Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3020: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Extensive training in the Red Room made Natasha Romanoff into a warrior with few peers.”

Okay, so, I gotta be honest, putting that specific bio on this specific version of Black Widow is, admittedly, a little bit humorous.  I mean, yeah, she has trouble making friends, and it’s relevant to the movie that was being released around the time of this figure’s release, but, umm, the figure’s sort of in her specifically Avengers-branded attire.  From when she was with the Avengers.  Long enough to have specifically branded attire.  Which would make them…her peers?  I don’t mean to keep throwing wrenches into the Hasbro bios here, but, you know, I’m just throwing that out there.  Okay, enough bio-reviewing, onto the figure reviewing.  Would you guess I’m looking at a Black Widow figure today?  I know, pretty crazy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends release, initially showing up in the summer of 2020 to coincide with the original planned release date for Black Widow.  As with most Walmart-exclusives, it was not super easy to find, and this wasn’t aided by the whole pandemic thing.  Ultimately, she would up being offered up again through Entertainment Earth, and by extension through a good number of Fan Channel locations.  This version of Widow is sporting her grey jumpsuit and Avengers-branded bomber jacket from the early ’90s.  Notably, this same design was also the one used by her very first action figure, back during the Toy Biz 5-inch days, and it also showed up once prior as the variant color scheme for the Widow from the Legends two-packs in 2010.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is a mix of old and new.  The bulk of the body is the Phoenix mold, with the upper arms and jacket overlay from Rogue.  She gets a new head, upper torso (which was subsequently re-used on Firestar), and add-ons for her bracelets and belt.  It’s a good mix of parts, which does a pretty spot-on job of capturing this particular version of Widow.  In particular, I really like how the head sculpt turned out.  The hair really captures the look and feel really well, right down to the one lock in front of her right eye.  It’s honestly one of Hasbro’s nicest female heads, and certainly my favorite of the Widow sculpts they’ve done.  The paint work on this figure is pretty decent.  The bulk of the color work is via molded plastic colors, but the work on the two spiders is sharp, and the face and hair are particularly dynamic and lively looking.  She’s even got the Avengers insignia on both shoulders of the jacket, which is super cool.  Black Widow is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), three different sets of bracelets (standard, blast effect, and smoke), a jetpack piece, and two rocket effects for the jetpack.  It’s a really great selection of extras.  About the only other thing I could think of to really seal the deal might be an alternate set of unjacketed arms, but that’s really a minor complaint, given the other awesome stuff included.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got a nostalgic spot for this design, what with the old Toy Biz figure and all, so I was very excited when this figure was shown off, and immediately less so when it was confirmed as a Walmart exclusive.  I then had no luck locating one at retail, and kind of figured that was it.  Thankfully she got the second release, and I got a second chance at getting her.  I’m glad I did, because she’s a fantastic figure, and honestly my favorite Widow figure from Hasbro.  Just a really strong release all around, and I’m glad it’s getting a wider distribution.

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.

#3019: Tigra

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

TIGRA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Fast feline reflexes and a prehensile tail make Marvel’s Tigra a dazzling force to be reckoned with.”

