Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3307: Soundblaster

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

SOUNDBLASTER

TRANSFORMERS: LEGACY EVOLUTION (HASBRO)

You gotta love those guaranteed repaints, don’t you?  Yes, since the vintage line, Soundwave has had the potential of at least two uses of any G1-inspired mold, thanks to the introduction of Soundblaster, Soundwave’s goth-phase upgrade, in 1987.  We don’t *always* get a Soundblaster for every Soundwave, but there’s enough to at least give him proper updates in the main scales every few years.  The War For Cybertron trilogy got him for the Siege mold, and now, Legacy is getting its own fancy new Soundblaster.  Yay, fancy new Soundblaster!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundblaster is part of the first 2023 Core Class assortment of Legacy, which is the fourth overall Core Class assortment for the line.  This one bears the additional Evolution branding that’s running on all of Legacy figures this year.  In his robot mode, this figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and he has 15 practical points of articulation.  The mold on this guy is a total re-use of the Kingdom Core Class Soundwave, which is more or less expected.  For the full Soundblaster effect, he should technically get a re-tooled chest door to add the extra space for a second cassette, but it’s not the first time its been omitted on him for the sake of an easier repaint.  Whatever the case, the Core Soundwave is a very strong mold, and quite possibly Hasbro’s best modern update on the G1 design, so it makes for a pretty fantastic figure.  The change-up for this figure comes down to the paint scheme.  It’s not drastically different, mind you; largely it’s swapping in black for the original figure’s blue.  There are a few other differences, like the chest door being purple this time around.  They’ve also cut a number of the smaller paint apps that Soundwave had, which is a little bit of a bummer.  It’s not major, but it’s still a little frustrating.  Soundblaster gets the same two cannons as Soundwave, done up in colors to match the new scheme.  While Soundwave came with a non-transforming Laserbeak cassette, Soundblaster gets the same piece redecoed to be Buzzsaw.  Yay, we finally got a Buzzsaw!  Sure, he’s non-transforming, but is that the point?  As with his mold-mate, Soundblaster’s alt-mode is his usual mini cassette player.  It’s still a pretty simple transformation, and aside from the feet still sticking up, it’s a good set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Core Soundwave is honestly my favorite modern-era Soundwave figure, and I’m just a really big fan of this mold in general.  I don’t *need* another use of it, but I’m also not going to fight against it if it’s right in front of me.  Which, you know, it was, because it came into All Time, and there it was.  Being all cool and Soundblaster-y.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much excitement I’d get out of a figure I already kinda had, but he’s still a ton of fun.

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.

#3306: Clone Trooper – 212th Attack Battalion

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

CLONE TROOPER — 212TH ATTACK BATTALION

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“The clone troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion are distinguished by the orange markings on their white armor. Led by Clone Commander Cody and Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, this unit includes a number of elite infantrymen trained for special missions.”

In the first year of their tie-in line for Clone Wars, Hasbro was just starting to dip their toes into the world of clones.  They kept named clones to a minimum at first, instead focusing on diversifying the types of clones present.  Through a combination of exclusives and standard releases, they filled in a few of the core groups of clones.  Since we’d gotten Commander Cody in the second assortment of the line, it made sense to get a few of his crew, the 212th Attack Battalion, aka those guys in orange!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The 212th Attack Battalion Clone Trooper was figure 19 in Hasbro’s Clone Wars tie-in line.  He was the first figure in the fourth assortment of the line.  This marked the first main-line release for the 212th, but there was previously a Target-exclusive boxed set with four of them and an Obi-Wan.  This release was slightly different, of course, just to keep things interesting.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  The 212th is largely built on the standard clone base body, which makes sense, them being in the same armor and all.  However, the notable change on this figure was a brand-new head.  Hasbro was looking to make the helmet more accurate to the animation, as well as more easily adapted to a removable helmet, so this figure debuted what would become the standard Clone helmet for the line.  While it’s technically more accurate, I was always more partial to the original helmet sculpt.  But, I get the point on this one, and it’s still a decent sculpt in its own right.  The figure’s paint scheme is another cleaned up clone, without the heavy wash.  At this point, that was the direction Hasbro was taking all of the Clone Troopers, so he was consistent.  He’s got his proper Battalion markings.  The orange was notably different from the standard release of Cody, and would also be different from the later Waxer and Boil…so, he doesn’t really match with anything.  But, I guess he looks okay on his own.  The 212th is packed with a small blaster rifle and a rocket launcher with missile.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My favorite episode of Clone Wars’ early run was “Innocents of Ryloth,” which debuted Waxer and Boil, two members of the 212th.  Since they weren’t added to the line right a way, and we weren’t sure about getting any named Clones, I got this guy as a stand-in for one of them.  Sure, it’s not accurate, but it’s all I had.  He’s rather basic, but that’s all he needs to be.

