It’s certainly a very clean set-up, which is more directly in-line with the coloring of the comics…you know, apart from the whole being a consistent shade of gray all the way through thing.  Gray Hulk is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture/gripping), the tattered shirt piece that the last one got (which still doesn’t stay on very securely), and the crushed pipe piece.

DR. BRUCE BANNER

Bruce Banner isn’t *crazy* rare when it comes to toys, but he’s not exactly super plentiful either.  This marks only his second time as a Legends release, and the first one was movie based.  In terms of comic coverage, the closest we got before this was the old Hulk Classics figure, which was vaguely Legends compatible, but not quite there.  This guy is clearly designed to match up with his box-mate’s Incredible Hulk #1-basis, what with the classic lab-coat and glasses appearance and all.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Banner’s largely just using the Coulson body, which works well enough, being a basic suited set-up and all.  He’s got Reed Richards’ labcoat in place of the usual suit jacket, as well as a brand-new head sculpt.  The new head is…well it feels just a touch too pretty for Bruce, I feel.  Like, it’s not bad, but it’s a bit young looking, and rather delicate.  He feels more like a model than a scientist.  Not to worry, though, because you can easily hide those good looks behind his super nerdy glasses, which are totally removable, and totally stay in place, and totally look really good.  I believe this also makes him the first Banner figure that’s not a Minimate to have the glasses, which is pretty darn nifty.  Bruce’s color scheme is slightly unconventional for him.  He tends to be all about those purple pants.  However, since he’s supposed to be matching with the Hulk from this set, he’s got blue pants and an orange shirt.  It’s different, but honestly doesn’t feel too odd for him.  The actual paint work is largely confined to the face, which is printed, and looks pretty clean.  Banner’s extras are limited to just those removable glasses (which, by the way, are very easy to miss in the box, so be careful with that).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I already had the 80th Grey Hulk, so I wasn’t necessarily looking for an upgrade.  That said, I didn’t have a suitable comics-style Bruce Banner, so that one at the very least piqued my interest.  Did I *want* to buy another Hulk to get him?  Maybe not.  But I did, and I honestly don’t mind it.  I like the new heads a lot, and I like Banner a lot, so I’m considering the whole thing an overall win.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3478: Edward “Torpedo” Leialoha

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

EDWARD “TORPEDO” LEIALOHA

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

“Torpedo was a scuba instructor prior to enlistment. Attained black belts in three martial arts by age 19 (Wu-Shu, Kenpo, and Go-Ju-Ryu). Proficient with Filipino butterfly knife(Bali-Song). Training records after SEAL School: CLASSIFIED. Qualified Expert: Most NATO small arms, NATO and Warsaw Pact explosive devices.

Spends off-duty hours perfecting his fighting skills and marksmanship. Strict vegetarian. Regarded by his teammates as a highly competent professional, but has the personality of a cold fish.”