How are you guys holding up with all these Marvel Legends reviews?  Ready for something slightly different?  Well, umm, the Legends aren’t going anywhere…just yet.  But, Marvel’s Merry Mutants have had their time to shine, so why not take a quick focus shift over to the Avengers side of things.  Today, we go for a more obscure selection, Greer Nelson, aka Tigra.  Greer, in her original super persona “The Cat,” is notable for being part of Marvel’s initiative to create super hero comics that would be more aimed at female readers, and would also feature at least one female creator per book.  The Cat actually had two, with Marie Severin handling the art duties and Linda Fite taking on the writing duties.  The series was sadly short-lived (as were its compatriots Night Nurse and Shanna The She-Devil), lasting only four issues before being cancelled due to low sales.  Greer was revamped in 1974, now as Tigra, under Marvel’s monsters banner.  Following that, she made her way to the Avengers, notably serving as a founding member and long-term fixture of their West Coast spin-off.  She’s not been a stranger to action figures, though it’s been a little while.  She’s gotten one more, courtesy of Hasbro, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tigra is the most recent release in the Retro Collection sub-branding of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  She follows up closely on the Hercules figure, and is likewise a Fan Channel-exclusive one-off release.  She slipped in right at the end of last year.  This marks Tigra’s second time as a Legends release, following up on Hasbro’s own release of her from the Nemesis Series, way back in 2009.  The line’s certainly come a long way since then.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  The last Legends Tigra was saddled with the articulation typical of the line’s worst era, which was a real shame.  Thankfully, this time around she’s hitting during perhaps the line’s best era from an articulation standpoint.  She’s got a really impressive range of motion, as well as double joints on both the elbows and knees.  The elbows and knees are also using the pinless construction, allowing for a much better appearance aesthetically.  Tigra is sporting an all-new sculpt, and a pretty strong one at that.  There are two head sculpts included here, one more feral and dynamic, and one more calm and human.  Both are impressive, but I definitely find myself more drawn to the dynamic sculpt.  The body sculpt is clean, with a balanced set of proportions, matching up with her usual depictions in the comics.  There’s some great attention to detail, notably there are even little tufts of fur at a few key points, which really sells the whole cat lady thing pretty effectively.  The color work on this release is a vast improvement on the last one.  Tigra is supposed to be orange…you know, like a tiger.  The first one was really more of a pale orange/yellow, but this one is the more appropriate vibrant shade.  The paint work on her is clean, sharp, and well applied, making for quite an eye catching look.  Tigra is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in a claw-bearing pose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

A combination of an early love of West Coast Avengers, as well as being one of the few people on the planet to actually like United They Stand has given me quite an appreciation of Tigra as a character.  I went out and spent a rather high amount (at the time, anyway) for the last one, and I was always disappointed by how lackluster it wound up being.  This one is a much, much better release, and I’m really glad to have gotten a figure that seems to really give the character her due after all this 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.

#3018: Colossus

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

COLOSSUS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the apocalyptic world of Age of…Apocalypse…clever there, the usually gentle giant Piotr Rasputin is re-imagined into a tough as nails drill sergeant, who spends his portion of the cross-over training child soldiers to take down Apocalypse’s regime.  Perhaps not the most noble effort, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.  Likewise, Colossus’ still building relationship with Kitty Pryde became a full-fledged marriage in this alternate universe, as the pair of them became instructors for the AoA versions of Generation X.  Like Kitty, Colossus has previously been without any toy coverage, but Hasbro’s addressed that in this assortment as well.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Colossus is the Build-A-Figure for the eponymous series of Marvel Legends, serving as the line’s second AoA-themed BaF.  Prior Colossus figures in the line have been just shy of the scale for a BaF treatment, but the AoA version of the character was notably larger than the standard universe version, making the larger figure justified here.  The figure stands a little over 8 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Despite his larger size, this figure is actually a little more posable than the smaller Colossus figures, even getting full double-joint movement at the elbows and knees.  It’s impressive the amount of movement they were able to get into him, even with all the armor and everything.  AoA Colossus is an all-new sculpt, and he’s quite frankly the most impressive sculpt in this whole assortment.  There’s just a ton of detail work, especially with the banded metal texturing of his skin.  There’s also a real intensity to the expression on the face, which seems perfect for this version of the character.  The only part of the construction I’m not super crazy about is the way the shoulder strap works, since it’s not really secured in any way, so it rattles around a lot.  The suspenders help keep it from being totally loose, but a peg of some sort to hold it to the shoulder would go a long way.  His color work is largely handled with molded colors for the plastic, which works well for him.  The paint work that’s there is cleanly applied, and brings out some of the necessary details in the sculpt.  Colossus is a Build-A-Figure, so he’s really an accessory himself, but he nevertheless gets two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in open gesture.  This matches with the set-up the the 80th Colossus figure got, which is nice to see continue.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Toy Biz Legends Colossus kind of started the character’s Legends run off with a pretty high bar to clear.  Thus far, Hasbro’s done everything in there power to make sure their own Colossus releases clear that bar.  I’ve been a fan of all of them so far, but this is Hasbro’s best version of the character so far.  As much as I appreciate the 80th release for what he is, I’d honestly love to see a mainstream version of the character with this level of quality.  Until then, this figure is really awesome, and not only my favorite of this particular assortment, but honestly my favorite of the AoA Legends as a whole.

