Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3098: In Space Phantom Ranger

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

IN SPACE PHANTOM RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION

I’ve discussed my two favorite Power Rangers shows, Zeo and In Space, here on the site before.  What I haven’t really discussed is the season that fell between them, Power Rangers Turbo.  Turbo is…well, it’s an interesting product.  It’s generally not looked at very fondly by…well, much of anyone.  There are a multitude of reasons for this, notably the clashing tone between the psuedo-parody stylings of Gekisou Sentai Carranger and Turbo‘s own darker and edgier approach, to say nothing of the addition of a less than well received kid-Ranger, and the fact that most of the cast left halfway through the season.  The season saw a rather heft drop in ratings, and the entire franchise was almost wrapped up, until In Space came along and picked things back up.  Turbo was not without its positive elements, of course.  While Turbo didn’t *technically* have a sixth ranger, at least in the sense that surrounding seasons did, there were two contenders for the role.  The one with “ranger” in his title always felt like the more logical choice for me, of course, but what do I know.  Whatever the case, Turbo‘s Phantom Ranger is generally seen as one of its most redeeming parts, so him being the first Turbo thing in Lightning Collection is far from a surprise.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Phantom Ranger is part of Series 10 of the Lightning Collection.  Curiously, he’s not billed under the Turbo banner, and is instead an In Space release.  Phantom Ranger does have a few appearances in Space, so it’s not the craziest thing.  It’s just slightly weird that they’re avoiding Turbo entirely on this one.  It also results in two In Space figures in one assortment, though I’m hardly going to complain about such a thing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Phantom Ranger is sporting an all-new sculpt, appropriate given his rather non-standard design.  The articulation scheme is pretty impressive, especially given the bulkiness of some of the armored parts.  Additionally, since this release isn’t built on older parts, he’s got the pinless construction on the elbow and knee joints.  Beyond just the posability, the quality of the sculpt here is pretty top-notch.  He sticks closely to the Phantom Ranger’s on-screen appearance, and has a nice contrast of clean and sleek armored sections, and well-textured undersuit detailing.  It’s a very strong mix.  The paint work on this guy is generally pretty basic.  Largely, he’s a lot of black, but he’s at least got a variance of finishes to the blacks, so it’s not too drab.  The other accenting colors are quite sharply applied, which gives the whole thing a very polished appearance.  Phantom Ranger is packed with two pairs of hands, a Turbo Navigator, a blasting effect, and the impact effect piece we previously saw on the Z Putty.  The blast effect is compatible both with his Turbo Navigator’s barrel, as well as the Phantom Ruby on his chest.  It’s cool that they made both of those work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite my investment in the two seasons on either side of Turbo‘s run, Turbo itself was one that largely never clicked with me.  I remember seeing the movie in theaters, largely on the basis of it being Power Rangers, and me being 5.  I mostly remember Phantom here for his appearances on In Space, where I very much enjoyed him.  I had his toy as a kid, again based on those later appearances, and he was one of those designs I’d really wanted to see updated for this line.  He’s truly a fantastic offering, and takes the spotlight in an assortment that finishes my two favorite teams, so that really speaks to his quality.