The first year of G.I. Joe’s move to the 3 3/4-inch scale was without any environment-specific figures.  When you’re trying to revive a brand, you probably don’t want to potentially limit sales on any of your figures by tying them too heavily into a set-up that not every kid is going to have.  Year two, however, injected a little bit of that, though, and gave us our first of a few different underwater specialists, in the form of Torpedo.  He’s not as flashy as the likes of Wet-Suit and Deep-Six, but he was still the first, and he’s also the first of them to join Classified, with a figure I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Edward “Torpedo” Leialoha is figure 73 in Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Classified Series.  At this point, they’ve moved away from actual assortments, instead just doing groupings of individual figures shipping in solid cases.  He’s a wide release figure, loosely grouped with Rock ‘n Roll and Copperhead.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Torpedo is sporting an all-new sculpt, handled by sculptor Paul Harding.  It’s already been set for some re-use on the upcoming Action Sailer anniversary figure, which makes sense, it being a pretty basic frogman set-up and all.  He’s clearly patterned on Torpedo’s v1 release, but he absorbs some of the design elements introduced in the 25th Anniversary release, most notably the lack of a permanently affixed mask.  It’s a very strong sculpt; there’s a lot of subtlety, and very balanced proportions, and I really like the unique quality of the facial sculpt.  The basic wetsuit has a lot of clean lines, and the extra add-on pieces break it up really nicely.  I definitely dig the slight dressing up that the harness gives the whole look.  In general, it keeps a lot of the vibe of the original look, while actually doing a little bit of updating.  It still remains a bit more real world than some of the early-line figures and their heavier sci-fi influence, but it’s not falling into the “vintage figure but bigger” territory of some of the more recent stuff.  Torpedo’s color scheme largely sticks to the grey and black of the vintage figure, but he does get a few other accents mixed in, as well as getting a fully painted face.  On my figure there’s a little slop on the edge of the skintone, but he is otherwise pretty solid.  Torpedo’s last name, Leialoha, and his birthplace as listed on his original file card, indicate that he’s of Polynesian decent, and his skin tone is a bit darker to support that, a noted change from how pale he tends to be.  It’s a pretty nice change, honestly, and adds some pleasant visual diversity to the Joes.  Torpedo is packed with his scuba gear, which includes a mask, tanks, and a pair of flippers.  They lean more into the real-world scuba look than previous designs, which lines up well with the rest of the design cues from this release.  Torpedo also includes a harpoon gun (like his vintage counterpart), a knife, and a rifle.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My last G.I. Joe: Classified Series review ran in June (and was actually written about a month before that), which emphasizes for me just how removed I feel from the whole line.  Torpedo isn’t a character that I have a ton of attachment to, previously at least, so, while he looked cool, by the time he hit, I was kind of presuming I’d be passing him.  When he showed up in person, something about him called to me, I think largely because the classic frogman look has always been one of my favorite things about G.I. Joe, going back to the 12-inch figures, even.  I was hemming and hawing over buying the figure when Max decided to just make the decision for me, and buy this guy for me as a birthday present.  That sure was nice of him.  The nerve of some people, right?  I’ve been down on this line, but Torpedo does feel like a step in the right direction to me.  He doesn’t feel quite as slavishly devoted to his original figure, and he’s not as impossibly fiddly as Falcon was, so I do generally quite like him.

#3477: Super Adaptoid

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

SUPER ADAPTOID

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Originally developed by Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) to combat Captain America, the Super-Adaptoid can duplicate the powers and abilities of heroes nearby allowing it to contend with the entire Avengers team”