While I was able to enjoy the first AoA assortment when it hit, it was, admittedly, focused a lot on the portions of the crossover I’m less invested in.  I was really hoping for a second assortment that was more focused on my own personal interests from the story, and this assortment really delivered at that.  Colossus is the real star piece here, no doubt about that.  Rogue was definitely a surprise hit for me, and is probably next in the ranking, though Sabretooth certainly gives her a run for the spot.  Magneto, Cyclops, and Shadowcat are all figures that don’t *quite* stick the landing, but are still really solid figures of character designs I really wanted to see.  Iceman and Legion are both characters that weren’t as high on my list personally, but the figures turned out really well.  In general, this is just a really strong assortment, and to me, it really makes the whole set with the first assortment a more cohesive thing in general.

#3016: Iceman

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

ICEMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Iceman joins with the X-Men to stop Apocalypse and prevent the catastrophic culling of humankind in a harsh dystopian future.”

A jovial and somewhat silly character in the mainstream universe, the “Age of Apocalypse” universe made Iceman into a far more serious character, with a much more effective mastery over his powers.  Elements of this were first shown before AoA, when Bobby’s body was taken over by Emma Frost for a period of time, and were built on post-AoA when the mainstream Bobby decided to try to train more seriously with his abilities, but they got a very definite focus in AoA.  The AoA Iceman is not without toy treatment, but rarely in such an explicit fashion, at least until now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iceman is figure 5 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  This marks the AoA version’s first time as a Legend, as well as the first time a figure has been actually labeled as an AoA Iceman, rather than just being inspired by him.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Iceman is a mix of old and new parts, at his core being built around the Bucky Cap base body.  The lower arms and legs are shared with the Juggernaut Series version of Iceman (who was actually built on the Pizza Spidey body, not Bucky Cap), and he gets a new torso, shoulders, and head.  While others in the set have been far more dialed-in on their specifically ’90s crossover designs, Iceman is notably based more on his more recent appearances, from the handful of revisits to the AoA universe.  It’s not a bad look, but it does mean he clashes ever so slightly with everything else we’ve gotten.  The biggest change is really the hair, which hung forward a little more on the earlier illustrations.  I personally would have preferred he stick a little more to the ’90s appearances, but this one translates well enough.  This release of Iceman is far bluer than the last couple of Legends releases, going for a rather dark shade that pretty closely matches the old “Muntant Armor” figure, which served as his ’90s AoA figure.  I can certainly dig that.  There’s some slight frost detailing airbrushed in a few places, which works out pretty well.  I do wish there were some of it on the face, again like the ’90s figure, but the overall application works nicely.  Iceman is packed with an alternate set of spikier hands, borrowed from Carnage, as well as the right arm to the Colossus figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

AoA Iceman’s not a major change-up from the standard in terms of design, but that actually gives his figure some extra appeal, since it means he’s got multiple purposes.  I’ve always liked the spikier Iceman look, so this one’s pretty cool.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a tweak on this mold that does the 616 version’s spiky look, but in the meantime, this one’s a pretty solid figure that does what he needs to, and adds a little more depth to the AoA display.

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.

#3015: Shadowcat

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

SHADOWCAT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After being captured by Sabretooth, Katherine Pryde becomes the youngest member of the X-Men and trains to become the team’s ghost assassin.”

While generally one of the team’s more peaceful and friendly members in the mainstream universe, Kitty Pryde of the “Age of Apocalypse” universe is a far harder-edged character, as today’s figure’s bio hints at above.  She was one of a number of characters to become more edgy and extreme in this altered universe, but perhaps the sharpest turn, at least of the character’s that still remained “good”-aligned.  She’s previously been one of the characters untouched by toy treatment, but that changed with the most recent assortment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shadowcat is figure 4 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s obviously the first AoA-version of the character, but also the fourth Legends release for Kitty, the third under the Hasbro banner.  The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  At first glance, she appears to be an all-new sculpt, but her legs and feet are actually a rather clever re-use of Lady Deathstrike’s legs.  Apart from those pieces, she’s all-new, though.  Generally, it’s a pretty good sculpt.  The proportions on the body are well-balanced, and the details are sharp and clean.  The head has been a point of contention since the figure was shown off.  Much like last year’s Invisible Woman, the face has some definitely odd qualities to it, especially given how the expression works out.  Ultimately, much like Sue, this is a sculpt that looks a lot better in person than it did in the prototype shots.  It’s still a little wonky, but from proper angles, it’s actually not a bad sculpt at all.  The color work on Kitty is pretty strong.  The paint application is cleanly handled, and I really like how the metallic blue of her costume turned out.  Shadowcat is packed with two sets of hands, one set of fists and one of open gesture, as well as two pairs of gauntlets, one set with the claws extended, and the other without.  She also gets the torso and pelvis of the Colossus Build-A-Figure, which is by far the largest piece, offsetting that she’s the smallest of the individual figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kitty is a character that certainly ranks highly for my selection of favorite X-Men, and while the AoA interpretation isn’t really much like the character I like, I can still appreciate the distinctly divergent take on the character for the purposes of the story.  I also do kind of dig the changed up design, so I was certainly happy to see her crop up here.  The face is a little weird, but the figure is otherwise quite well-rendered, and it’s always cool to get a design we haven’t seen in toy form before.

