Tag Archives: Hasbro

#3858: Banshee

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

BANSHEE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Last week, I took a detour from my ’90s Marvel reviews for something that was still *kind of* a ’90s Marvel review.  This week, all I can truly promise is the Marvel.  In fact, it’s kind of meant to *replace* a more ’90s-centric piece already in my collection.  That doesn’t seem right, does it?  Well, look, there are layers, okay?  Today we’re talking about Banshee, a surprisingly early addition to the X-Men mythos, first appearing in 1967 during Roy Thomas and Werner Roth’s run on the original team.  He was a reluctant antagonist, and would eventually join the team proper when the “All-New, All-Different” line-up debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1.  Since he and Sunfire were both “returning characters,” they didn’t get to be on the fancy Gil Kane-drawn cover to the issue with the rest of the team, which means they more frequently get left out of figure coverage related to the issue.  Fittingly, Hasbro started their “modern” recreation of the team in Legends form back in 2017 with Sunfire, and are finally closing it out (more or less) eight years later with Banshee.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Banshee is part of the Classic Comic Collection series of Marvel Legends, which just started hitting in the last month or so.  It’s certainly an interesting line-up of characters, and by that I mean they seem to have just sort of drawn names out of a hat.  Banshee is one of two X-Men in the line-up, the other being Dakken, whom I don’t know that he’s ever met.  This is Banshee’s third time in Legends form, all three having been under Hasbro.  He’s based on his classic green and yellow garb, which is the same as his first Legends figure, from Hasbro’s first series of Legends after they got the license in 2007 (which, incidentally, like this figure, was in a hodgepodge assortment that happened to include an Ultimate Iron Man figure).  That one was *not* good, so this one’s been a long-time coming.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  As we’ve all been kind of expecting since we got Strike Team Banshee back in 2023, this figure makes liberal use of parts from that one, sharing both heads, the modified upper torso, and the attachments for the glider wings with the earlier figure.  I still love both heads (sculpted by Paul Harding), and the calm one in particular feels more at home on this costume, what with the clearly ’70s muttonchops and all.  It’s still a little odd that he doesn’t have consistent hair between the two heads, but it is what it is.  On the flip side, I’m still not super into the very obvious pegs that attach the glider wings to him.  Sure, they’re secure, but they’re awful to look at.  This guy swaps out the Jim Lee-specific costume elements for the standard Vulcan pieces, making for a slightly cleaner sculpt.  In terms of color work, he changes things up, obviously, to match the new palette.  I’m always partial to the green and yellow, so I do generally like it.  That said, the tops of the boots and gloves being painted rather than molded is a bit jarring.  Otherwise, though, it all looks decent.  Banshee is packed with five different hands: a pair of fists, an open right hand, and two gripping hands.  These hands are unique, as near as I can tell, in that they have stitching on them to indicate gloves.  It’s a small detail, but I actually really like it.  Banshee is also packed with a small replica of Giant-Size X-Men #1, as is the gimmick of this assortment for…reasons?  I don’t know.  It’s nifty enough, even if it’s not *quite* scaled right.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back in 2006, I was *thrilled* by the announcement of Banshee being in Hasbro’s first series of Marvel Legends.  In 2007, I was *not thrilled* by Hasbro’s actual Banshee figure.  I just never much cared for it.  I’ve been waiting for a better one since.  As we made our way through the updated GSXM line-up, I kept hoping the next one would be him, making it especially comedic when we got the Strike Force version first (especially since *exactly* the same thing happened in Minimates).  I made do with that one, but this was the one I was really waiting for.  He’s simple, and it’s not like he’s really doing anything new, but it’s very, very nice to have the GSXM line-up finished, and also, since Banshee was around for a bit, also have all of the subsequent line-up changes before he left the team in ’79.  That’s my favorite era of the book, and it’s really my X-Men, so this is really awesome.

