Tag Archives: Hasbro

#2894: Melina Vostokoff & Red Guardian

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

MELINA VOSTOKOFF & RED GUARDIAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After decades of service, Melina Vostokoff distanced herself from the Red Room. But when Natasha Romanoff returns, Melina and Red Guardian must decide where their allegiance lies.”

After a year of delays, Black Widow finally got its release this past July.  It’s still not been entirely smooth sailing, but it did at least clear the slate to let the other movies get released.  The tie-in component for the movie was, unfortunately, too far along when the pandemic hit in 2020 to hold it back, so they shipped to stores more than a year before release, resulting in them being essentially gone by the time the movie actually hit.  Hasbro did at least hold off one piece of merch until after the film’s release, a two-pack of Melina Vostokoff and Alexei Shostakov (aka the Red Guardian), Natasha’s surrogate parents from the film.  I’m taking a look at that pack today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Melina and Red Guardian are a standalone two-pack Marvel Legends release, designed to tie-in with the movie.  If prior offerings are anything to go by, they were probably meant to be the home media tie-in, hitting some time last fall, but they were able to be pushed back.  Whatever the case, they started hitting retail within the last month or so, and seem to be generally sticking to the specialty channels at the moment.

MELINA VOSTOKOFF

Known in the comics as Iron Maiden, Melina Vostokoff is actually an antagonist of Natasha, and, much like Red Guardian, classically more of a contemporary in terms of age and experience.  For the film, she is given a maternal role, and refitted into a far less antagonistic character, which generally works out pretty well.  Melina was the one major character absent from the tie-in wave of figures last year, so her inclusion here is somewhat expected and very much justified.  In terms of design, she’s been given her all-white suit from the film’s climax, which allows her to match up with the rest of the crew, certainly making it a good choice.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Melina shares most of her parts with the two Widow figures from last year.  Given that she’s explicitly wearing the same gear as Natasha in the final sequence, as well as the fact that the builds between the actresses aren’t too far removed, it’s a sensible choice of re-use.  It’s aided by the fact that the body was a solid piece the first time around, and the second time around, so the third time makes sense too.  She gets an all-new head sculpt, which sports a rather solid likeness of Rachel Weisz, and meshes well with the pre-existing parts.  The torso is also modified slightly, as sort of a merging of the two prior pieces.  She keeps the basic detailing of the deluxe Widow, but gets the back pack from the single release.  Lastly, she ditches the Widow stingers, in the name of screen accuracy, since Melina doesn’t have them.  Her paint work is overall fairly decent.  The head uses the face printing, which turned out well.  The rest of the body relies fairly heavily on molded colors, but it works well.  There are some slight change-ups from the deluxe Widow’s color scheme.  Generally, it seems to make her more accurate, though I do miss the extra painted detail on the belt buckle.  Melina is packed with three sets of hands (in fists, loose grip, and tight grip), dual Markovs, two batons, and a grappling hook.  The hands and guns are shared with deluxe Widow, and the batons come from the single release (albeit with better paint this time), while the grappling hook appears to be an all-new piece.  Not a bad set-up, all things considered.