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.

#3014: Sabretooth

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

SABRETOOTH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After betraying Apocalypse and making his escape, Sabretooth joins with the mutant rebels the X-Men to fight for good in a harsh dystopian future.”

While the mainstream counterpart to Magneto had flirted with being on the side of good before the “Age of Apocalypse” crossover, before his heroic turn in AoA, Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, had been a pretty irredeemable villain, with no real signs of any other intentions.  So, it was a pretty major change, and one of the crossover’s best story angles, as the psuedo-paternal relationship between Sabretooth and Blink gave their portion of the story a real emotional core, removed from the purely “x-treme-ness” of the other storylines.  We got Blink before any of the other AoA stuff, as well as Sabretooth’s non-verbal partner Wild Child in the first AoA assortment, but without a proper Sabretooth to go along with them.  Fortunately, Hasbro’s coming in with the save on that one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sabretooth is figure 3 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  It’s this design’s fourth time in figure form, and its second time getting the Legends treatment, though the last one was during Toy Biz’s run, and wrought with a lot of odd design choices.  This one sticks more cleanly to the actual design from the original crossover, which is a plus.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  While the last couple Sabretooths have been on the Hyperion body, this one moves him up to the Colossus body.  It makes a degree of sense, since he was depicted as a fair bit larger during the crossover, and it also makes it so he pairs off a bit better with Wild Child, it’s also somewhat amusing in light of Cyclops keeping his previous build, even in light of the crossover bulking him up.  Maybe Sabretooth is bigger because of when he was working with Apocalypse?  Sure, let’s go with that.  Honestly, anything that stops us from getting another Hyperion re-use is alright by me.  He gets a pretty solid assortment of new parts, including new arms, lower legs, and two different heads, as well as add-ons for the collar and belt.  The two heads give is the two different sides of Creed; one is angry and pupil-less, while the other is a much friendlier expression.  After getting a lot of prior Sabretooth figures without the option for a calmer expression, it’s really nice to get both versions here.  The other new parts jibe well with the prior core body parts, and feature a lot of cool little details.  Interestingly, despite the arms being seemingly new, they still have visible pins at the elbows.  I have to wonder if his is a sculpt that might have sat for a bit.  Sabretooth’s paint work is pretty decently handled.  The detailing on the facial and arm hair works a lot better than such details tend to, and everything else is actually pretty clean.  There’s a slight mis-match from the hips to the rest of the legs, but other than that, things work out pretty well.  Sabretooth is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in gripping, as well as the head for Colossus.  Also, while it’s not packed with him, it’s worth noting that, surprising no one, the chain included with Wild Child is properly fitted to Sabretooth’s forearm, which is pretty cool.  In hindsidght, I wonder if that might be why he’s still got the pins at the elbows, since the mold would need to have been worked out earlier than the others in this assortment in that case.  Food for thought.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The prior Legends AoA Sabretooth always disappointed me, so the prospect of a new one was certainly an exciting one.  While he wasn’t in the first line-up, the inclusion of Wild Child made it pretty clear that we’d be seeing him sooner than later, which is why it made a lot of sense that he was also the first of these figures we actually saw.  I gotta say, he turned out really nicely, even better than I was expecting.  He pairs of really nicely with Wild Child, but he’s also just a really strong figure in his own right.

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.

#3013: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Cyclops helps prisoners escape from Apocalypse’s prison camps in an attempt to be a force for good in a harsh dystopian future.”