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

#3845: Commando Droid

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

COMMANDO DROID

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

One of the things Clone Wars did was flesh out the ranks of the two opposing armies a bit more than what we saw in the movies.  Obviously, we got a lot of focus on the individual clones, but the Droids also got some new models not seen elsewhere.  A good number of them were more specialized, but one of the earliest additions to the more standard line-up was the Commando Droid, a more robust take on the standard Battle Droid.  As we finally start to get some more of the droid army in Black Series, we’ve finally made our way to some of those Clone Wars-original designs, meaning we finally get an update to the Commando Droid!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Commando Droid is figure 18 in the Clone Wars sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘ 4th Phase.  The Clone Wars line is really one of the slowest growing of the sub-lines; the Commando Droid is only 1 higher than Pre Vizsla, a figure released at the end of 2023.  It also makes the Commando Droid thus far the only Clone Wars-branded figure in the new standard packaging (though there’s already a Savage Opress in the deluxe equivalent).  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  The articulation on this guy hits pretty much all of the notes it needs to, and doesn’t leave really any of his sculpted joints as false ones, which is always nice to see.  I was impressed by how the neck and shoulders worked; the ball joints coupled with the hinges make for an impressive range.  The only part I’m not too keen on is the knees, which don’t go quite as deep as I’d like; they pretty much stop at 90 degrees, which is bare minimum, but not great for lunging and stuff.  Thankfully, the hips and ankles have enough movement to offset.  The sculpt is an all-new one, and it’s a very strong one.  The Commando Droids only exist in the Clone Wars style, but this figure manages to capture the spirit of that design, while also making them feel at home with the rest of the more realistically-styled figures.  The detailing is all very sharp, and the articulation works into the sculpt well.  He’s also quite sturdy, which is an improvement to some of the other droid sculpts.  His paint work is more involved than you might expect.  There’s the base color work, of course, which is good and clean, but he’s also got a fair bit of weathering, which makes him seem a little more battle-hardened, which feels right for such a droid.  The Commando Droid is packed with a standard droid blaster and a vibro-blade.  The blaster fits very nicely in his hands, and the blade can be mounted on his back, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a big fan of the Commando Droid, and have almost every version from the Clone Wars line.  That’s one of my very favorite molds from that era, so this one was one I was really looking forward to, but ever so slightly worried might not live up to my expectations, especially after being rather letdown by the Magnaguard.  But, I couldn’t bring myself to pass him up, so I snagged him when he hit.  He’s truly a fantastic figure, and a worthy successor to the old Clone Wars mold.  I’m very glad I didn’t skip this one.

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

#3841: Luke Skywalker – Imperial Guard & Princess Leia Organa – Boushh

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — IMPERIAL GUARD & PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — BOUSHH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“To gather intel on the Black Sun, Leia disguised herself as an Ubesian bounty hunter. But when Xizor captured her, it was up to Luke — alongside his friends and posing as an Imperial Guard — to rescue her”

Next year, it will have been 30 years since Shadows of the Empire, the multimedia Star Wars “event” set between Empire and Jedi launched.  So, you know, we’re all getting properly nostalgic.  Also, I think the last of the original product might *finally* be starting to dry up.  No, I’m just kidding; that stuff’s never gonna dry up!  Nevertheless, Hasbro’s actually doing some updated versions of a lot of the principal players in their Black Series line, including today’s focus, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Luke Skywalker — Imperial Guard and Princess Leia Organa — Boushh are a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series two-pack.  They hit more or less in tandem with the main line’s Prince Xizor figure, launching this little Shadows of the Empire sub-line.