RED GUARDIAN

Red Guardian was included in the standard tie-in line-up last year, but his figure was notably not as screen accurate as the others, making a second go at him a worthy venture.  He’s seen here in his fully kitted out gear from the movie (something he didn’t have all of the last time around).  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  He’s still a little bit on the small side, but at this point, I can be a little more forgiving, since I already dealt with that last year.  From the neck down, he’s the same as the Red Guardian from the main assortment.  The body was the best part of the earlier release, and wasn’t too terribly out of whack, so it’s re-use makes sense here.  To top it off, he gets an all-new head sculpt, this time sporting the helmet that was so notably absent from the first figure.  It’s a very nice piece, and works well with the body.  It designed to work like the more recent MCU Caps, where the helmet and face are separate parts, to aid in giving it proper depth.  Guardian’s new head also gives him the proper, fuller beard that he had in the movie, further aiding in the likeness’s effectiveness.  Red Guardian’s paint work has also been tweaked a bit from the prior version.  He’s got more silver this time around, as well as some extra detailing in a few spots on the costume.  Additionally, the light grey is now closer to white, which is more in line with how it looks in the movie.  In general, it does feel like a sharper appearance, and one that matches the movie just a bit better.  Red Guardian is packed with an alternate unmasked head, which, like the masked one, has a better likeness of Alexi’s disheveled appearance.  He also gets a set of alternate hands without the gloves, plus a miniature Red Guardian action figure like the one used in the movie’s prison break scene, and the same shield as last time, albeit in a darker color scheme this time around.  It’s not a bad selection, and I’m really glad the alternate head is there.  The shield’s kind of extraneous, since he doesn’t actually have it in the movie, and now we have two of them, but far be it from me to complain about extra stuff, especially when it doesn’t feel like anything important got cut.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was glad to finally get to see Black Widow after such a long wait, and I enjoyed it as a fairly by the numbers action film.  It didn’t break any molds, it didn’t change the world, but it was a good time.  Natasha’s family were definitely my favorite part of the movie, so I was eager to get the full line-up.  Melina makes a good addition to the team we already have, and Red Guardian fixes the figure we already got in such a way that prior version is kind of unneeded at this point, I guess.  Definitely a very fun two-pack.

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

#2893: Quicksilver

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

QUICKSILVER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Quicksilver’s ultra-high-speed capabilities are a major asset to the Avengers in the fight against Ultron.”

While the first Avengers film hit during a period of time when Marvel Legends were dead, so they had to rely on an exclusive run to get the team out in 6-inch scale (and they didn’t even get out the whole team, anyway).  By the time of its sequel, Age of Ultron, Legends was finally getting its footing back, but still wasn’t quite strong enough to support the entire extended line-up of the team as seen in the film.  Three members of the team wound up at mass retail, with an Amazon-exclusive boxed set to fill out the rest of the original core six.  That left the three new additions to the team, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Quicksilver, out of the line-up.  Scarlet Witch and Vision were both able to get toy coverage out of their later appearances, but that didn’t work out quite so well for poor Pietro, who, you know, died in Age of Ultron and all.  We went through two special anniversary lines with no love for Pietro, but a third one would have just been ridiculous, I suppose, so here he is, after six whole years, finally in Legends form!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Quicksilver is part of the 10 piece “Infinity Saga” sub-set of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.  He’s one of the five standard sized single release figures, and one of four of those to be an actual wide release (because of course we can’t release a Captain America that’s not a Walmart exclusive, right?).  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  The range of motion on the joints is all pretty solid, especially on that neck joint.  I do wish the knee joints broke up the sculpt a little bit less when posed, but it’s far from the worst we’ve seen.  I also do dig the full transition to pinless joints here on the elbows and knees.  Quicksilver has an all-new sculpt based on his attire from the film’s final battle, which is a sensible choice, since that’s his most distinctive look, and the one that matches with most of the rest of the team (we still don’t have an AoU Scarlet Witch, so he doesn’t match her at all, of course).  The sculpt is an impressive piece of work.  The head doesn’t quite have a perfect likeness of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but it’s certainly got a resemblance.  Likewise, the body seems like it might be perhaps a slight bit too small for his build in the film, but it’s again not too far off, and there’s some really amazing texture work going on in the clothing.  Quicksilver’s paint work is pretty basic stuff for the most part.  The head gets the best work, with the face printing to give him a lifelike quality, and some solid accenting on the hair, for his proper eurotrash dye-job appearance.  The rest of the work is rather on the basic side, but it works for what it is.  Quicksilver is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and an open gesture, plus the head, torso, and arm of an Ultron drone.  It sure would be nice to get a full Ultron drone one of these days, but this is certainly a start, right?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Quicksilver, specifically the Age of Ultron version of the character, was one of Jess’s favorite Marvel characters.  She really, really liked him, and she was really upset when he died.  I think I may still have the marks from her hitting in the theater, in fact.  She was also really upset that he didn’t get the same toy love as the other characters.  This figure was shown off just a few weeks before she died, and she was very excited.  It had been my plan to get her one of her own when they were released, but that didn’t happen.  It’s a shame that she just missed him.  I think she would have been very happy with the end result.  I myself am pretty happy with him, and with the extra meaning he brings along with him.