To quote Jimmy Woo: “It’s an oversimplification of events, but yes.”  While the Cyclops of the “Age of Apocalypse” universe ultimately joins the side of good and aids in helping the victims of Apocalypse, that’s not where he spends most of the story.  While AoA saw a lot of previously villainous characters on the side of good, it also saw Cyclops, a character previously very straight-laced and noble, pretty firmly in the villains camp, at least at the start.  Sure, his in-grained noble streak kept him from being truly villainous, but he’s also very far from a force for good.  But, here I am critiquing the bios again, when I could be reviewing a new Cyclops figure.  What am I even doing with my life?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is figure 2 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  Though far from the first Legends Cyclops, it’s still the first Legends release for AoA, and the third figure for the AoA design overall.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Cyclops is built on the Bucky Cap base body, which has been the consistent choice of base for Cyclops since the Puck Series version.  The AoA version has at times been depicted as a little larger in build, but that can be chalked up to artistic license, and thus far all of the other AoA variants have maintained consistency with their main counterparts in terms of body choices.  I mean, that’s gonna sort of fall apart as we make it further into the assortment, but we’ll stand by it here.  Ultimately, I really don’t mind it.  He gets a new head, arms, and an overlay piece for his belt/shoulder strap.  The head’s not quite as extreme and 90s-tastic as some of the illustrations made him out to be, but the important elements of the design are all present, and his features are also internally consistent with the other Cyclops figures from the line.  His new arms bulk him up a little bit more compared to the standard Bucky Cap pieces, as well as transitioning him to the pinless construction on the elbows.  Some of his articulation is lost on said elbows, which can really only make it about 90 degrees.  It’s understandable given the nature of the design.  Cyclops’ paint is generally very basic.  Much of the color work is just molded plastic, and it’s honestly a pretty basic layout of colors for the costume anyway.  Kudos to Hasbro, though, they did actually do some weathering and wear on the gold armored parts, which looks pretty solid.  Cyclops includes no accessories of his own, which is kind of a shame.  A blast effect, or an alternate head, maybe with the hair swept back to better show off the missing eye and scarring, would have been pretty cool.  All he winds up getting is the left leg for Colossus, which definitely feels light compared to pretty much everyone else.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I do really like Cyclops, and I even kind of like some of the stuff they did with him within the AoA story, the actual AoA design for the character isn’t necessarily one of my favorites for him.  It’s kind of overkill on the worst of the ’90s tropes for character design, really.  That being said, if you’re gonna have an AoA set-up, it feels wrong to not have him.  He’s another figure I felt was really missing from the first go-round, and I’m glad he showed up here.  He’s light on extras, and perhaps a little skinny, but overall I do rather like him, and hey, it’s another Cyclops, right?

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.

#3011: Magneto

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

MAGNETO

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Magneto casts off his anti-human sentiments and carries on Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistence, thereby founding the X-Men.”

2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the X-Men crossover “Age of Apocalypse” and 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the tie-in toys for that crossover.  What’s the significance of 2022?  It’s the 25th anniversary of the toys being a year old, I guess.  That’s gotta count for something, right?  Well, I’m gonna make it count for something, because in my case, it counts for reviewing another round of AoA-themed Legends.  That’s pretty cool, all things considered.  Throughout the history of the X-Men, Magneto has flirted with the idea of not being such a bad guy, even aiding, or in some cases outright joining the team.  It rarely lasts, but AoA posited that, were Magneto to see his friend Xavier murdered at a young age, that might just be the thing to make him an objectively good character.  So, in the AoA universe, Magneto is an unquestionable force of good, founder and leader of the X-Men, and the most prominent force in the fight against the objectively evil Apocalypse.  As such, he’s a pretty perfect choice for headlining the second assortment of AoA Legends.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Magneto is part of the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  He is the only figure in the set not to include a piece of the Build-A-Figure, and is likewise this assortment’s double pack, which is honestly pretty sensible.  This is the fourth time the AoA version of Magneto’s gotten a figure, following the original Toy Biz 5-inch figure, the Minimate, and the 3 3/4-inch Hasbro version.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  As with the last few Magnetos, he’s based on the Spider-UK body, which is a good fit for the character, so I’m pretty happy to see it continue to be in use for the character.  In terms of design, Magneto’s AoA look wasn’t a drastic change from his mainstream look, so there’s a lot of room for parts re-use.  That being said, the only part (aside from the base body), that’s shared with the standard Magneto is the belt.  He also shares his forearms and boots with the modern Magneto, which are generally pretty good matches for the updated designs from the AoA books.  He gets a few new parts as well, namely an all-new cape/shoulder pad piece, as well as two new heads.  The cape does seem a little tame for how the AoA Magneto’s cape was usually depicted, but it’s still a pretty nice piece, which at least keeps the figure well-balanced.  The new heads give him helmeted and un-helmeted looks.  The un-helmeted is certainly the stronger of the two.  The facial features are a bit more defined, and the hair turned out quite well.  The helmeted head’s not terrible, but the helmet seems a touch on the small side, and I do feel like there’s a missed opportunity in not doing the blacked-out face under the helmet, as he was frequently depicted in the books.  Magneto’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  It’s straight forward, and really rather minimal, but it does what it needs to for the most part.  There’s a little bit of misalignment on one of the eyebrows one un-helmeted head, but it generally looks pretty good.  The only odd part is the decision to leave off the purple trunks. Later illustrations of the character dropped them, but the actual cross-over itself always showed him having them.  Magneto is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, the other in open gesture, as well as two electricity effects.  Not a ton of stuff, but it covers the basics.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