#3304: Cobra Viper

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

COBRA VIPER

G.I. JOE: 25TH ANNIVERSARY (HASBRO)

“Vipers are the backbone of the Cobra Legions. They are highly motivated, superbly trained and formidably equipped. All Vipers are issued a combination assault rifle/grenade launcher; the rifle part of which can function as a short burst assault weapon, a sustained fire cover support weapon, or a long range sniper rifle with an advanced light-intensification night vision telescopic sight with a built-in range-finder. Multi-layer body armor and wraparound acrylic/composite helmets with built-in RTO gear are standard issue.”

Back in 2016, more than two years before “The Day of the Vipers,” a day which will forever haunt me, I wrote my first Viper review, which is thus far the only one of my Cobra Viper reviews not to be shoe-horned into the ever-growing day.  Since today’s offering is more a take-off of that review than of the ones that followed, I guess I’ll dispense with the “Day of the Vipers” pleasantries.  For today’s Viper, we go back to 2009.  Hasbro’s 25th Anniversary line was winding down in preparation for the tie-ins for Rise of Cobra, and Hasbro was going back and doing some slight tweaks to earlier figures from the line.  The online-exclusive “Hall of Heroes” sub-line was used to put out ten figures, all either tweaked or re-releases of tweaked figures that had thus far been multi-pack exclusives.  And, hey, the line had a Viper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Cobra Viper was figure 6 of 10 in the “Hall of Heroes” sub-line of G.I. Joe: 25th Anniversary.  This marked the 22nd version of the Viper, the seventh under the 25th Anniversary banner.  He’s just a minor tweak on the version 20 figure, which was released as part of a Cobra five-pack earlier the same year.  The figure stands a little under 4 inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation.  Most of this figure’s sculpt is shared with the first 25th release, which is overall a decent starting point.  The only real drawbacks to the sculpt are the head and hands, which are, notably, the parts that are changed out for this release.  The new head takes a page out of the line’s updated Cobra Commander, who added a proper chromed faceplate.  In order facilitate this set-up, the faceplate is a separate head piece, with the helmet/goggles sitting atop it.  It makes the head just a touch larger (and thus slightly better proportioned to the body), as well as making the goggles a fixed part of the helmet sculpt.  They sit just a little wide for my taste, and the underlying head seems just a little too pointy at the chin.  In general, I was always a little bit more fond of the prior head in terms of appearance, but in terms of function, this one was certainly an improvement.  Speaking of improvements, the hands are an unquestioned one; the prior mold had some really awful hand sculpts that made it difficult for him to hold his weapon.  The new ones fix that, giving him a much more secure hold on things.  In terms of paint, the Viper gets the expected change to the face, which is now vac metallized, instead of flat silver, as well as some additional silver on the goggles, and an additional red insignia on the left arm.  Beyond that, the colors are a little bit shifted from the first release, but the application is mostly pretty consistent.  The Viper is packed with his signature rifle (molded in a darker silver than the first release), his back pack, and a display stand molded in a fancy gold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I skipped this style of Viper at first because I was already invested in the previous look and I didn’t want to inter mingle the two styles.  It was only later that I decided to go more for the one of every style approach for Vipers.  Not too long after I got most of the other Vipers, a small 25th Anniversary collection came through All Time, which happened to have this guy in it.  I was all gung-ho on Vipers, and he was one I didn’t have, so into my collection he went.  The adjusted hands are definitely an improvement, as is the paint.  The head, I remain iffy on, but I like it more now than I did when they first dropped.  And, hey, it’s another Viper!