LUKE SKYWALKER — IMPERIAL GUARD

While for much of the Shadows story, Luke is just wearing slight variations on his looks from the two surrounding films, the look that gets the most play in tie-ins is his Imperial Guard look, when he and Lando steel the armor from the elite Stormtroopers on Coruscant.  It’s notably the look for his vintage Kenner figure, giving it some distinctive play.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation.  He appears, near as I can tell, to be an all-new sculpt.  That’s not terribly surprising, since it’s a rather unique design.  That being said, this figure does a bit to bring said design just a touch more in line with the general Star Wars vibe, playing up the similarities to the clone armor just a bit.  It’s a solid translation of the design, with a lot of well-rendered textures and layering, making it a very visually interesting design.  As with the original figure, the helmet is removable (though, unlike the earlier figure, the cape is not), and we get a fair run of the mill modern Luke underneath.  The whole thing goes together pretty well, and it’s an impressive piece of work from top to bottom.  The color work is a little brighter than I’m used to, going by the Kenner figure and all, but at the same time, it’s not bad.  The red matches closer to the Black Series Royal Guards, which makes its own degree of internal sense.  He’s packed with the aforementioned removable helmet, as well as his taser staff weapon thing.

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — BOUSHH

Within the context of the story, Shadows serves to introduce the Boushh disguise that Leia uses to infiltrate Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi, which also serves as a great way for the Shadows tie-ins to double-dip on Boushh disguise Leia molds.  Despite there being other looks for Leia in-story, this figure is hear to offset the cost of new tooling on Luke, hence the re-used look.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  From the neck down, she’s identical to the very first Black Series Boushh Leia, and, by extension, it’s Archive re-issue.  It’s a good sculpt, and apart from some slightly older style articulation, there’s not much you can do to improve it.  The one change-up is the head, which goes from being a solid cast piece to being the head/hair two-piece assembly that’s become standard for the line.  I always felt that the Boushh head sculpt was one of the better likenesses for Leia, but the styling was a little outdated, so I get the need for update.  Ultimately, this one’s more technically advanced, but I think it looks less like Carrie Fisher, so it’s a bit of toss-up in terms of which one’s actually better.  The paint work is again very similar to the last release, with only the head really changing things up, again to bring things more up to modern standards.  Like her prior release, Leia is packed with her helmet, staff, and thermal detonator.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m slowing down on Black Series these days, and I don’t *need* to get all of the Shadows figures, what with having the originals and all, but at the same time, I’m a sucker for that Luke design.  When these were shown off, I was certainly interested, and Max was thankfully nice enough to hook me up with a set, since he was ordering one for himself.  Now that they’re here, they’re certainly…well, they’re certainly the smaller figures, but bigger, I guess.  Both of them are nice, for sure, and Luke’s a particularly impressive piece himself.  But, as with so much Black Series these days, I don’t know that my own personal excitement is there much.

#3837: Hoth Chewbacca

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

HOTH CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (HASBRO)

“Chewbacca, like all members of the Wookiee species, was indigenous to the jungle planet of Kashyyyk. Honorable, intelligent, and friendly, though fierce and dangerous when angered, Wookiees were a proud species who once made contributions to the Galactic Republic. Wookiee senators represented Kashyyyk in the Galactic Senate. Their respectable position changed, however, when the Imperials seized power and began enslaving the extraordinarily strong Wookiees as laborers. In Chewbacca’s case, he escaped slavery and death with the help of a young officer by the name of Han Solo, who destroyed his military career to save the innocent Wookiee. A life debt was established, and Chewbacca joined Han in his adventures through the galaxy. Later on, the duo played significant roles in the Rebel victory over the Empire, and the Wookiee species was restored to its position of honor in the galaxy.”