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

#3097: Zeo Yellow Ranger

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

ZEO YELLOW RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Hey, how about some more Power Rangers stuff?  It’s been a little while, and I got important stuff to talk about.  I’ve been doing a fair bit of alternating as of late between my two favorite Rangers shows, Zeo and In Space.  When last I discussed Zeo, I talked about the cast change-over mid-Mighty Morphin.  Most of that cast carried over to Zeo, but Karan Ashley’s Aisha Campbell, who had replaced Trini as the Yellow Ranger, did not.  Since Ashley wanted to leave the show, Aisha was written out at the end of MMPR, and replaced with Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan, who would stay in the role of Yellow Ranger for all of Zeo, and the first half of Turbo.  Today, I’m focusing on her Zeo incarnation.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zeo Yellow Ranger is part of Series 10 of Hasbro’s Power Rangers: Lightning Collection line.  Tanya is a rather notable release, as she’s the final member of the Zeo team to join the line.  Hey, it’s a finished time that’s not MMPR!  Nifty!  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  Tanya’s construction is largely identical to that of Zeo Pink, which was expected, and is also a pretty sensible choice.  Their designs and builds are fairly close (they don’t even require a new waist piece, since Ohranger was a rare Super Sentai that actually had a female Yellow in the original footage) and it follows the model employed with the male Rangers in the set.  The elbows are still rather restricted in their movement, but the articulation is otherwise still pretty solid, and the detailing on the sculpt remains a pretty solid recreation of the suit design from the show.  She’s got an all-new helmet sculpt, depicting her unique visor shape.  The two slits aren’t as practical as Adam’s rectangle or Kat’s oval, but I guess it’s okay.  It’s a pretty straight forward sculpt, which is in line with the rest of Rangers from the set, and the new visor differentiates her pretty well from the others.  Tanya’s paint work is pretty straight forward.  The application is all pretty clean and sharp, and the plastic yellows match more closely than the colors on Pink.  In general, it looks quite sharp.  Zeo Yellow is packed with her Zeonizer, capsule sword, Power Clubs, two sets of hands, an effect piece, and an unmasked Tanya head.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At this point, it’s a matter of momentum on a lot of these figures.  I can’t very well quit the Zeo team five members into a six person team, right?  So, you know, I was pretty happy about her getting a spot in this particular set, so that I could finally finish up the team.  I started building this team in 2020, and two years later, I’ve wrapped it up.  I’m pretty happy about that.  Tanya’s not the star of the show or anything, but she’s a strong finish to a strong set.  Pretty dope.

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

#3094: Snake Eyes with Ninja Armor

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

SNAKE EYES with NINJA ARMOR

G.I. JOE: SIGMA 6 (HASBRO)

“Snake Eyes uses customized weapons to give him a powerful advantage over Cobra ninjas.  Whether riding his Ninja Hovercycle or battling enemies in hand-to-hand combat, Snake Eyes defeats his opponents with agility and the element of surprise.  During a mission to recover technological data stolen by Cobra, Snake Eyes had to get in and out within 90 seconds then escape from Storm Shadow and his team of ninjas.  He and StormShadow battled each other at high speed on their cycles.  Just when his enemies thought they had him, Snake Eyes suddenly deployed air-brake wings hidden in his backpack, leaped from his bike and knocked them all from their cycles with his tri-blade sword.  He was back on his bike and gone before they knew what hit them.”

I’ve touched only very briefly on Sigma 6, the early ’00s incarnation of the G.I. Joe franchise, here on the site.  And you know what?  That’s just not right.  Because Sigma 6 is pretty awesome.  And more people should appreciate it.  At its outset, Sigma 6 took more of a focus on a core cast of characters, though that expanded a fair bit as the line progressed.  I’ve focused a lot on the expanded roster, but not yet any time with that core team.  So, hey, let’s look at a Snake Eyes.  That’s always pretty fun.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Snake Eyes with Ninja Armor was released as part of the first Commando wave of the 2006 Sigma 6 line-up.  In an assortment that saw figure debuts for both Cobra Commander and Long Range, Snake Eyes was the one variant.  He was technically Snake Eyes’ second variant for the line, following up on the weird two-pack re-deco.  This one was actually different, what with the Ninja Armor and all.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  In terms of structure, this figure’s core figure is the same as the prior Commando release Snake Eyes.  The base Snake Eyes sculpt was definitely one of the most stylized of the original figures for the line, being quite spindly and lanky.  His masked head actually has eye holes, giving us a rare glimpse at a portion of his face.  It’s a really cool touch, and I really dig the little bit of scarring visible under the eyes.  Snake Eyes has the standard Sigma 6 suit under everything, much like the rest of the team, which gives the sculpt an opportunity to showcase a larger variety of detailing, including the little flip-up console on the arm, which remains one of my favorite features on these guys.  To fully ninja armor up this guy, he gets a removable visor, chest armor, shoulder pads, and shin guards, as well as the standard dog tag.  The visor is a much more armored piece, fully wrapping around the head, and also further down the sides of the face.  It’s more patterned after his V2 visor than the standard version had been, which I really quite like.  It really pushes that classic Snake Eyes vibe.  The body armor is decidedly not as Snake Eyes-y, but its a cool armor design in its own right, fitting well with the look of the visor.  It’s got a bit of a knight’s armor look about it, which definitely fits well with that V2 style visor.  The shin guards both have fold-out blades, because what is Snake Eyes without some extra blades?  Snake Eyes’ color scheme is generally pretty similar to the standard Snake Eyes fare, being black and grey.  He does get some extra details in bright green, which is certainly a lot of fun.  Snake Eyes is armed with a silenced assault rifle, a sword with three blades (which can fold in and out), a sort of a spear thing in two parts, a wing pack, and a cool case to carry everything in.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve touched on before, Sigma 6 figures weren’t the easiest things to track down back when they were new.  I wanted *a* Snake Eyes at the time, with this one being the front runner on the list.  I never saw him, so I never got one, but he’s remained at the back of my mind since.  We actually managed to get a pretty cool Sigma 6 collection in at All Time, and this guy was included in it, complete even, so at last I have him.  I’m honestly pretty psyched about it.  He’s just so much fun, much like the rest of the line, and I’m all about it.