#3303: Excalibur

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

CAPTAIN BRITAIN, MEGGAN, & SHADOWCAT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the 1980s, the X-Men had become such a popular book for Marvel that they were in need of more than one monthly book to contain all there success, so the solution was spin-offs.  The first was The New Mutants in 1982, which introduced a largely new cast of characters, as the name suggested.  In 1986, the original five members of the X-Men reunited under the X-Factor title.  And, finally, in 1987, a small handful of X-Men characters were borrowed from the main book, and moved overseas to meet up with the UK line’s Captain Britain, whose solo series had just been cancelled, meaning he needed a new home.  The result was Excalibur, a rather off-beat addition to the X-line-up.  While it never quite hit the highs of the main book, it’s always had something of a cult following, and the team’s been bouncing around ever since.  Individual members have done okay with toy coverage for the most part, but last year Hasbro jumpstarted their presence in Legends a bit, with a whole boxed set dedicated to them!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Britain, Meggan, and Shadowcat were an exclusive Marvel Legends three-pack.  Exclusive to where?  Good question.  They were definitely on Hasbro Pulse, and I believe meant to go on Shop Disney, though I don’t know that they ever did.  They eventually worked their way back around, though, and are now going through Entertainment Earth and their various wholesalers, making them more of a Fan Channel-exclusive at the end of it all.  Yay?

CAPTAIN BRITAIN

“Using his super strength, flying ability and courage, Captain Britain fights for justice throughout the world and in other dimensions as well.”

Captain Britain’s graced the Legends line twice before, once with Toy Biz and once with Hasbro.  Since Hasbro had previously done a more modern costume for Brian, this time they went back and did the same one that Toy Biz did for theirs, namely his second, Alan Davis-designed costume.  It’s honestly his best look, so I’m all for that.  That said, it’s somewhat humorous, given that the trading card image on the back of the box has him in his *other* Davis look, which still is without Legends treatment, despite it also being the look present on all of the images for the Toy Biz release.  Some day, it might eventually get made, right?  The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Our last Legends Captain Britain was built on the Hyperion base body; this one is Hyperion adjacent, as he’s actually making use of the upgraded torso from the Unworthy Thor figure.  It lacks the weird torso shelf that the standard Hyperion torso had; strangely, this torso’s been unused since its introduction in 2017.  I do definitely like it more, though.  He also gets a new head, forearm, and knee pieces, to showcase the more unique pieces of his costume.  The new meshes well with the old, and I appreciate how the head sculpt here is distinctly different from the prior Captain Britain.  This one’s more a mask than a helmet; I did like the other one a fair bit, but this one fits the classic costume design nicely.  Captain Britain’s color work is decently handled, with some nice and sharp application.  There’s a touch of fuzz on some of the white lines, but nothing too terrible.  My figure has a touch of missing red on the front of each bicep, but it’s again pretty minor.  Captain Britain is packed with an alternate bearded head, two sets of hands in fists and gripping, and the actual sword Excalibur.  It’s not a terrible set-up, but I do find it interesting that he didn’t get an unmasked head, since the back of the box shows him unmasked.  Also, it’s a personal thing, but I’d have liked to see the previous head done up in the colors to match this costume, just to have the helmet option too.  But, you know, that’s more a me thing.

MEGGAN

“Meggan is a mystical mutant metamorph, able to change her shape at will.”

Excalibur‘s one truly unique character in their debut line-up, Meggan is the one member of the team who’s not likely to get much coverage outside of specifically team-themed set-ups.  As such, this is her first time as a Legend, and in fact only her second action figure at all, with the first being her Minimate from that line’s own Excalibur boxed set.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  At this point in the line, almost every female figure is made up of some sort of frankensteining of prior female bucks, and in Meggan’s case, she’s using a collection of parts which previously showed up together for the TRU Dark Phoenix, which add up to a base that seems about right for Meggan, especially given how Davis tended to depict her.  She swaps out that set-up’s heeled shoes for the bare feet from the First Ten Years Pepper Potts figure, and also gets a brand-new head sculpt.  The head’s got a big ol’ chunk of hair, which is appropriate for Meggan, and she also gets a big smile, which also fits, and is a nice change of pace compared to the more stoic expressions we tend to see on female figures.  The sculpt looks nice when viewed from the front, but it does seem just a tad flat from the side.  Her color work is generally pretty simple; she has the proper green and black for the costume, and the printing for the face is nice and lifelike.  She’s packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.  It’s a shame we couldn’t maybe get some alternate pieces showing off her shape-shifting, but that might have been a bit complex for the set-up of this pack.

SHADOWCAT

“Shadowcat possesses the mutant ability to “phase” her molecules, letting her pass through walls, walk on air, and allowing things she touches to do the same.”