AoA Magneto is really one of my favorite parts of the whole AoA thing, something I brought up when I reviewed the Toy Biz figure, itself my favorite of the Toy Biz AoA figures.  I’ve definitely been hoping for an update in Legends form for quite some time.  I was bummed when he wasn’t included with the first assortment, but his absence felt like it really confirmed a second assortment, since how can you not do this guy?  I was happy to be right.  Ultimately, there are some elements of the figure that could stand to be a little stronger, but he’s generally still a pretty solid take on the character, and I’m glad we got the update.

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.

#3009: Snake Eyes & Timber

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

SNAKE EYES & TIMBER

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

I haven’t actually gotten to talk about G.I. Joe, specifically it’s most recent re-launch, Classified Series, since all the way back in October, which on one hand doesn’t seem that long ago, but also really does.  It’s not really like I’m missing much that’s worth reviewing, of course; there hasn’t really been much new.  When last discussing things, I brought up the line’s Original 13, the debut line-up for the Real American Hero incarnation of the franchise.  While some of them remained more or less confined to those early years, a few of them took off.  Most notable was the first year’s resident cost-saver, Snake Eyes, who would become the franchise’s most distinctive character.  Today, we turn our sights his earliest incarnation, or at least a re-imagining of it, alongside his trusty sidekick, Timber!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Snake Eyes and Timber are a deluxe-sized release, thus far unseen in the main retail line, for Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Classified Series, where they are item 30, placing them right after Breaker and the RAM Cycle in the numbering sequence.  Though pairing off Snake Eyes with Timber is nothing new for the brand, it’s not usually this version of Snake Eyes that gets paired with Timber, since Timber was first included with Version 2.  However, with the initial Snake Eyes being V2-inspired already, it made sense not to double back on variants.

SNAKE EYES

We’ve had no shortage of Snake Eyes variants in this line up to this point, with this in particular being the fourth version.  There have been two versions based on V2, and one based on the film, but this one goes back to the original commando-based V1 design.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Snake Eyes is built on a mix of parts, largely stemming from the Beach Head-version of the Duke mold.  It’s a good starting point for an update on Snake’s classic turtle-necked design, and just a good starting point in general, as it remains one of my favorite figures in the line.  He borrows the holster from the first Snake Eyes, in a nice bit of cross-use, and then gets a new head and shins, along with new overlay pieces for his webgear and the sheath for his knife.  As stated above, the aim of this sculpt is to capture the V1 design, or at least to offer something of an update to it.  It does a good job of that, and in fact stays a lot closer than the more sci-fi-inspired figures from the rest of the line.  It’s a fitting choice, since this is supposed to be an earlier in his career Snake Eyes, presumably from before the Joes get quite as tech savvy.  I particularly like the new head, especially how you can see the separate parts of the assembly.  The webgear likewise has a lot of depth of detail to it.  In general, it captures all of the broad strokes of the original figure, but at a larger scale and with more going on.  Still, it’s not over designed, or anything like that; it’s the right level of detailing.  Snake Eye’s paint work is much simplified compared to the prior figures.  This is on purpose, no doubt to call back to the V1 figure’s complete lack of paint.  This one is a little more detailed than that one, but does have a slight variance to the exact finish of the blacks, just to give him a little bit of variety.  He also gets one small bit of white detailing on his grenade, which is a nice touch.  Snake Eyes is packed with his classic Uzi, as well as an ump45 with, to quote Tim, “a whacked out front end,” an assault rifle that appears to be a combination of a number of things with a lot of customizations, a Beretta m93r (with removable silencer, just like the first release),  and a large knife.  The rifles are fun, since they both feature removable magazines, which I always enjoy.  Snake Eyes includes no sword, of course, as is proper for a true commando Snake Eyes.