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.

#3089: Ultra Magnus

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

ULTRA MAGNUS

TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON (HASBRO)

“Ultra Magnus is legendary among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The mere sight of his armored form charging into battle is more than enough to inspire his troops to victory, and his strength as a warrior is more than enough to break any Decepticon army.”

You know what I haven’t really reviewed a lot of lately?  Transformers.  As a whole, I’ve kinda slowed down on collecting them, so there’s a lot less of an influx of them waiting to get reviewed all the time, but I’ve still got a host of older ones I can fall back on.  I good chunk of those older figures are Ultra Magnus.  I know, you’re all very shocked by this crazy development that absolutely no one could have seen coming.  I’ve covered a good chunk of Ultra Magni here on the site, which has also allowed me to explore the various different eras of the toyline.  For today’s purposes, let’s discuss video games.  In 2010, a prequel game of sorts to the main Transformers storyline, titled War For Cybertron, was released, alongside a number of other tie-ins, including a handful of figures within Hasbro’s Transformers: Generations line.  In 2012, the game received a sequel in the form of Fall of Cybertron, which likewise got its own tie-ins, this time with the Generations line actually getting a proper re-titling, and the whole line focusing on adapting designs from the game.  Our boy Ultra Magnus found his way into this particular toyline, like a champ, and I’m taking a look at that particular figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultra Magnus was released in the third Deluxe Class assortment of the Fall of Cybertron line, which hit in 2013.  In his robot mode, the figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall, and he has 19 workable points of articulation.  As a Deluxe Class release, this Ultra Magnus is notably quite small for a Magnus, especially in reference to the rest of the line which spawned him.  He’s just a little guy.  While the line was ostensibly based on the game designs, Magnus is actually not based on a game design at all.  Or, really anything really.  The question of scaling, as well as the nature of this design both stem from the fact that he’s largely a repaint of the FoC Optimus.  As such, he doesn’t get Magnus’s fully armored look, or the corresponding scale-up that would go along with it.  There does exist a third party figure which does a slightly closer job of replicating the game’s Magnus design (though even that’s based on concept art more than the actual game).  For the purposes of this release, Hasbro’s aim is clearly to make the most of what they have, so he gets an all-new, more Magnus-worthy head.  It’s a pretty nice sculpt, keeping the classic Magnus elements, but also melding things with the aesthetic of the game designs.  Additionally, the instructions also have you leave the smokestacks up in robot mode, simulating Magnus’s usual shoulder pylons.  Gotta have those shoulders for a true Magnus.  He also gets the new deco, of course.  It’s quite heavy on blue, which really helps to differentiate him from Optimus, and I really do dig the decision to go with that really stark white.  All of it results in a figure that may be small, but still looks very much like a Magnus.  Magnus was packed with the same blaster included with Optimus, as well as a big honkin’ sword.  Sword’s aren’t classically a Magnus thing, but it’s still a nifty piece.  It’s made up of three distinct parts, with the part that makes up the tip actually being the sword used by Optimus briefly within the game proper.

Ultra Magnus’s alt-mode is the same one that Prime had.  It’s a Cybertronian “truck,” which is decidedly less boxy than most Prime alt-modes, and by extension less boxy than most Magnus alt-modes as well.  It’s a different sort of design, but not a terrible one, as far as made-up sci-fi truck modes go.  The transformation sequence takes a little bit of doing, but it’s not too crazy either.  Given that it’s not really a Magnus design, it’s not the sort of thing I see myself getting much use out of personally, but it’s still nifty.  In vehicle mode, the blaster and sword can both be mounted to the figure, so as to not lose them or anything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I discovered this figure fairly early into my dive into the depths of older Magnus figures back in 2019, and was definitely interested.  As with most older Transformers, though, I don’t really have an undying need to actively search for them.  They just sort of come to me.  This one in a more literal sense than most.  He came into All Time as part of a trade, but it was one that Max had handled, so I knew nothing about him.  So, when they came in, Max just walked up to my desk and sat this guy in front of me, because, you know, Magnus and all.  It was a fairly pleasant little surprise.  As I said above, he’s small for a Magnus, and not really based on anything specific.  That said, I do really like him.  He feels kind of unique, and he’s honestly just a very fun little figure.