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

#2891: Rodimus Prime

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

RODIMUS PRIME

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: KINGDOM (HASBRO)

The 35th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie has been a major focus of Hasbro’s Transformers toy output in the last year, with a major focus being placed on it in the Studio Series, but also some overflow going into its sister line, Kingdom.  Play factor does seem to be a major factor in what exactly goes where, but in the case of today’s offering, it’s more that the Studio Series doesn’t actually have a history of offering the class size that this figure utilizes.  I’ve already looked at Transformers: The Movie‘s main star in his Hot Rod incarnation, but he’s got two distinct looks in the film, since once he takes ownership of the Matrix of Leadership, he is reborn as Rodimus Prime, who is historically a little bigger than Hot Rod.  So, let’s take a look at Rodimus, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rodimus Prime is part of Transformers War For Cybertron: Kingdom, as the line’s Commander Class offering for the year, following in the footsteps of Jetfire and Skylynx before him.  In his robot mode, Rodimus stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 34 practical points of articulation.  Much like Hot Rod, Rodimus is notably smaller than other figures in the same size class, falling somewhere between modern Voyager and Leader scaling, but the reasoning behind his higher price point isn’t really scale, it’s actually engineering.  Hot Rod made use of the Voyager price point to gather more complex articulation and parts layouts, and Rodimus is really the same.  So, while he may not be as big as others, he’s still got a lot going on under the hood (in more ways than one).  He’s also got some very serious heft behind him, which is very much in line with how this incarnation of the line has been run.  In terms of mobility, this figure takes the articulation and range of motion seen on Hot Rod, and just improves upon it, removing the usual restrictions Hot Rods and Rodimuses tend to run into.  He also takes the already jointed hands on the Hot Rod figure, and further articulates them, adding additional movement at the second knuckle, as well as separating out the pointer fingers on their own.  And it doesn’t even make them too floppy or loose for use with the accessories, which is always an accomplishment on its own.  The sculpt, like Hot Rod before it, is a great translation of the animation for Rodimus from the film, following in the steps of the sleekness seen on Hot Rod.  The two sculpts are also quite similar, making them really feel like two versions of the same guy, as they well should.  Of course, as a Kingdom release, rather than a Studio release, there are a few elements of the sculpt’s styling which do go for a few extra little details, to add more to the slightly larger canvas, and also link him a little bit more to how the Siege and Earthrise bots tended to look.  It also makes him a little more distinctly different from his Hot Rod incarnation.  Keeping the ball rolling on the extra features worked into Hot Rod’s robot mode, Rodimus gets a pretty notable extra of his own; his torso is designed to open up in such a fashion so as to reveal the Matrix of Leadership contained within, which is a very cool touch, especially since you don’t really have to disrupt his robot mode to show it off.  In an effort to further justify Rodimus’s higher price-point, the figure gets a rather intensive selection of extras, the largest of which is his Mobile Defense Bay, patterned after the piece that came with his original G1 figure, which includes a rather sizable mounted cannon for him to man.  In addition to the Mobile Defense Bay, Rodimus also gets his usual long rifle, as well as the Sword of Primus, the previously mentioned Matrix (which is the same Earthrise version included with Hot Rod), and 10 effects pieces.  One of the effects is designed for use with the matrix (and is notably a different one than was included with Hot Rod), while seven of them are re-used from Omega Supreme, and work as modular effects for the cannons.  The last two are designed for the exhaust pipes that make up the cannons on his forearms, but aren’t quite as sensible in the form.