Like Captain Britain, Kitty Pryde has gotten the Legends treatment twice before, once for each of the two manufacturers.  Both of those ones were more modern costumes, however, while this release finally gives her the all-blue number she wore during her early days with the team.  Similar to Captain Britain, I do really find this look to be one of her best.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Seeing as this is still supposed to be Kitty more on the younger side, she uses the Spider-Girl base body as a starting point.  It’s a base I’ve always rather liked, so I’ve got no issues with that.  She gets a new head, upper torso, and arms, sculpted by Eddie Mosqueda.  They flow well with the base body parts, and capture her design from the comics pretty nicely.  In particular, the loose-fitting shirt hangs in a way that quite convincingly conveys the weight of the material.  I like that a lot.  The head sculpt, like Meggan, gives her a smile, and I like that too; Davis’ illustrations of Excalibur frequently had them smiling, so it feels like it really fits the tone of the book.  Kitty’s head sculpt also bears an uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman, and may well be the best likeness of her Hasbro’s produced, which is kind of humorous in its own way.  The colors on this figure are very blue, as they should be.  It’s a slick look,  and again the face printing brings a nice lifelike quality to the whole thing.  Shadowcat is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, as well as her pet dragon (and fellow team member) Lockheed.  Lockheed is the same mold as the prior one packed in with Kitty, though this time he’s in a slightly brighter color.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was intrigued by this set when it was first shown off, but not quite enough to actually go out of my way to get it.  I already have both Kitty and Brian in my Legends collection, even if they may not be in my preferred costumes, and I don’t *have* to have Meggan.  But, I was certainly keeping my eye out, if they should make their way in front of me.  When they went back up for a wider distribution, that meant I was able to get them through All Time, which made life much simpler.  It’s a pretty fun set of figures.  I can’t say any of them really blow me away, though that may be partly due to how impressed I was by the last Kitty and Brian.  Still, these ones are really solid, and Meggan is no slouch either.  And, now, all we need is a red suit Rachel Grey, and we can round out the initial team!

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.

#3298: Black Panther — Wakanda Forever

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

BLACK PANTHER — WAKANDA FOREVER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

The success of the first Black Panther film understandably fast-tracked the turnaround on a sequel, but with both Infinity War and Endgame locked-in on the schedule, there was a slight wait before we could get right to it.  Things were further delayed by the pandemic in 2020, right when the movie was set to begin production.  Plans were further thrown into chaos later that same year with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, leaving the film without its star.  The film was hastily reworked to remove Chadwick’s role, with the rest of his ensemble cast taking up as much of the reins as possible.  Who would be taking over the titular mantle was a heavily discussed topic, and the actual identity of this new Panther was kept secret before the film’s release.  In the end, the person to inherit the role was T’Challa’s sister Shuri, who is truly the most natural choice for the part, especially given her history of taking over the part in the comics.  In order to preserve the film’s secret, merchandise of Shuri in her Panther suit was held off until after the movie’s release.  This included the Marvel Legends figure, which is just making its way out now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Panther is a single-release Marvel Legends figure, meant to tie-in with the rest of the Wakanda Forever assortment, while also standing on her own.  She’s sold in a box that matches the others, but is billed only as “Black Panther” and also gets no bio, suggesting they were working extra hard to keep this one a secret, even once the figure got out there.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme is up to the more modernized standards for the line; she’s got double joints for the elbows and knees, which are using the pinless construction.  She also gets a decent ball-joint for the neck.  The range isn’t quite there on some of the joints, mostly around the middle of the figure, and the elbows have a tendency to stick a little bit on one end or the other.  Panther’s sculpt is an all-new one.  It does a respectable job of capturing her costume design as seen in the film…I mean, at least as far as I can tell from the limited screen shots are available for the look; some times that super secrecy really works against them, huh?  It’s a visually interesting design, with a lot of sharp detailing, and plenty of texturing.  The build seems a decent match for Letitia Wright, though she’s notably taller than the prior Shuri figure, which doesn’t quite track with her actual height.  Technically, she should be a fair bit shorter than both figures.  Maybe the heart shaped herb just makes her taller?  I’m willing to buy that, I guess.  The paint work on this figure is pretty on the mark; the gold accents go where they’re supposed to, and they look pretty sharp.  Shuri is pretty light on the accessories front, with only two sets of hands, in fists and open claw.  They’re cool and all, but her not getting an unmasked head, or even any of her blaster attachments for the wrists.  Presumably, the secrecy of the design and more than likely far quicker turnaround time resulted in less extras.  It’s a shame, but at least she got the bare minimum?  Also, an all-new sculpt, so there’s that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The main assortment of Wakanda Forever figures was a lot of rehash, so I didn’t pick up much of that set.  The absence of Shuri from that line-up didn’t really help matters, as it was honestly one of the few designs I really felt the desire to own.  The separate release was appreciated, and not really a surprise, I suppose.  Even so, I was a bit on the fence with this figure, just because my collecting habits are shifting a bit.  Max was having none of this, however, and decided to put an end to my hemming and hawing over this figure by just going ahead and paying for one for me in advance.  How dare he?  How absolutely dare?  Aside from a lack of accessories, she’s a rather nice figure, and one I’m certainly glad to have in my collection.