One of the sets of Power of the Force figures I’m slowly working my way through is the Flashback figures, the sort of odd promotional set for the pending Episode I figures that were yet to be.  They did, if nothing else, give a decent opportunity to re-release some heavy hitters, though some of the flashback connections were…a bit of a stretch.  Obviously, not everyone had a direct equivalent in Episode I, but for Chewbacca here, the equivalent was…a Wookie Senator? Do you guys remember the Wookie Senator?  Because I don’t.  He didn’t even get his *own* figure.  Well, here’s Chewy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hoth Chewbacca was released in the 1998 assortment of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures.  He was the third version of Chewy in the main line, and completed the set-up of one per movie, being specifically based on Empire, the only one not covered up to that point.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…sort of.  As with all the Chewbaccas in the line, he’s got a neck joint, but it doesn’t really do much.  Otherwise, it’s pretty normal stuff for the line.  His sculpt is similar to the other two Chewbaccas from the same year, which was notably a departure from the earlier, far more buff version of the character.  It’s not spot-on, but it’s a more accurate build at least.  His paint work is what makes him officially a “Hoth” figure; he’s got a bunch of white detailing painted over top of everything else, so he looks like he’s been out in the snow.  It works okay.  It’s at least different, right?  Sure, let’s go with that.  Chewy is packed with his bowcaster, which is the same piece used with the others in the line.  He also gets the flashback photo, which shows the earlier mentioned Wookie Senator.  Wooooo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hoth Chewbacca has the distinction of being the last Flashback Photo figure I needed for my collection (though he’s not the last one I need to review; I’ll get on that, I swear!), which is honestly kind of silly, because he’s hardly a rare figure.  I just happened to not get him for a while, and then when I had all the others, he wasn’t immediately in front of me.  But, then he was, so I guess that was nice.  He’s okay.  Very specific, but honestly, that’s not such a bad 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 and their eBay storefront.

#3830: Blue Time Force Ranger

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

BLUE TIME FORCE RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Way back in 2020, I discussed my last true hurrah with Power Rangers, Power Rangers: Time Force.  It’s a show that resonated pretty well with me, and ranks as probably my fourth favorite iteration of the series (after Space, Zeo, and Mighty Morphin, in that order).  I brought it up during its introduction into Lightning Collection, which, as it turned out, was also most of its presence in Lightning Collection, since they did Red, and then had a rather large gap.  The only other team member, added not too long before Hasbro wrapped up the line, was Blue.  I guess I’m okay with that.  Here he is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blue Time Force Ranger was added to Power Rangers: Lightning Collection in 2023, as part of a deluxe offering that included both the figure and his time cycle.  Today’s review is just of the figure, since I do not have the time cycle.  I apologize to all the time cycle enthusiasts on that one.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  His assembly and articulation set up is very similar to Time Force Red, with the only major change-up being the removal of the visible pins on his elbows and knees.  Two figures in the line-up, and they don’t even have internal consistency.  Oh, Lightning Collection.  Otherwise, it’s all very similar.  Honestly, the Time Force Red sculpt was quite a nice offering, and lacked some of the weirdness of the MMPR-based bodies, so it’s actually a pretty solid starting point.  It’s pretty sleek and clean, and looks the part well.  His paint work is the main differentiating thing, of course, with the major palate swap for the coloring, as well as the tweaked shaping on the visor.  It all looks quite sharp, and the application’s generally well handled.  He’s packed with the same Chrono Blaster and Sabers as Red, as well as his own unmasked head, and hands in fists and gripping.  And that’s all without the Bike parts!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Early in Lightning Collection, when Time Force Red hit, I was genuinely planning to get the whole line-up.  As we progressed, that plan shrank down to maybe just this guy and the Quantum Ranger.  Well, it became clear Quantum Ranger wasn’t getting made, and then this guy got bundled with the cycle, which I didn’t really need.  But, Max ended up wanting the cycle, but not the figure, setting us up for one of our classic Ethan-and-Max-split-a-set-they-both-don’t-need-to-be-splitting-but-they’re-doing-it-anyway situations.  Ah, the good ol’ EAMSASTBDNTBSBTDIA set-up.  Ultimately, he’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a late-run Lightning Collection figure, which is to say very solid and by the numbers.