#3087: Gabriel “Barbecue” Kelly

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

GABRIEL “BARBECUE” KELLY

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

A new G.I. Joe review?  In this economy?  Are you sure it’s legal?  I wouldn’t want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.  Or, you know, in this case, a Barbecue.  Right?  It’s funny, right?  Cuz he’s…you know…Barbecue?  And that’s a thing that you can take part in?  Much like the “rumble” to which the original quote referred? Am I getting too referential in my humor?  Yeah, probably.  Okay, fine, no more comedy for the whole rest of the review.  Just completely dry.  You know, like a Barbecue.  …I’ll see myself out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gabriel “Barbecue” Kelly is figure 32 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, and is the latest of the line’s Target-exclusive Cobra Island subset.  He gets to use his whole name, as, like Breaker and Beachhead, it’s not really possible for Hasbro to trademark a word as commonplace as “Barbecue.”  He started hitting retail around the same time as the Breaker and RAM Cycle pack, if not just a touch later.  There’s no full assortment set-up with him, so he’s presumably a solid case figure, much like Major Bludd was.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation…sort of.  The ab crunch is notably pretty restricted on this guy, so he doesn’t really have much use of that joint.  Beyond that, it’s pretty standard movement for the line, which is pretty solid.  Barbecue is built using Destro as a starting point, which serves to make him a little bigger and bulkier than most of his team mates, barring Roadblock.  It makes a fair bit of sense for a guy who’s covered head to toe in protective gear.  As with some of the other more recent figures, Barbecue is a rather close recreation of his original v1 figure.  There are obviously some updates, just to modernize him ever so slightly, and also fill in the visual space just a little bit more at the larger scale.  He gets a little more armoring on the shoulders and wrists, as well as a little more tactical gear around the middle.  The helmet is a particularly cool piece; it very faithful to the original design, while sharpening things up just a little bit, and also adding some smaller details, again to help with fill in that extra visual space.  Barbecue’s paint work is generally pretty basic; it matches up with his established color scheme quite well, and the application is all pretty sharp.  I wouldn’t mind seeing maybe a few other smaller details worked in, but he checks all of the basics off, which is still pretty solid.  Barbecue is packed with his classic backpack, hose attachment, and spray gun, as well as a smaller axe based on the one included with the original figure, and an all-new larger axe piece.  The smaller axe and spray gun are able to be holstered on the legs, and the larger axe has a spot on the backpack.  The ones on the legs work well, but the backpack one isn’t quite as practical.  That said, it’s nice to see them still try to give everything proper storage.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve effectively given up on the hunt when it comes to the Target-exclusives for this line, and I had no major need to have Barbecue in any sort of a rush, so I made no concerted effort to get one at retail.  I’d honestly almost forgotten he’d even been released, but then an almost complete run of Classified Series figures got traded in at work, so I had a much easier time of snagging one.  And who am I to argue with that?  So, boom, now I’ve got a Barbecue.  He’s pretty great.  He’s fairly by the numbers, but that’s not a bad thing, and he’s a pretty great update to the original.  All in all, not a bad offering at all, though again one that feels a little odd as an exclusive.

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.

#3086: Yoda

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

YODA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (HASRBO)

“Like the swamp planet Dagobah where he lived out his last years, the Jedi Master Yoda was shrouded in mystery. A diminutive, green-skinned creature, Yoda faithfully served the Galctic Republic as one of the 12 members of the Jedi Council. When the Emperor seized control of the galaxy, he ordered the elimination of all Jedi. In his darkest hour, Yoda, the last known Jedi Master, went into a life of hiding on Dagobah. When Luke Skywalker searched out Yoda for Jedi training on the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master had reservations, but he chose to instruct young Skywalker in the ways of the Force.”