Look, all the cool super hero teams have a green guy that copies their powers.  It’s just what’s done.  The Avengers are just part of the quota.  First debuting as simply “The Adaptoid” in 1966, after copying the powers and traits of the whole active roster of the Avengers, the robotic creation of AIM took on the monicker “Super Adaptoid,” which has pretty much stuck ever since.  He’s fought more than just the Avengers, including facing off against the X-Men (where he tussled with their *orange* guy that copied their powers, Mimic), and even got to be a regular on Hulu’s MODOK series, shortlived though it may have been.  And now he’s getting some actual proper action figure treatment that’s not just a tie-in to a weird toys to life game.  Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Super Adaptoid is part of Hasbro’s “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Marvel Legends, celebrating the Avengers 60th Anniversary.  He occupies the same spot in this line that Surtur did in the “Infinity Saga” set, as an above deluxe-sized price point all his own.  This guy is ostensibly using the classic Adaptoid look, which is the best Adaptoid look.  There are some slight tweaks, and some reasons for those tweaks that I’ll get into later down in the review.  The figure stands just shy of 12 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  At his core, Super Adaptoid is using a large chunk of the molds from the 12-inch Captain America that they put out back in 2016.  It’s not the craziest idea, since a lot of his elements are borrowed from Cap, and it allows him to be at that slightly larger scale that he tended to settle into after absorbing Goliath’s powers.  It does result in him leaning a bit more into the modern Cap vibe than the classic, since that’s what the molds are geared towards.  Adaptoid gets a new head, forearms, hands, and boots, as well as modified shoulders to remove the extra shoulder pads from the Cap, and an extra piece over the star to change it to the Iron Man-looking reactor.  The new head gives him that classic Adaptoid appearance, and is a nice, clean sculpt.  The new gloves and boots do move him a little more into his classic appearance, which is honestly a nice touch; they make me kind of want to see the body get adapted to a more Classic Cap in general, honestly.  He’s missing the wings that were usually present with this look, but at this point, I’m taking what I can get.  His color work is a lot of green, as it should be.  It’s not a ton of paint, but what’s there works well, and it’s cleanly applied.  Super Adaptoid is packed with an imitation Cap shield and an imitation Mjolnir, both of which are just recolored from the 12-inch releases for those two figures.  They work alright, but the Cap shield runs into some issues having to do with the changes they’ve made for this release.  The original version had removable straps, since it was able to be mounted on the back of the figure.  They’ve removed the mounting function from the core figure, and also glued the straps in place, while also giving the figure only one set of hands: gripping right and fist left.  Unfortunately, this all adds up to the figure not being to really properly get the shield in place, since the smaller strap is meant to be gripped, but there’s no left gripping hand, so you have to try and fit it over the first, which it’s not designed to go over.  The new gloves are also too large for the forearms to fit through the larger strap, which means it’s all around an awkward experience, especially without the option to take off either of the straps.  Ultimately, I popped the glove off at the fore-arm cut joint, which it’s not *supposed* to do, but it can, so it *works* but only just barely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been wanting a classic style Adaptoid figure of some sort for a good long while, so I was definitely excited when his name got leaked, albeit with the knowledge that he was *probably* going to be a re-tool like this.  So, I wasn’t shocked when he was shown off this way.  In hand, he’s got some issues to be sure, but I’m honestly just happy to have gotten him at all.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3469: Iron Man – Model 01

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

IRON MAN — MODEL 01

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When Billionaire Industrialist Tony Stark dons a sophisticated armor of his own design, he becomes a living high-tech weapon and the world’s greatest human fighting machine — the Invincible Iron Man”

In the ’60s, a lot of Marvel’s super hero books started out decidedly less super-hero-y. Things like Hank Pym being “the man in the anthill” before his proper Ant-Man persona, or the Hulk’s more generally monstrous angle. When Tony Stark first appeared as Iron Man, the focus was less on a heroic persona, and more on the sci-fi side, playing up the suit’s mechanical nature. While he switched over to the more traditional super hero fare in short order, that original design has nevertheless remained a memorable and distinctive one, and a recurring variant in the world of toys.  Today, I’m taking a look at its latest toy incarnation!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Man Model 01 is part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  He’s much like the Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man from last year’s Spidey anniversary line; a just above standard priced single release figure in effectively a standard single figure package.  This marks the second time the Model 01 has graced Legends, following up on a Toy Biz release from all the way back in 2006’s Mojo Series.  He’s based on his original armor design from Tales of Suspense #39, without the adjustments of later appearances of the armor.  The figure stands __ inches tall and he has __ points of articulation.  Despite how bulky the armor may be, the figure remains pretty darn poseable.  Some of the joints do require a little extra care to clear the sculpted parts around them, but its not anything crazy, and it’s done without making the joints too obvious.  Iron Man’s sculpt is all-new; it pretty much has to be, because it’s not like he can really share much with any of the later armors.  Presumably, most of the sculpt is earmarked for re-use down the line for a gold variant, but until then, it’s just this guy.  For the most part, I do really like it.  It’s chunky and the detailing is clean, which is all you can really ask for on this design.  The only thing I’m not keen on is the helmet.  It seems a little too flat and small to believably have Tony’s head in there, and I’m also really not a fan of the shaping of the eyes.  The armor as portrayed in ToS has a pretty distinctive eye shape (which Toy Biz’s version actually gets down very well); they should flare out both sides from the center, but they just slant upward instead, which looks off.  Iron Man’s color work is more involved than it looks at first glance.  The bulk of the coloring is handled via molded plastic; it’s the swirly silver kind, which I’m iffy on.  There’s actually a good deal of painted scratches, which can be missed at first, since they look a bit like the swirls.  I do like them, though; it’s just a shame they’re lost a bit on the plastic.  He also gets some pretty cool detailing on his arc reactor.  Iron Man is packed with two sets of hands (open and fists), two blast effects, and matching smoke trail effects.  The effects don’t plug into his hands, since this armor predates the repulsors, but instead plug into the boots, for rocket flying.  You’ll need to supply a flight stand of some sort if you want him to actually use them, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Toy Biz Model 01 is one of the few Legends I still clung to as a default, in part because there was no competition, and in part because I honestly just think it’s still a pretty good figure.  That said, I’m a sucker for early Iron Man armors, and I was happy to see an update crop up.  From the neck down, there’s no denying this is a big upgrade. Unfortunately, I’m still not really sold on the helmet.  It just doesn’t feel right to me, and for that reason, he’s still not a total replacement in my eyes.  Honestly, I was rather underwhelmed by this one right out of the box.  Messing around with him for the review did help me enjoy him more overall, though, to the point that I realized it was really just that head throwing things off.  Maybe the inevitable gold repaint might get a new head, ala the Marvel Universe version?  That would sure be nice.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3468: Luke Skywalker & Grogu