Rodimus’s vehicle mode begins as a slightly modified version of the futuristic sports car that serves as Hot Rod’s alt-mode.  The transformation sequence isn’t quite as easily done on this one, and I did have some difficulty getting a few spots to seat correctly without using a little force, which isn’t always the most comforting thing.  One of the sides to the front fender also popped off during the sequence and doesn’t like to stay put when transforming anymore, which is a bit of an annoyance.  The end result is a pretty decent looking car mode, albeit one that’s not really animation based.   The smoke effects can be placed on the back of the exhaust in this mode, and the rifle and sword can both also be stored, albeit in a sort of janky fashion.  The Mobile Defense Bay and its contents fold up and turn into a trailer, as with the G1 version, allowing for something more in line with the proper Rodimus alt-mode when the core car mode is clipped in.  It makes for a more convincing version of the design than the Power of the Primes version, though it still strays a bit from the animation and original toy.  Like with Magnus, it’s just one of those things where compromises had to be drawn somewhere to make all of the different gimmicks work together, and like Magnus, I feel like the right call was made.  I also feel like it looks better in person than it did in the renders and stock photos, which I’d consider a win.  The only real downside is that the trailer does pop apart a little bit at the top seam, which looks like it may be a line-wide issue.  It’s minor, but still a little annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m generally more of a Hot Rod fan than a Rodimus fan, so of the two figures that hit this year, the Studio Hot Rod was definitely the one I was jamming one just a little bit more, at least initially.  That figure was really, really good, and I felt that this one might have a difficult time topping it.  So, I was a little cautious with my expectations of this figure.  In hand, he really blew me away.  He takes everything that worked so well on Hot Rod, and builds on it, resulting in a truly impressive piece, certainly the star of the Kingdom line.  I mean, Magnus is still my favorite, of course, because, you know, Magnus, but still, mad props to Hasbro on this one.

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

#2873: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: KINGDOM (HASBRO)

While the main Transformers line has largely shifted back to the G1 line’s “classes are dictated by the character’s scale within the overall set-up”, there have long been other lines that give us the characters in actually different scales.  The smaller, more affordable set-up is a particularly recurrent one, gathering a few differing names over the years, including Basic Class, Spy Changers, Legion Class, and Legends Class.  For the latest version, they’re now the “Core Class,” which has taken over the main line price point previously held by the Micro Masters in the last two main lines.  There are a few new characters, but the main focus is the heavy hitter G1 characters.  And, if I’m reviewing one, you know that means there’s gotta be a Soundwave.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is part of the third Core Class assortment for Transformers War For Cybertron: Kingdom, alongside the brand new Dracodon.  In his robot mode, Soundwave stands about 3 inches tall and he has 15 practical points of articulation.  Soundwave is an all-new sculpt, patterned on his G1 cartoon design.  He’s rather similar thematically to the two Voyager Class releases from this trilogy, but is of course about half their size.  To facilitate this, his articulation is a little more rudimentary, but that doesn’t stop it from working pretty well from a practicality stand point.  The new sculpt is a very clean and sharply detailed recreation of the classic Soundwave.  It doesn’t have as much going on as the larger versions, but that doesn’t stop it from getting the feel of the character.  Moreover, it gives it a nice, basic feel, which I very much dig.  The paint work is like wise very clean and to the point, which I’m totally down for.  Soundwave is armed with both his handheld and shoulder cannons, as well as Laserbeak, who, much like the R.E.D. version, is permanently in cassette mode.  Speaking of cassettes, while it took three tries at the larger scale, this guy gets his cassette player alt-mode right out of the gate.  It’s a pretty simple transformation, as expected, but the end result is generally pretty decent.  The feet don’t quite fold down enough for the proper clean angles, but otherwise it looks nice, and it’s less fiddly than the larger version.  I do miss the spring loaded door, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Core Class was unveiled, it looked cool enough, but I stuck to my guns and swore to only get my two go-tos, should they be added to the line.  Sure enough, Soundwave got added pretty quickly, and I was onboard from day 1 for this guy.  The Earthrise version was really nice, but something about the simplicity and pure fun of this release really appeals to me, and he’s probably my favorite modern Soundwave release.