It’s May, and this is officially my first Power of the Force review of the year.  That’s a shockingly long stretch of not reviewing any of these guys.  And I didn’t even wait until Wednesday to start back up.  I mean, it’s prime Star Wars Day material, right?  Well, I like to break from the norms, I guess.  Or, you know, I just didn’t look terribly closely at the schedule before putting this one on this here Monday, two days before the fourth, and I couldn’t be bothered to rework my layout for it.  Besides, I wouldn’t have all this fantastic material for the intro that way.  And wouldn’t that just be such a terrible loss?  Right, so let’s have a look at a Yoda figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yoda was part of the first set of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures.  The whole batch hit shelves at the end of 1998, as part of the promotional work leading up to the release of The Phantom Menace and its corresponding tie-in material in 1999.  This was the fourth Yoda in the line, though only the second from the main line releases, with the other two coming in the form of the Jedi Spirits Cinema Scene and the Dagobah Complete Galaxy set.  This would be the line’s final version of Yoda before it wrapped in early 2000.  The figure stands 2 inches tall and he has 4 points of articulation.  His sculpt is very similar to the first figure’s, with only minor mold changes to the body below the neck, mostly just to change the date stamp.  Otherwise, it’s virtually identical, for better or for worse.  It’s still goofy, but it’s fitting for the line.  His head sculpt marks the real changes for this release; the actual face and ears are more or less the same, but the hair is now actual rooted hair, rather than just sculpted.  It’s…honestly better than expected.  The concept feels like it would be too goofy, but it’s actually not half bad.  The paint work on this guy is similar to the first release, but stepped up just a little bit.  The eyes are a little sharper, and the accenting is a little more intensive, which is all pretty good, especially for this era of figure.  Yoda is packed with the same cane as the first release, as well as a boiling pot and a small candle.  Also included is the Flashback photo thing, which shows Yoda, and then you pull the thing, and it’s also Yoda, but, like, a little bit younger.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this guy up when he got traded into All Time Toys, fairly recently.  Not much of a thrilling story there, just kind of a “hey, there he is, I don’t have him, might as well grab him” sort of thing.  He’s not anything majorly unique or special, but it’s a pretty nice little figure, all things considered.  The rooted hair works better than expected, and the accessories are pretty nifty.

#3079: Admiral Piett

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

ADMIRAL PIETT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An ambitious Imperial officer, Piett rose through the ranks to captain and was assigned to the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Darth Vader’s flagship. When Vader strangled Admiral Ozzel, Piett was granted a battlefield promotion to admiral — and given a grisly warning of the penalty for failure.”

Hey, remember yesterday, when I was filling in the lull between Marvel Legends releases with stuff I had sitting around unreviewed?  Well, prepare yourselves for the same thing, but with Black Series.  Sure, there are theoretically new figures out there I haven’t reviewed, but I also haven’t seen any of them, so I’m pretending like they aren’t really out there yet, and doing my first Black Series review in a month and a half about a figure that’s been sitting to the side of my desk, unopened, for, like, six months.  Eh, it’s just Admiral Piett.  Everyone forgets about ol’ Firmus.  Okay, not everyone.  There was actually a sizeable campaign to bring him back for Return of the Jedi.  So, I guess it was really just Lucas that forgot him.  Well, Hasbro didn’t, at least as far as The Black Series is concerned, so I guess I’ll remember him for the day and take a look at that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Admiral Piett was released in 2018 as an online store exclusive Black Series release, predominately shipping through Entertainment Earth.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Structurally, Piett largely shares his parts with Tarkin and Veers.  It’s sensible, them all being in the same uniform and all.  As with Veers, Piett’s torso sculpt has been tweaked ever so slightly to change up the pins and properly designate his rank.  He’s also got an all-new head sculpt, sporting a pretty solid likeness of actor Kenneth Colley.  Not as strong as Tarkin, but a touch better than Veers, which is saying something.  He’s still got hat hair, but what do you expect?  Piett gets his own removable had, which is a distinct piece from the one included with Veers figure.  They should be, since their hats are slightly different, but it’s still nice that Hasbro went that extra mile, especially since the hat’s really just a bonus with Veers in the first place.  The paint work on Piett is up to the same par as Veers; nothing too terribly exciting or anything, but he gets the colors he needs to, and the printing on the face is nice and lifelike.  Piett is packed with the aforementioned removable hat, as well as the same small blaster pistol included with Veers.  Not that he ever really uses it for much, but it lets him be ready should he ever, you know, be, like, in the same vicinity as an actual fight.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since Piett was released right around the same time as Veers, and one can only get so excited about a bunch of stuffy British guys in grey, I wound up passing on ordering him.  I kind of regretted that after the fact, since, as I mentioned in my review of the PotF figure, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the character.  Fortunately for me, I got a second chance at grabbing him, courtesy of him getting traded into All Time before the holidays.  Of course, then I dragged my feet on actually opening and reviewing him, but that’s hardly the point.  While not the most thrilling figure, he’s nevertheless a rather nice one, and fills out the upper ranks of the Imperials just a bit more.