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

LUKE SKYWALKER & GROGU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“To help him hone his skills and understand the ways of the Force, Grogu trains with a new Jedi Master: Luke Skywalker”

One of the things that has been a marvelous accomplishment in this day and age of literally no narrative turn or surprise going un-spoiled has been the fact that The Mandalorian managed to completely surprise audiences not once, but twice.  First, with Grogu’s reveal at the end of the very first episode, and again with Luke Skywalker’s arrival at the end of the show’s second season.  Due to the secrecy required for such surprising, they were both late arrivals to the merchandising side of things, but now things are in full swing for both of them.  And hey, here they are in one convenient package!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Luke Skywalker and Grogu are part of the Book of Boba Fett-sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series.  The set is numbered 7, and it started hitting late summer.  It exists at a unique price point, as it’s officially billed as a two-pack, but since Grogu’s not a full scale figure, it’s between a deluxe price and a full two-pack price.

One of the impressive things about Luke’s Jedi Knight design is its slow evolution over the course of the film.  Its something that his Mandalorian and Book appearances have kept rolling.  So, by the time we get to his appearance in Book, he’s actually not got any common elements with his Jabba’s Palace look, but the general vibe is still maintained.  Since we’ve gotten every other possible variant on the Jedi look, we’re at the Book design.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Luke’s articulation scheme is the standard set-up for Black Series these days, with the one notable change-up from prior versions being the addition of butterfly shoulders, which are very definitely a welcome addition.  Luke’s sculpt is all-new, though there are definitely a lot of similarities to the other Lukes of the same general design.  It’s an interesting sculpt, especially when it comes to the head, since it’s based on a facsimile of Hamill’s likeness, rather than a direct likeness.  With that in mind, it looks pretty good.  Honestly, it’s probably more authentic than what we saw on screen.  Certainly less unnerving, that’s for sure.  The rest of the sculpt is pretty good, and honestly gave me the ability to see just how different his garb in Book really is from the other appearances. Paint work on this guy is minimal, pretty much just on the head, since everything else is just molded colors.

The last time I looked at a Grogu figure, he still wasn’t officially being billed as Grogu.  Oh how the times change.   There have been so many Black Series Grogus over the years, but it’s only the second one that I’ve taken a look at here.  He’s not drastically different, since his design hasn’t really changed.  He’s still just over an inch tall and he still has 7 points of articulation.  Though he looks exceedingly similar, Grogu’s sculpt is unique from his original figure.  It’s actually a fair bit sharper in terms of detailing, and its most important detail change is his left hand, which has a proper grip on it, for use with accessories.  His color work is again very similar, but there’s a touch more detailing on the head, which really adds more life to the whole thing.