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.

#3294: Aayla Secura

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

AAYLA SECURA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A cunning warrior and Jedi Knight during the rise of the Clone Wars. A master of the emotional detachment necessary in the Jedi Order, she tried to pass on what she learned”

Even before the tide had generally turned on how people viewed the Star Wars Prequels, there were certain elements that were always pretty well accepted.  Pretty much, anything having to do with Clones, of course, but also a good chunk of the newly introduced Jedi Knights also picked up quite a fanbase.  It helped that they added new ones for each film, and it helped even more when The Clone Wars added further depth to a good number of their stories.  First appearing as one of the Jedi sent to rescue Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme from Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, Aayla Secura was a pretty popular character right from the start.  Look, being a blue skinned space chick in a revealing outfit gets you a lot of good will with fanboys.  She resurfaced for Revenge of the Sith, this time paired off with fan-favorite Clone Commander Bly, and she got a rather memorable send-off during the Order 66 sequence.  Despite her fan favorite status, her figures are definitely a bit spaced out.  It’s taken her a decade to finally make her way into The Black Series, but she’s finally here, and I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aayla Secura is part of the first main assortment of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s 2023 line-up.  She’s under the Attack of the Clones heading, where she’s figure #3.  Though she’s officially billed as an AOTC Aayla, thanks to her design remaining consistent, she’s able to work as both the Revenge of the Sith and Clone Wars versions of the character as well.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  Aayla’s articulation scheme isn’t quite as impressive as some of the other more recent Black Series figures, being a bit more on par with the pre-2020 stuff.  She’s still able to get some decent poses, but she’s not quite as agile as she could be, I suppose.  Part of this is centered around re-using some parts, as she makes use of the legs from Vice Admiral Holdo, as well as the right arm from Aurra Sing.  Everything else appears to be new.  It’s a pretty decent sculpt, up to par with the rest of the line.  She’s not the spitting image of her on-screen counterpart, but we also only briefly see her on-screen counterpart anyway.  She winds up a little skinnier, I think, than she should be, and her face looks a little rounder, but the rest of the detailing works pretty well.  Her color work is largely handled with molded colors, with just a little bit of paint to cover the basics.  Her eyes seem just a tad askew on my figure, but otherwise, things are basically what they need to be.  Aayla is on the lighter side for accessories, including only her lightsaber.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll be honest, I’m starting to slow down on Black Series these days.  Most of the assortment that Aayla’s in wasn’t anything I was dying to own, so I largely skipped on this round.  I did decide to grab Aayla, if for no reason other than that I have Commander Bly, and you can hardly have Bly without his General, right?  She’s not exactly ground breaking or anything, but she’s got a fun visual, and it’s nice to finally get her added to the line after all these years.  And, more Jedi is always a good thing.

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.

#3288: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is one of Xavier’s very first students and fights tirelessly for Xavier’s dream as the X-Men field leader!”