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.

#3074: Stealth Suit Captain Carter

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

STEALTH SUIT CAPTAIN CARTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Captain Carter’s secret stealth mission sets her on a collision course with new enemies.”

Man, the Marvel Legends reviews sure are spacing out a lot more than they were a few months ago.  Weird, huh?  I finally actually have the time to go back and, you know, catch up on some of the items I missed at the end of last year, when I was drowning in Legends.  With the benefit of a breather, I can better appreciate items like today’s focus, Stealth Suit Captain Carter.  I took a look at the standard Captain Carter towards the end of last year, and I really liked it, so it stands to reason that another one, now in cool Winter Solider-inspired stealth colors, is probably gonna resonate well with me.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Stealth Suit Captain Carter is a Target-exclusive Marvel Legends release, which hit stores in late November of last year.  While the first figure was based on Carter’s design from the premier episode of the show, this one is based on the season finale, which sees the Watcher pull Peggy from her timeline’s version of the opening scene of Captain America: Winter Soldier.  It’s not a drastically different look, but it’s a cool one, especially when paralleled to Steve’s look.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  This figure’s sculpt is identical to the standard Captain Carter.  I really liked that sculpt a lot, so I can certainly see the appeal of getting it a second time.  Since her costume is largely unchanged in the show, it makes a degree of sense.  The only issue is with the hair, as in the show Peggy had a slightly more modernized style, while this one still has her ’40s hair.  It’s not a major difference, all things considered, so I can kind of let it slide, especially given the whole “quick repaint” set-up for this one.  The paint work is where the changes occur for this figure.  The head is essentially identical, but the uniform captures the more monochromatic design of this outfit.  The application’s okay, though not as consistent as other releases.  It’s a little better than the standard release, though that may be largely due to there being less actual paint to apply.  Peggy is packed with the same shield as the standard release, but now in the updated colors to match her uniform.  There’s nothing else, which does feel a little light, especially given that the standard release included a BaF piece as well.  That said, I’m not entirely sure what else there is to include with her.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I do dig this whole look quite a bit, but I was content with the standard release, especially if it meant I didn’t have to track down an exclusive.  That said, Max found one out in the wild, and, while initially grabbing it for himself, decided he felt it more appropriate for me to have her, given my general Captain America love an all.  She’s not quite screen accurate, but she’s still quite a lot of fun, especially given how strong of a starting point she’s got to work from.

#3064: Falcon

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

FALCON

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Alongside his companion Redwing, the Falcon flies wherever he’s needed!”