The set includes a whole host of accessories.  We get Luke’s lightsaber (with removable hilt), the back pack for carrying Grogu, a riser piece to prop up Grogu in said back pack because it’s a re-use of the Yoda one, Yoda/Grogu’s lightsaber with an alternate un-ignighted hilt, a box for the hilt, Din’s gift for Grogu, the small frog-like creature, a training drone, a flight stand for the drone, and an effects/environment stand for the drone and Grogu to interact.  Honestly, it covers just about everything you could possibly want from the interactions between the two of them in the show.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Weird CGI-face aside, Luke’s reappearance in The Mandalorian filled me with all sorts of nostalgic excitement, and I wanted some form of figure coverage.  But, by the time his figures from that appearance started hitting, he’d shown up on Book, and I really dug the further updated look.  The two-pack really hit right where I wanted for a post-Jedi look, and I get an updated Grogu to boot.  This set is perhaps a touch pricey for what it is, but it works very well for me.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3464: Hawkeye with Sky-Cycle

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

HAWKEYE WITH SKY-CYCLE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Ex-circus performer Clint Barton renounced a life of crime to join the Avengers as Hawkeye. Using his archery skills atop his Sky-Cycle he leads the fight against the foes no single hero could withstand”

There’s a short list of Avengers members that the team just doesn’t feel like “the Avengers” without, and very prominently placed on that list is Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.  He joined the team just over a year into their run, and remained a member in some fashion pretty consistently. So, if you’re planning a celebration of the team’s 60th anniversary, you’d be kind of hard-pressed to leave him out of the running.  Thankfully, Hasbro avoided doing just that, and gave him the deluxe treatment, even.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkeye with the Sky-Cycle is part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends. He’s a wide release item that hit with the rest of the set towards the end of the summer. Everything is it’s own separate item and price point, much like the Spidey anniversary stuff from last year, but Hawkeye is clearly meant to be continuing the Legendary Riders pricing and set-up. This Hawkeye is clearly meant to be a classic Hawkeye, which we haven’t seen in the line since the retro card one in 2018. But, where that was a redeco of the Allfather Series release, this one’s an all-new figure. He stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation. Hawkeye gets one major improvement over prior Hawkeyes: butterfly shoulders. Very helpful when it comes to archery poses, so it’s about time. He’s also pinless at the elbows and knees, which looks extra slick. The last handful of comic Hawkeyes have all gone for the Bucky Cap base, but with that (allegedly) retired, this one instead gets a body that appears to be entirely new, and is courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete. It takes what worked about prior comic Hawkeyes and really just expands on that. The head is a little sharper and less boxy, which feels truer to the character. His whole set-up on his torso is also sculpted into the chest, rather than being an overlay piece, which slims the look down a lot and also makes him far easier to pose. The skirt piece is cloth this time, rather than plastic or rubber, which makes for a far better range of motion on the hips as well. The only down points for me are the upper arm bands, which suffer a bit from the Jim-Lee-Cyclops-always-popping-out-of-place syndrome, and the knee joints, which really stick on my figure. Otherwise, I really love it. Hawkeye’s paint scheme is actually pretty solid. There’s far more accent work than we usually see on comics figures, and a nice mix of differing shades and finishes on the purples. Hawkeye is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping) a bow, an arrow, his quiver, and, of course, the Sky-Cycle mentioned in the title.  I like getting extra hands, but I do feel like the simple grip hands are a bit limiting.  He really struggles to hold the arrow in any convincing fashion.  Also, if they’re going to go with cloth for the skirt, it’s a shame we couldn’t also get a proper string on the bow; this one being plastic makes it very difficult to do any convincing drawback poses.  The Sky-Cycle is the bigger focus here; it’s cool and all, and even has the adjustable flight stand thingy, but I’m personally not gonna use it much.  It’s a nice way of padding the cost so that Hawkeye could get a slightly more deluxe treatment, though, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked my Toy Biz Hawkeye well enough back in the day.  Then I liked my Allfather Series one well enough after that.  I even picked up the Retro one in the interim, and I liked that one too.  So, I suppose I didn’t *need* this one.  Hawkeye’s a character that’s always been served pretty well by Legends, so the changes from figure to figure are very incremental.  That doesn’t mean this one’s not fantastic, of course.  He’s very definitely the best Hawkeye Legend, and will be very hard to top.  Heck, I like him about equally to my Marvel Universe one, and I’ve thought for quite some time that he’s the best Hawkeye ever made, so that’s pretty high praise.  I’m not sure about the whole riders thing and bumping up the price, but damn if this isn’t a really, really nice figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3462: Captain Marvel vs Doctor Doom