TIMBER

First included with the V2 Snake Eyes back in ’85, Timber had appeared in other media prior, notably in the cartoon as the wolf that guides an irradiated Snake Eyes back to safety in the second mini-series.  Over the years, he’s been featured in the main line a good number of times, but it’s rare that he’s ever anything more than an unarticulated accessory.  For his debut in Classified, Hasbro’s given him the proper figure treatment.  He’s about 3 inches tall and 5 1/2 inches long, and he has 29 points of articulation.  While his articulation doesn’t have as full a range as I might like, there’s still quite a bit of range to it, and he can get into a decent selection of poses.  The sculpt does quite a nice job of capturing a rather basic wolf look, with an impressive level of detail work.  He includes two different heads, one calm, and the other snarling, again adding to the display options for the figure.  The paint work on Timber is generally pretty solid.  There’s a pretty nice two-toned thing going on with the fur, which has a rather subtle change-over.  I also really like the gold irises on the eyes, as well as the slight shading to the scars on the face.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I generally do angle towards the V2-style for my default Snake Eyes, I’ll admit I have quite a soft-spot for the commando look for the character, especially as sort of a “starter” look for the character.  I was hoping we’d see at least some sort of a nod to it in the modern line, but wasn’t expecting a full-on update.  I’m very happy with how this one turned out.  He’s just a very nice figure.  Timber’s also kind of an essential piece, and I’m happy to see Hasbro give him the proper deluxe style treatment here.  In general, this is really one of the coolest sets to come out of Classified, and I look forward to seeing what else Hasbro might do with this price-point.

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

#3008: The Family That Busts Together

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

PHOEBE & EGON SPENGLER

GHOSTBUSTERS: PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“Phoebe’s love of science and affinity for bustin’ ghosts runs in the family. She’s got Spengler blood, after all.”

Finding a good follow-up to the first Ghostbusters has been a difficult task since, well, the first Ghostbusters, honestly.  Even the combination of the whole original cast, the original director, and the original writers on Ghostbusters II wasn’t enough to capture that particular lightning back in the bottle, so in a modern world where reassembling the whole team is no longer possible, it’s an even more daunting task.  2016’s attempted reboot was divisive to put it mildly.  So, Afterlife seemed like it was taking on a rather Herculean feat, but it actually managed to achieve the seemingly impossible, and finally craft an actually pretty decent follow-up to the first movie.  Its success largely lies in how it interweaves old and new, as the old story is still there, but there’s also an actually rather likable cast of new characters to accompany them.  Central to the film is Egon Spengler’s granddaughter Phoebe, whose curiosity about her grandfather’s old habits launches her into the film’s events, as she is guided by her grandfather’s spirit, metaphorically, and then (SPOILERS), not so metaphorically.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

“The Family That Busts Together” set is a Target-exclusive Ghostbusters: Plasma Series release, which was announced the week after Afterlife hit theaters, and started hitting shelves just after Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Currently, the set is the only way to get Plasma Series versions of either of the two included characters.  It does seem a little odd, since Phoebe is unquestionably the film’s main character, and it’s an exclusive set, but with the rather notable spoilers surrounding the other half of the set, I can get the move for a retailer exclusive, since that allows for a closer to film release, while also keeping the reveal close to the vest for as close as possible.  The set did at least prove fairly easy to find at first, though in the aftermath of holiday shopping, time will tell as to exactly how easily acquired it is.