Oh sure, just go ahead and make me buy the same design for a third time, why don’t you?  What do you think I am, Hasbro, an easy target?  Because I am.  I mean, at least when there’s a ’90s Cyclops on the table.  Which there is.  Check it out.  ’90s Cyclops.  Oh, you want context?  Yeah, okay, I’ll give you context.  Remember how Hasbro’s been doing this whole line of animation-inspired X-Men figures based specifically on X-Men: The Animated Series?  Yeah, that’s been pretty cool.  I’ve picked up most of them (I’ve been focusing really just on the core team members, though), and I’ve been enjoying them a fair bit.  But, it’s all been a build up to the one figure I was really, really hoping to see, which was an updated version of ’90s Cyclops.  And, yes, I know I’ve gotten him updated.  On multiple occasions even.  But, look, I can always use more ’90s Cyclops.  And would you look at that?  More ’90s Cyclops.  Let’s review the ’90s Cyclops.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is the eighth figure in the X-Men: The Animated Series sub-line of Marvel Legends.  He follows up on the Mystique figure that I didn’t review, and is currently the last figure in the line-up, at least as far as we know.  Following Scott, Hasbro’s shifting things over to Spider-Man: The Animated Series, so Cyclops is our send-off for the line.  Like the last handful of figures from the set, Cyclops was shown off and went up for order on his own.  He was originally slated for a March 2023 release, but wound up making it out just before Christmas.  As with the rest of the line, Cyclops ships in a VHS-inspired package, with an illustration by Dan Veesenmeyer on the front.  It’s honestly my favorite illustration thus far, but I’m probably a bit biased.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  From a structural stand point, Cyclops is using the Vulcan body as a basis.  It’s a decent choice, since it’s been deigned the replacement for Bucky Cap, which was the recurring base body for Scott previously.  It’s just a little bit bulkier, which actually fits a little more with the ’90s Cyclops than Bucky Cap, honestly.  The only down side to the Vulcan sculpt is the glove line on the forearm; it’s not terribly noticeable, but it’s still just a little bit annoying.  Cyclops shares his slightly modified legs with the previously released Morph figure, allowing him to have the proper strappy bits for this costume.  He also re-uses the wrist straps from the prior ’90s Cyclops, which is fair enough.  The figure also gets a new head and a modified torso piece, both courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete.  The head is quite similar to the prior ’90s Cyclops head, but goes a bit more in depth with its detailing.  I liked the last sculpt a lot, but this one is a marked improvement across the board.  It’s worth noting that, similar to Morph, the sculpt walks the line between animation accuracy and the line’s usual stylings, suggesting it’s likely to get re-used for a standard color variant at some point down the line.  The new torso, much like the legs, takes the standard torso set-up, and makes the strappy bits an affixed element, rather than just a free-floating piece.  The floating nature of the prior release’s harness was one of my few issues with it, so working it into the torso sculpt not only makes it less of a pain to pose him, it also just makes for a tighter fit and a generally better looking design.  Following in the footsteps of the rest of the line, Cyclops’s paint work replicates the cel shading of the cartoon.  It’s not too pronounced, and like the others, it works surprisingly well from different angles.  I myself still quite like the cel shading on these figures, but I know others aren’t quite as keen on it.  If nothing else, it makes this release a bit more unique.  Cyclops is packed with five different hands, a pair of fists, a pair relaxed, and his usual left hand with the two fingers extended for proper optic blast unleashing.  It’s a little bit bare bones, honestly, but it’s on par with most of these releases, especially given how much new sculpting this one got.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll admit, I was pretty hyped for Morph when this line began, because he’s unique and everything, but the figure I was absolutely hoping for the most from this line-up was this guy.  X-Men: The Animated Series‘ take on Cyclops shaped a lot of my view on the character, as well as shaping a lot of what I like in characters in general.  I like a good clean cut hero, what can I say?  I’ve gotten pretty much every possible version of the ’90s Cyclops design out there, and I honestly do love them all.  This guy is just a step above the rest, though.  And, I look forward to buying this exact same figure again, but without the cel shading.  Look, I know what I’m about, okay?

#3287: Starscream – Armada Universe

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

STARSCREAM — ARMADA UNIVERSE

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY (HASBRO)

Launched in 2002, Transformers: Armada really did a great job of moving the collective consciousness back to vehicle mode Transformers after the shift caused by Beast Wars.  With it celebrating 20 years last year, it’s being given a little bit of extra focus in Hasbro’s Legacy imprint, albeit in a rather slow and drawn out sense.  To kick things off, Hasbro’s starting with one of the show’s real fan-favorites, its uniquely heroic take on Starscream.  I’m taking a look at that guy today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Starscream is part of the third Voyager Class assortment of Transformers Legacy, alongside the Beast Wars version of Inferno.  The figures hit just before the end of last year.  This figure marks Armada Starscream’s second update since the original Armada run, following up on the Thrilling 30 release from 2014.  In his robot mode, Starscream stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  He’s quite a bit more posable than his older release, which is definitely cool.  He’s definitely good for more than just standing around like the old one.  The all-new sculpt is a pretty solid piece.  He’s not quite as thick and blocky as the original figure, but he’s not as angular and thin as the Thrilling 30 release.  It’s a nice middle ground, as I always felt the Thrilling release was just a bit too far removed from that much bulkier Armada aesthetic.  This version hits the spot a lot better, and does a nice job of sticking pretty closely to how he looks in animation.  There’s one sizable downside to this sculpt: his complete lack of any sort of Mini Con ports.  The Cons were pretty essential to the whole Armada thing, and even if packing them in with the figures doesn’t cost out, not including the ports means that they can’t even be released after the fact.  Fortunately, it looks like there was a rather quick course correct on this one, as the upcoming Hot Shot has the ports accounted fore.  Like his sculpt, Starscream’s color work is likewise a pretty good match for his animated design.  The only notable change up is the lack of the black “collar” around the neck.  Otherwise, it looks spot-on, and the application’s all nice and cleanly applied.  Starscream is packed with his Energon Sword (designed to mimic the folding wing sword from the original release), as well as a small version of the Star Saber.