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL VS DOCTOR DOOM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Whisked to another planet by the mysterious Beyonder, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) joins forces with fellow heroes in Secret Wars to stop Doctor Doom from becoming an all-powerful being”

It’s not really a secret 1984’s Secret Wars was really just about selling toys.  Mattel had the Marvel license and wanted a central book to tie them into, so that’s what they did.  Even the title, which was originally meant to be “Cosmic Champions,” was picked because focus groups found that kids liked the words “secret” and “war.”  The resulting 12-issue series is *not* good (to be fair, neither are the toys it tied into), but it was certainly very marketable.  With this year being the 60th anniversary of the Avengers, and next year being the 40th anniversary of Secret Wars, it’s a perfect time to do something that strikes those two themes, I suppose.  So, let’s look at Captain Marvel and Doctor Doom!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Marvel and Doctor Doom are part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Marvel Legends, which is celebrating the Avengers anniversary.  Secret Wars isn’t specifically an Avengers story, but they’re present for it, and it’s a good enough excuse to trot some new looks out, I suppose.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

After years of no toy coverage at all, Monica Rambeau is finally getting her due, with two whole figures in the same year, no less.  That’s downright amazing.  When she was first introduced in the ’80s, she was the second character to bear the title “Captain Marvel,” which she held onto until Genis-Vell took the mantle in the ’90s.  Since this is meant to actually be her in the ’80s, she finally gets a figure with her original name, which is also pretty amazing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s using the modified base-body parts last used on Spinneret, with a new head, arms, and lower legs.  The head is definitely the strongest part; she matches well with Monica’s depictions in the comics from the ’80s, and the hair even gets an impressive level of texturing and detailing.  The arms feature her “wings,” which are a little stubborn to work with, due to their split construction.  They look alright in straight-armed poses, but they’re awkward in other poses.  I’m not sure if they’re better or worse than the cloth set-up on Banshee and Siryn…it’s more a lateral move, I guess.  The new legs get flappy boots, which are cool.  I don’t dig the lack of peg-holes on the feet, but that’s about it.  Monica’s color work is pretty solid; she’s got some sufficient pop, and the white and black works really well for her.  Monica is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

DOCTOR DOOM

One of the things that Mattel requested of Secret Wars was a new, more toyetic design for classic villain Doctor Doom, so Marvel obliged, and Doom got a more armored up appearance for the run of the series.  Despite its toyetic-ness, it’s actually kind of rare in toy form, with only its original Mattel release and a Minimate prior to this version.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  In a similar fashion to the vintage figure, he makes use of Iron Man parts, specifically the arms and legs of the “80 Years” Iron Man, along with a new head, torso, pelvis, and add-on piece for his leg band.  The new parts get a lot of really nice detailing, and mesh well with the prior existing parts.  I do particularly like the new head, which is a really nice classic Doom design.  His color scheme is a bright take on classic Doom colors, and they’re metallic, which is honestly pretty fun.  Doom is packed with two sets of hands (in fists and open gesture), as well as an unmasked head, a pulled down hood piece, and a separate mask piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m on record as being a pretty big fan of Monica Rambeau.  I’m pretty much always down for her in figure form, and I’ve been hoping for a classic version of her for some time.  I was definitely down for this one when it was announced.  She’s ultimately pretty by the numbers, but I can’t say I really need much more from her.  Doom is kind of the dead weight of the set for me, but I’m not necessarily the target market, since I’ve been content ever since the Retro card version got released.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.