#3822: ARF Trooper – Assault on Geonosis

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

ARF TROOPER — ASSAULT ON GEONOSIS

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

So, remember just last week when I was talking about the Biker Scout armor and its various derivatives?  Cool, let’s loop back to that.  Amongst the prequel era Biker Scout derivatives is the ARF Trooper, a modified version of the standard Clone armor that surfaced in The Clone Wars.  I’m a huge fan of that particular design, and I’ve made it one of my goals to track down every version of it released in Hasbro’s tie-in line.  During the episode “Landing At Point Rain,” the ARF armor gets a re-deco in Geonosis-inspired camo, which got toy coverage in the form of recurring clones Boil and Waxer, but also a not-named clone, you know, for some variety.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The ARF Trooper was released in 2011 as part of the “Assault on Geonosis” Battle Pack from Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars tie-in line, in a pack that also featured variants of Obi-Wan and the Geonosian Warrior.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  He’s using the standard ARF Trooper mold from the line, which also happens to be one of the line’s very best.  The articulation is just top notch, and the detailing is really fun.  Just generally a fantastic mold.  This one mixes it up on the paint front, as is the case with all the ARF Trooper variants.  It’s not *drastically* different from the ARF Boil and Waxer figures, of course, since they’re all Geonosis camo, but it’s different enough to say “hey, that’s different.”  The actual shades are yet another slightly tweaked set up, meaning were three for three on the colors being different.  He ditches the Boil and Waxer specific markings, swapping for a more generic set-up.  So, you know, different.  The ARF Trooper is packed with two styles of blaster, both long and medium, so that you can mix it up a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Have I mentioned that I like the ARF Trooper design?  And also that I like the ARF Trooper mold?  Because I do.  And I do.  So, any chance I have to get another ARF figure I don’t have, I take.  Even if he isn’t *drastically* different from two other ARF Troopers I have already.  But he *is* different, and that’s the most important thing.  Yaaaaaaaaaaay!  New ARF Trooper!

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

#3821: Blue Senturion

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

BLUE SENTURION

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Ah ha!  As the prophecy foretold I said in the opening to last Friday’s review, it’s time to look at Blue Centurion!  Who’s Blue Senturion? Aw, why’d you have to go and ask that? Oh, right, because I mentioned him.  That tracks.  I have discussed once before here on the site Power Rangers: Turbo, the season of Power Rangers wedged between my two favorite runs of the show.  It’s…not great.  It does make up for it’s lack of quality with a noted *quantity* of Rangers.  Thanks to a mid-season cast change-up, there are a total of nine main rangers over the run, and not one, but two contenders for the “sixth ranger” spot (though, neither is officially classified as a Sixth Ranger).  The last time I talked Turbo, I looked at one of those two contenders.  Today, I’m looking at the other, the aforementioned Blue Senturion .

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blue Senturion was released as a deluxe-priced figure in Hasbro’s Power Rangers: Lightning Collection line. Unlike Phantom Ranger, Senturion was actually billed under the Turbo banner, making him the first in the line (though there was only one more after this before the line wrapped).  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  His movement is similar to the rest of the line, but surprisingly unimpeded by the sculpt, which is super cool.  He’s sporting an all-new sculpt, courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan.  It’s a very strong recreation of his show design, wherever you may land on that.  I mean, it’s certainly goofy.  I don’t think it’s really as strong a look as Phantom Ranger.  But, there’s no denying that the sculpt does it justice, and it’s certainly clean and sharp.  There’s a lot of layers to the assembly, which gives him some nice depth.  It’s this complexity of design and sculpting that contributes to the “deluxe” price point of the figure, despite his generally fairly average sizing for the line.  The color work on this guy is also pretty solid.  I really dig the translucent coloring on his “lights”, and the general application of the paint’s all pretty clean.  Blue Senturion is packed with two pairs of hands (in fists and gripping), his Senturion Synergizer in blaster, baton, and collapsed configurations, swappable leg holsters for open and closed on both sides, a blast effect, and his whistle.  That’s quite a lot of stuff, and pretty much covers every base except perhaps his bike, but that’s a bigger item I really wouldn’t expect.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I came rather close to buying this guy new, but ultimately didn’t because I’d opted to start scaling back on this line.  Of course, so did a lot of other people, so he didn’t really sell, and then he got really cheap, so when a loose one got traded in, he wasn’t really worth doing anything with on his own.  Max also prodded me by reminding that he’s not only technically a sixth ranger, he’s also kind of a Blue Ranger, so here we are.  He’s not as cool as the Phantom Ranger.  But that’s a character thing, not a figure thing.  The figure’s actually really good, and he’s certainly worth what I paid for him, so that’s a definite plus too.