Like his original toy, this version of Armada Starscream transforms into a sci-fi jet.  The same sci-fi jet, even, which is nice bout of consistency.  His transformation sequence is a little more involved than the original, but it’s still got a similar layout.  It’s not too tricky, and it ultimately winds up with a pretty satisfying jet-mode.  He’s stripped of any of the electronic features of the original, but I can’t say I miss them.  In this mode, the swords can both be mounted under the wings, which isn’t quite as convenient and worked in as the original figure, but at least they can go somewhere?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Armada hits a real soft spot for me, being the first iteration of the franchise that I actively followed, while it was still fresh and new, no less.  I only had three figures during the original line’s run, but Starscream was one of them, and I’ve always enjoyed this take on the character.  I got a direct replacement for my original Starscream back in 2021, but the idea of an update, especially one a little more true to the character than the Thrilling 30 release.  The lack of Mini Con ports really does suck, but other than that, he’s a very fun update on a figure that I already really liked.  I’m even more hyped for Hot Shot now!

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

#3284: Sgt Slaughter

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

SGT SLAUGHTER

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

“Just about every member of the G.I. Joe team is qualified to be a drill instructor so it takes a special brand of heavy duty honcho to keep ’em squared away. Sgt. Slaughter fits the bill the way his bullet head fits his Smokey the Bear hat. Let’s face it, the man be rough and he take no guff.”

Wrestling isn’t really a thing I know much about, or even really pretend to know much about.  Sure, there’s a lot of action figure coverage for it, but none of it’s really my forte.  I do have my few exceptions, mostly in the scheme of wrestling working its way into other media.  For instance, G.I. Joe has the wonderful cross-section that is Sgt Slaughter!  After relaunching the brand into its smaller form, as well as successfully launching a comic book and a cartoon, Hasbro decided to add a slightly more fictionalized version of Robert Remus’s wrestling alter-ego to the Joe team.  He first appeared during the “Arise, Serpentor, Arise” five-part story which launched the cartoon’s second season, and joined the toyline in 1986, first as a mail-away figure, and then as a vehicle driver.  He got two more figures during the vintage line’s run, and has been an infrequent inclusion since.  When Classified Series launched, Slaughter’s rights were tied up with Action Force, but Hasbro was able to fairly quickly get things sorted out, in order to let the Sarge join the 6-inch Joes in proper form.  And hey, he’s not even a crazy stupid exclusive like the last three!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sgt Slaughter is figure 53 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up.  He’s his own Fan Channel-exclusive single release, officially occupying Hasbro’s more deluxe price point (presumably to help cover extra licensing costs).  This Sarge is based on his V2 figure from ’86, which was the one that actually gave him his show and comics accurate design, rather than just repurposing his wrestling attire.  It’s honestly the more sensible choice, and allows him to better mesh with the other figures we’ve already gotten from the line, so I dig it.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Slaughter’s sculpt re-uses the torso and arms from the Amazon-exclusive V1-style Roadblock, with the rest of his parts being all-new.  It has the side effect of his elbows not being pinless, while his knees are.  It’s a bit backwards, since that means he’s got the visible pins on his exposed arms, which messes with the flow just a little bit.  That said, it’s not the end of the world by any stretch.  The new parts are a good selection, which match well with the re-used stuff, while also sticking pretty close to his original look.  The head sports a likeness that merges the Sarge circa the ’80s with the general stylings of the modern line and how the characters tend to look.  His hat and glasses are both removable.  There’s always concern about how well such pieces are going to stay in place, but they actually go on pretty securely and stay there.  It makes for a very clean looking Sarge, which is exactly what you hope for.  The paint work is generally pretty straight forward.  It does what it needs to and the application is fairly sharp.  Slaughter is packed with a rather impressive selection of extras.  There’s the removable hat and glasses, of course, as well as his whistle and baton, plus an assault rifle, four sets of hands (fists, open gesture, gripping, and pointing), and a “World’s Smallest” Sgt Slaughter action figure, complete with its own packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have a definite soft spot for G.I. Joe: The Movie, so I’m a fan of all of its central characters.  Slaughter gets a pretty sizable role there, and it’s always stuck with me.  Amazingly, up to this point, I’ve not actually gotten any Slaughter figures, so Classified gave me the opportunity to finally fix that.  This guy’s a lot of fun.  There’s a lot going on here, which keeps him from quite falling into that “the old figure but larger” trap that the line’s unfortunately seeming to get stuck in a lot more recently.  He’s a fantastic stand alone piece.