PHOEBE

Afterlife‘s new cast each sort of follow the archetype of one of the earlier ‘Busters, with McKenna Grace’s Phoebe taking her grandfather’s spot as the slightly quieter, more scientifically-minded member of the crew, though perhaps one that’s a little more outwardly driven than Egon ever was in the films proper.  As with all of the figures thus far from the film, Phoebe is based on her fully geared up look from later in the film, which is certainly sensible, as far as toy choices go.  Just basic day-to-day attire might not be quite as fun.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and she has 25 points of articulation.  While there are similarities in the sculpts of all the new Ghostbusters, none of them are actually sharing parts, so Phoebe is an all-new mold.  It’s a pretty solid one.  The articulation is perhaps a touch more limited than I’d like, but it does somewhat come with the territory of her being much smaller.  The likeness on the head sculpt is pretty spot on, and I really like the little touches to show that she’s had to quite hastily tailor her grandfather’s jumpsuit to her smaller stature.  The paint work on the figure is on par with the earlier releases in the line, which is to say its pretty clean and basic, with the best work by far being shown off on the head, which has the face printing.  Phoebe gets a rather impressive selection of accessories, including Egon’s modified proton pack, with removable back plate and neutron wand, as well as an effects piece, a PKE meter, which can be clipped to her belt, a jar of ooze from the second movie, and one of the chess pieces from the game she and Egon’s poltergeist are playing throughout the film.  The very moment-specific extras are definitely a lot of fun, and I was glad to see them turn up.  Lastly, and not so much for her specifically, the set also includes the head to the Terror Dog version of Zuul, designed for use with the Build-A-Figure body released last year.  Since that one was specifically Vinz Clortho, and it was re-used again for the set with Tully, it was very nice of Hasbro to find a way to give collectors both dogs.

EGON

Afterlife begins with the death of Egon, shot in such a way as to avoid showing him directly, given Harold Ramis’s passing seven years before the film.  Throughout the film, he continues to have a role in the film as a spirit with no visible form, again to keep him included, while still acknowledging the loss of Ramis.  The big reveal during the film’s climactic battle, after the remaining three original ‘busters have shown up to assist the new team, and after Phoebe in particular steps up to face down Gozer, is Egon as an actual visible ghost.  It’s a moment that allows both Egon and Ramis to stand alongside their respective teams one last time, and it’s one of the film’s most emotional moments to be sure.  This set in particular is designed to replicate that sequence, and Egon’s appearance in particular.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s largely the same as all of the other older ‘busters from Afterlife, meaning he’s using the Ray body from the first series.  It gives him a slightly huskier build, which matches to Ramis’s look later in life, as well as how Egon is portrayed in the film.  The only thing that *doesn’t* match up with the film is the presence of gloves, which Egon pointedly didn’t have on as a spectre.  However, there aren’t yet any non-gloved hands and forearms for the standard ‘Busters body, so it would have required new tooling, and given how the coloration works, it’s a forgivable change, since it’s not very visible anyway.  The one new piece here is a new head sculpt.  It’s not as spot-on a likeness as the prior Egon, but it’s also based on a cgi recreation of a likeness, and it given the turnaround time on this one, it’s likely it wasn’t even a fully-formed render at the time yet.  All things considered, it’s perhaps a little on the large side, but otherwise not a bad sculpt at all.  The paint work on this figure is a definite change-up from the others, since it needs to give him that spectral look.  This is achieved by molding him in translucent blue plastic, and then painting on some trace details, notably on the face and the upper torso, making him look like an apparition that fades away as it gets to the edges of his body.  It’s a well-rendered effect, especially when seen in person.  Egon’s more of an accessory himself, so he doesn’t get anything of his own, but a few of Phoebe’s accessories also work for Egon as well, so there’s some crossover there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve mentioned before, Egon’s my favorite member of the Ghostbusters, and Harold Ramis is also one of my favorite creators, so the lack of both of them in this sequel was something I was worried about going into the new movie.  I really loved how they worked his legacy into the story, and I’ll admit to being rather touched by how they built to his ultimate reappearance late in the film.  Likewise, I really identified a lot with Phoebe and her quest to connect more with her late grandfather.  She was certainly my favorite addition to the cast, so I found myself wanting this set quite a bit after seeing the movie.  Thankfully, Max was there with the assist on this one, and snagged me one back in December.  Phoebe is definitely the real star here, but the accessory selection and inclusion of Egon really make it a home run of a set.