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

#3817: Elite Corps Clone Trooper – Combat on Kashyyk

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

ELITE CORPS CLONE TROOPER — COMBAT ON KASHYYK

STAR WARS: SAGA COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“The specialized troopers in the 41st Elite Corps are deployed on the beach of Kashyyyk to battle droid forces invading from the water. Swarms of droids overrun the beach but the elite troopers hold them back, supporting their Republic leaders… until the Emperor orders the corps’ commander to execute Order 66.”

Ah, whoa, whoops, looks like I dropped my review there yesterday.  Okay, that makes it seem like an accident.  It wasn’t.  At about 9:30 last night, I decided I just didn’t have the energy in me to write a review about Blue Centurion.  So, you know, something to look forward to for next week?  Today, I’m setting my sights back on Star Wars, though.  My favorite troopers have always been the Biker Scouts, so I’m always excited to see some variant of them show up elsewhere.  In Revenge of the Sith, that variant of them was green, which is extra exciting, and an excellent way to get me to buy another figure of a Clone Trooper, which is admittedly not super hard to do in the first place.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Elite Corps Clone Trooper was released as part of Star Wars: The Saga Collection, the franchise-spanning line that immediately followed the Revenge of the Sith tie-in.  He was figure #65, and one of the many that served as an extension of the RotS line’s run.  RotS was surprisingly light on the clone figures up front, so there were a lot of them here.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s a straight re-paint of the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Biker Scout.  Now, the thing is, it’s not strictly accurate; while the designs are certainly very close, there are a number of changes to the Elite Corps design, that obviously aren’t represented here.  But, on the flip side, it’s a really good mold, and it’s really fun to mess with.  The articulation’s great, and it doesn’t break up the sculpt too much to get there.  On top of that, his inaccuracy kind of makes him feel like he belongs with the similarly inaccurate clones from the RotS line.  So, you know, maybe not that bad?  His paint work also isn’t strictly speaking screen accurate, but it is strictly speaking pretty cool looking.  It gets the general vibe down, I feel, and that feels like the most important thing in light of the sculpt not being accurate to begin with.  There were two versions of the visor color (much like with the original Gree), and mine is the lighter of the two (which matches my Gree!  Hooray for consistency!), which I dig.  The Trooper was packed with a small blaster pistol and a medium sized blaster rifle, as well as a display stand that is not pictured.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I dig the general vibe of this design, but I can’t say I’m in love with the specifics of it, so figures that are more accurate don’t do as much for me.  In that regard, this figure feels strangely perfect for me.  And, in light of there being other, more accurate versions of the same design for those that want a proper one, he can just be a quirky step towards the accurate figure, and also go perfectly with my original Gree, who is also not accurate, but also still very much entertains me.  It’s because of this that, when I got the chance to snag this one, I swapped him with the more accurate 30th Anniversary figure already in my collection.  I don’t regret that swap, and I don’t regret getting this figure at all.