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.

#2872: Baroness – Origins

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

BARONESS — ORIGINS

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Oh, you didn’t think I was done with Snake Eyes, did you?  I mean, if you did, that’s okay.  I can understand the desire.  I wanted to be done with Snake Eyes.  I wanted to be done with Snake Eyes so bad that when the credits started to roll, I legitimately Googled to see if there was a stinger, and upon discovering there wasn’t one past the one that was like 5 seconds in, I promptly got up and left, which is something I never do with movies.  That’s how much I wanted to remove myself.  But I’m still writing the reviews of the figures, so I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.  In my review of the titular character, I did mention a short list of things I did not hate about the movie.  Well, I’m happy to report that today’s focus, Baroness, was one of those things.  Ursula Corbero’s take on the character had the right amount of both camp and menace, and she had really good chemistry with Samara Weaving’s Scarlett.  It’s a shame that the movie didn’t make more use of her.  At least she got the toy, though.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Baroness is figure 19 in the Classified Series line-up, which shows a jump from the other two.  She’s the only other figure in the first assortment for the movie, though.  It’s weird to get the number jump *within* an assortment.  I’d guess that Akiko is probably the missing 18, but they decided to move Baroness, because, I don’t know, maybe they saw the movie and realized people might be upset if neither of the two good characters were actually in the launch assortment?  I mean, that’s just my best guess.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 33 points of articulation.  Her articulation set-up exists in an odd sort of middle ground, as she’s only got the single joints on the elbows, but her knees are using the pinless construction.  Like the Shang-Chi figures from Legends, it feels like she got tweaked once they knew there’d be a delay.  I’m not really complaining, because her articulation does work pretty well.  Her sculpt is an all-new one, and unlike the other two in this assortment, it’s based on something she actually wears in the movie, for the majority of her screen time, no less.  It’s a slight tweak on the usual Baroness get-up, but the important parts are certainly there, and the general feel of the character is captured pretty well.  The sculpt captures the design nicely, as well as sporting a decent likeness of Corbero.  I quite like the texture work that is present in the uniform, an after the standard Baroness’s glasses were permanently attached, the removable ones on this figure are pretty cool.  Baroness’s paint work is pretty basic for the most part.  The face is the most complex part, and the printing gives it a nice lifelike quality.  Everything else is pretty cleanly handled.  Baroness is packed with an MP5k (a rare actual gun for the line), complete with removable suppressor and magazine, as well as two rather large knives.  Not a bad assortment at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Before even seeing the movie, Baroness was my favorite figure from this assortment.  She just really seems to click for me in a way that the other two really don’t.  The design works, the implementation works, and even the accessories are pretty solid.  The fact that I actually liked her in the movie just helps the figure overall.  I guess good things can come out of bad things, too, 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 and their eBay storefront.