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.

#3283: Python Patrol Viper

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

PYTHON PATROL VIPER

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Alright, for the ninth entry in this truly maddening concept that is the “Day of the Vipers”….hang on, wait, that was, like, five years ago, wasn’t it?  Well, maybe the Day of the Vipers just keeps going and going and going…you know, not unlike the Energizer Bunny.  Or an exceptionally bad joke that I refuse to let die.  It’s definitely one of those things.  The point here is that I’ve got another Viper to review.  So, I’m gonna do that.  Has to be done.  In 1989, Hasbro repainted a bunch of their Cobra troops in a rather garish new color scheme and dubbed the whole group “The Python Patrol”, who were like the regular troops but “pythonized.”  I’m not even kidding.  “Pythonizing” is used on the file cards and everything.  Though they’re a pretty easy justification for a repaint in more modern lines, they only really surface every so often, probably due to how garish the aforementioned color scheme is.  Classified has decided to tap into the Python Patrol for their latest round of Target-exclusives, and, surprising no one, I have the Viper.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Python Patrol Cobra Viper is figure 42 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up.  As mentioned in the intro, all of the Python Patrol stuff is Target-exclusive.  The Viper is the second of them, after the B.A.T., although they both hit pretty much in tandem, alongside the Tiger Force Outback figure.  The figure stands roughly 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Like the three-pack from last year, this guy is built from the same selection of parts as the initial Cobra Island Viper.  It’s a pretty solid selection of parts, and it keeps all the Vipers consistent across the board.  It also makes perfect sense for the Python Patrol figure to be a straight repaint, because all of the other Python Patrol Vipers have been, too.  The main change-up here is the paint, which makes the expected shift to grey, yellow, black, and red.  The layout of the colors works out pretty well with the newer mold; some of the details wind up shuffled around a bit, but the overall look reads very similar to the original.  The actual application isn’t quite as strong as previous Vipers, unfortunately.  On mine, there’s quite a bit of slop, especially on the yellows.  It’s not the worst I’ve seen from Hasbro, but it’s on the lower end for more recent figures.  This figure’s accessory selection is largely the same as the standard Viper, but there are some changes, and none of them are particularly good.  He’s got the goggles, the rifle with the removable magazine, the pistol, the arm guards, and the back pack.  So, on a positive note, the arms guards here are the easiest to remove of all of the uses of this mold so far, which is a definite plus.  Unfortunately, the goggles are the worst fit thus far, and they simply do not want to stay on unless you really jam them on, far past where it really feels safe.  I definitely worry about them breaking over time.  Also, while all other uses of the mold have included the bandana, this is the first one to leave it out.  Given that he’s a total repaint, and retailing above the cost of the original, it feels almost insulting to leave the piece out, especially when even the three-pack made sure that all three Vipers got it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had mixed feelings about this guy from the start.  On one hand, I wasn’t thrilled about this one being another Target exclusive, but on the other, I feel like he’s kind of the perfect choice, since it’s not like Python Patrol is anyone’s primary look.  Certainly not mine.  That said, I do sure like my Vipers, in all the various colors, so I put in my pre-order when they dropped, and played the waiting game.  I was half expecting the order to get cancelled, but it just showed up at my door one day.  Of the five Vipers we’ve gotten in the line, he’s the weakest.  He’s not bad, mind you, but his execution definitely feels a bit lacking.  Still, it’s another Viper, and I won’t complain about that.