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

#3813: Poe Dameron – Gold

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

POE DAMERON – GOLD

STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGA COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Let’s jump back to 2019, a year that was rather rough for 3 3/4-inch Star Wars, at least as far I was concerned.  Under Disney, we’d gotten pretty solid product pushes for each of the movies, but Rise of Skywalker got dropped hardcore because of the poor performance of The Last Jedi‘s tie-ins.  In particular, the basic 3 3/4-inch figures were completely dropped.  Instead, we got a few Vintage Collection figures and a really odd commemorative set that seemed to exist for exactly no one.  Well, anyway, here’s a Poe.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe Dameron was released as part of the Star Wars The Skywalker Saga Collection, a Walmart-exclusive line of nine two-packs, each based on one of the Skywalker Saga films.  Poe was packed with Finn, in a set based on The Force Awakens, in theory at least.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He’s using the Last Jedi pilot body mold, which is a bit humorous, what with him supposed to be from TFA and all.  At least Poe doesn’t change too much when in his pilot gear.  It’s a decent enough sculpt.  The likeness isn’t amazing, but it’s okay enough, and the details on the uniform are all pretty sharp.  In general, the best of the pilot Poe sculpts, so the re-use is sensible.  The gimmick behind this whole line was that they were painted all gold, which is exactly what Poe is.  It’s…I mean, it sure is gold.  And it’s better than molded plastic, so that’s a plus?  He gets a helmet and blaster, also gold, which are the same as the original release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hoooo boy did these figures disappoint me at the time they were released.  They were announced but not shown, and there was this tiny glimmer of hope that they might be *something* and then they were more solid color repaints of stuff we already had.  So, I certainly didn’t pay proper retail for any of them.  Few people did, honestly.  Not even now.  But, they do occasionally surface, and these days they’re kinda cheap, so when this one showed up at All Time, I opted to get another Poe, even if he’s kinda stupid.  He’s fine.  Stupid.  Gimmicky.  But, he’s also a Poe, and he’s at least a decent mold.

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

#3812: Spider-Man Unlimited

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

SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

At the end of the ’90s, after wrapping up quite successful runs with X-Men and Spider-Man, Marvel’s animation side struggled to follow up.  1998 saw the ill-fated one season run of Silver Surfer, and the following year saw the release of not one, but two new cartoons, Avengers: United They Stand and Spider-Man Unlimited.  Unlimited‘s main aim was to serve as a direct replacement for Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which…well, it really didn’t do.  One of the craziest things about the whole thing is that, while United The Stand got a solid run of toys, Unlimited got no direct tie-ins at all.  There have been some loose reference figures over the year, but the first proper figure from the show has finally hit, 25 years after the fact!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man Unlimited is part of the latest round of Spider-Man Retro-carded Marvel Legends.  He’s the assortment’s resident Peter Parker.  He’s on a ’90s throw back card, which is sort of the right vintage, I suppose, even if he doesn’t have a direct vintage counterpart.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Like Spider-Boy, he’s got kind of an older articulation scheme, very similar to the ANAD 2099 body, despite him not actually re-using those parts.  It’s a touch restricted, so I’m not sure exactly why they went this way, but I suppose it’s workable enough.  He’s got a small bit of re-use, making use of the upgraded pinless versions of the 2099 arms and legs, but is predominately new.  It’s a little surprising, but not upsetting.  It’s honestly pretty cool to see how they’ve gone three dimensional on the spider elements of the costume.  To my eyes, the head seems maybe a bit wide, but it’s minor, and I do like the general look of it.  The figure’s paint work is okay.  Kind of on the basic side, though nothing important got missed.  It’s weird to see him without the shading, especially on the face, but I’m also not sure they’d want to go the way of cel shading on a regular release figure, so it’s iffy on how best to handle it.  Spider-Man Unlimited gets the full compliment of extra hands, which I’m certainly a fan of, especially when they don’t drop the open gesture hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was *not* a fan of Spider-Man Unlimited when it dropped.  Generally, I kind of found it boring, at least at first glance.  I was, admittedly, not the biggest fan of Spider-Man: The Animated Series in its first run, either, so maybe I just wasn’t the market for it.  I caught the show in re-runs, though, and found myself liking it a lot more than the first time around.  It’s also a really cool suit design, and it’s just been begging for an action figure.  This one’s not without his drawbacks, but he’s generally pretty cool!

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