#2871: Storm Shadow – Origins

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

STORM SHADOW — ORIGINS

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Okay, I ripped off the band-aid yesterday, and discussed the steaming pile of weirdly out of place giant snakes that was Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. There was a short list of things I liked about the movie.  Storm Shadow was not on that list.  Admittedly, I was a little biased going in, because I felt that Storm Shadow was easily one of the best parts of the previous live action Joe movies, so there’s a higher bar there, but this version really just left me rather cold.  He’s just rather hollow and two dimensional, and generally not a terribly compelling take on a character that really shouldn’t be that hard to make compelling.  Seriously, how do you mess up Storm Shadow?  How!?!  Okay, I’m getting side tracked here.  Look, I’ve just got to get this figure review out of the way, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Storm Shadow is figure 17 in the Classified Series line-up.  As I addressed yesterday, the lower numbers showcase how these figures were supposed to come out last year, much like the movie itself.  Storm Shadow’s numbering places him right after Snake Eyes numerically.  He’s also in the first of the two movie assortments.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as Snake Eyes, meaning he too is missing the cuts on the shins.  Additionally, his hips are a little restricted by the construction of the skirt piece, and generally the articulation is a little more obvious and rudimentary in its implementation.  Given how sleek the rest of the line’s been with the articulation and how it works into the sculpts, this guy definitely feels like a step back, which is a shame.  That said, he’s another all-new sculpt, based upon Storm Shadow’s fully geared up appearance from the film’s final act.  Unlike Snake Eyes, that means its a look that’s in more than 15 seconds of the film, although I don’t believe he ever actually wears the mask in the movie.  I can’t recall for certain, though, and I’m certainly not watching it again to double check.  Generally, it’s not a terrible design.  I don’t like it as much as the earlier movie Storm Shadow look, but it’s workable.  As noted above, the sculpt isn’t quite as strong as others in the line, and in general the design doesn’t really translate well to toy form.  Which, you know, seems like something they should have confirmed before, I don’t know, putting it in a movie that’s entirely toy line driven, don’t you think?  Nah, that’s crazy.  Storm Shadow’s paint work is generally okay.  The suit’s largely an off-white, which is true to the movie, but not as striking as the earlier designs.  Less prone to yellowing, though, I suppose.  The other painted details are generally pretty well handled, though what we can see of his skin on the masked head seems really pink.  Storm Shadow is packed with two swords, a back pack to house them, and an unmasked head.  The head has a solid likeness of Andrew Koji, so I guess that’s okay.  He’s got one less accessory than Snake Eyes, though, which does feel light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Snake Eyes, I got this guy before the movie came out.  We still don’t have a basic Storm Shadow, so I was hoping this guy might work as something of a stand-in.  Ultimately, I wasn’t wowed by the character in the movie, and I don’t think the design works well as a toy, making this guy by far the weakest of this bunch for me.  Much like the movie, I hoped this figure might surprise me, but I was ultimately left kinda cold on him.

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.

#2870: Snake Eyes – Origins

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

SNAKE EYES — ORIGINS

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Originally slated for a 2020 release, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe origins finally hit theaters on July 23rd of this year.  There have been three live action G.I. Joe movies, and the prior two aren’t exactly known for the high praise that follows them (though I do genuinely like Rise of Cobra, and feel that it gets a lot of undeserved hate), so the bar for this one was set pretty low.  Going into it, my only hope was that it wouldn’t be the worst live action G.I. Joe movie.  That’s a reasonable expectation, right?  Well, as it turns out, no, that wasn’t, because Snake Eyes is undoubtedly the worst of the three, and it’s not even that close, if I’m honest.  I can’t say it’s the worst movie-going experience I’ve had, but that’s only because I saw the last Hellboy in the theater, and Snake Eyes was, at least, not quite as bad as that.  But it’s still not great, my guys.  I do have a short list of things that I actually liked about the movie, however, and one of those things was the final Snake Eyes design.  It’s really cool.  Strong design.  Would have been great to see it actually, you know, get used at all, but, well, we didn’t.  Got some toys of it, though.  That’s better than nothing, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Snake Eyes if figure 16 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up.  Since the movie was slated for a release last year, Hasbro had presumably already gotten at least some of the work involved with them done, so they’re numbering is quite early in the count, thus explaining the gap that occurred last year in the line-up.  Snake Eyes is the first of the movie figures numerically, and is one of the three figures shipping in the first of the two movie assortments.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation. His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as the standard Classified Snake Eyes, just without the swivels on the shins (which isn’t really that much of a loss anyway.  Getting him posed wasn’t quite as easy on this figure, as the joints were a little tighter and restricted at first, but generally it works out pretty well.  Snake Eyes has a totally unique sculpt, based upon the design that he wears for 15 seconds at the end of the movie.  Sure, it’s not in the movie for long, but it does at least look like something Snake Eyes would wear.  While I still think I prefer the standard Classified figure’s take on a modern Snake Eyes, this design isn’t a bad one, and the sculpt does a good job of translating it into figure form.  There are a variety of differing textures, which to keep him rather visually interesting.  His paint work is predominantly black, as you would expect, but as with the prior figure, there are differing finishes to the various parts of the outfit, again to keep things more interesting.  He’s also got a few spots of red detailing, including the Arashikage symbol on his arm.  Snake Eyes is packed with an alternate unmasked head, a sword and sheath, and two knives.  An unmasked head on a Snake Eyes is real weird, but it’s to be expected, and it does at least have a passable likeness to Henry Golding, and it’s something different for the character.  The sword and sheath are nice enough pieces that match well with what we see on the screen.  The knives are decent, though I dislike the fact that there’s no storage option for them.  It’s also weird to get a Snake Eyes with no guns, especially when he has molded trigger fingers and everything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I snagged Snake Eyes and the rest of the first set in the lead up to the movie’s release.  I liked the look of them well enough, and I was really hoping the movie might not be terrible.  I then saw the movie for my birthday, and it was, in fact, terrible, which was a bit of a letdown.  But I already had the figures, so I figured I might as well review them.  This figure’s not a bad Snake Eyes toy, especially removed from the film that spawned it.  Given that the first one is still a little hard to come by, this is a decent back-up.