A year ago, we were in the midst of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier‘s six-episode run, and we hadn’t yet gotten to see Sam Wilson claim the mantle of Captain America, at least in live action.  Instead, he was still hanging onto his identity as the Falcon, a role he’s existed in since 1969.  As the Falcon, Sam’s actually been pretty fortunate in the world of toys, with a rather consistent coverage.  He does have a slight tendency to go a little while between releases, but not so much now that he’s one of Marvel’s bigger names.  With the MCU focus for the character shifting to his Captain America role, there’s still some room for the comics version to hang onto his Falcon roots.  Hasbro did an updated Legends release late in 2020, but they’re coming back around for another pass, this time with a slightly tweaked look.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon joins Tuesday’s Vision as the next figure in a four-figure set of vaguely Disney+ inspired Retro Collection figures for Marvel Legends.  As with Vision, he’s within the loosely structured set, but ships in a solid case on his own, and is thus far a Fan Channel-exclusive.  This is Falcon’s second Hasbro Legends release, and his third Legends figure overall.  The last figure gave us Falcon in his Brubaker and Epting-era outfit.  This one is the same 2011-era outfit worn by the Marvel Universe release; it’s a modern outfit that splits the difference between the modern and classic designs, and it’s honestly a pretty strong look.  I tend to like the exposed arms look a little bit more, so it works for me.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  From a structurally standpoint, this figure is identical to the last Legends Falcon.  Apart from a few minor quibbles about smaller details, notably the fact that the wings are still one-sided with their sculpted details, and that the gauntlets of that mold aren’t quite a match for this design’s longer gloves, it’s a very nicely rendered sculpt, and one I still really, really like.  To mix things up, Falcon gets a new color deco, matching to the updated costume design.  There’s some sloppy edges on a few of the change-overs, notably on the hair line, but it’s overall a pretty solid application.  Falcon includes two different sets of hands, the same ones included with the last release, but in white this time.  Notably *not* included is his sidekick Redwing, who is not only mentioned in the bio, but also specifically listed as one of the accessories on the product description page on Hasbro Pulse.  Presumably, someone didn’t get the memo that there wasn’t already a Redwing sculpt in this scale.  Alas, I’ll just have to dig out the Toy Biz version.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked the last Legends Falcon, so I was content with that one.  That said, he’s rather modern in design, and I always hope for at least the option for a classic Falcon deco.  This one’s not quite a classic design, but it’s a nice middle ground, and I like how the new deco looks on the base body.  I still hold out hope for a proper classic version down the road, but I rather like this one in the mean time.

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.

#3062: Vision

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

VISION

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Behold the Vision! Stripped of his memories and rebuilt in spectral white, will the vision prove friend or foe to his fellow Avengers?”

Alright, I took a firm week and some change off from reviewing Marvel Legends, but I can really only space them out so far before they start piling up again.  In an effort to avoid that, how about one of those today?  Would that be cool?  A little over a year ago, WandaVision was wrapping up its 9-episode run, and doing a pretty fantastic job of elevating Wanda and Vision even further in the public eye.  Elevated enough for variants and spin-offs, even!  Amongst the many ideas from the comics the show rolled into its runtime was the all-white version of the Vision, originally introduced in “VisionQuest” in the comics.  It’s a look the character wound up sporting in the comics for quite some time, and one with only moderate toy coverage.  In an effort to make up for that, Hasbro’s done another release of him for Legends, which I’ll be taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vision is the first in a four-figure set of vaguely Disney+ inspired Retro Collection figures from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.  He was shown off alongside variants of Wanda, Falcon, and Loki, though they aren’t a proper assortment, but rather four single release figures that are all just arriving around the same time.  All four are Fan Channel exclusive releases, as well as being slight updates on previously released figures.  This marks Vision’s second figure under the Retro heading, after his standard colors got a release back in 2018.  It also marks the third time Hasbro’s done white Vision, and the second comic-inspired version.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  This Vision’s whole aim is to be a minor re-working of the white Vision from the 2015 three-pack release.  As such, he’s re-using all the parts from that one.  It puts him back on the Bucky Cap body, after the last Retro figure moved him over to the 2099 body.  Honestly, I think Vision makes more sense on the Bucky Cap, but I look forward to seeing him moved over to one of the newer bases moving forward.  He uses the same basic head as all but one of the comic Visions; it’s a rather standard and straight-forward stern looking bald head.  He also re-uses the bare feet from the last white Vision release, which is cool.  Unfortunately, he’s still using that old cape piece as well; it’s better on this design than for any of the other figures that got stuck with it, but boy did I not miss this piece.  It’s just awkward and hard to work with.  Where the three-pack release went for a semi-transparent look, this time around, he’s solid colors.  I liked the transparent look, but I gotta admit, the opaque set-up really works out well.  There’s some slight change-up on the different parts of the costume, with some off-whites to mix things up.  Generally, it works out better than the black lines used to break up the details on the three-pack release.  Another nice change-up from the three-pack?  Extra hands!  The prior release was stuck with just fists, which I’m not crazy about for Vision, but this one gets a set of open gesture ones as well, which really add to the options when it comes to posing him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t initially intend to grab this figure.  I’ve got the last release, and this one didn’t look terribly different in the prototype shots.  Then I saw him in hand, and I liked him a whole lot more than I’d expected to.  There’s not really much new here, but there’s a lot of small improvements that add up to a generally more pleasing figure, at least for me.  He feels like a definite upgrade.  Now, can I please get his post-Crossing costume?  I’ve been waiting oh so patiently.

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.