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.

#2867: Hulk

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

HULK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Bruce Banner smashes anything in sight as the gamma-powered Hulk!”

Square Enix’s Avengers game really wasn’t the smash they were hoping for, now was it?  The game was off to a rocky start pretty much from the word go, but it certainly wasn’t helped by its intended release being interrupted by a pandemic.  There were a number of planned tie-ins, including some stuff in the Legends range, but somewhat weirdly, we got quite an eclectic selection of characters in that area.  The main line gave us two versions each of Cap and Iron Man, as well as Ms Marvel and Abomination.  The only other notable character released was the Hulk, who was not only not a main line release, but also wasn’t even a standard version of the character.  It’s weird my guys.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk (who is officially just named “Hulk” on the package, but is referred to as “Outback Hulk” by pretty much every one whenever he’s referenced) was a GameStop-exclusive Marvel Legends release.  He was under the Gamerverse banner, and sold at the deluxe price point.  He was released in mid-2020, in an attempt to loosely tie-in with the game, and he’s based on one of Hulk’s alternate skins from the game, itself patterned loosely on his look during “House of M.”  The figure stands 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  This figure is largely built on the body introduced with the Endgame Hulk Build-A-Figure, which is a decent starting point for a slightly more realistically proportioned Hulk figure.  Also, with only one prior use, it’s understandable that Hasbro might want some more mileage out of it.  The only slight snag, at least on my figure, is that the arms are very prone to popping out of their sockets, due to the Build-A-Figure origins.  I actually found it to be a more frequent occurrence with this release than with BaF proper.  Ultimately, it’s a minor side issue, though.  Hulk gets a new head, depicting the game’s longer haired and bearded take on the character.  It’s a different look to be sure.  There are actually two different heads, each with its own expression.  One’s more calm, and the other is baring his teeth, ’cause he’s angry, I suppose.  The heads do seem maybe a touch too large for the body, but they’re otherwise decent enough sculpts.  Hulk also has a new set of add-on pieces for his wrists.  They’re meant to be the tattered remains of his shirt, thematically looking like wraps on his forearms, I suppose.  They’re a little light on the detailing to really sell them for what they are, but I do like how they change up the overall look of the core figure a bit more.  In terms of paint, this Hulk is a little different from the usual, being grey, and also having the somewhat tribal detailing painted on his face and torso.  Again, it helps to change up the usual look, and is at least a somewhat different take on the character.  The actual application’s not a bad set-up.  It’s nothing crazy, but it works.  Hulk is packed with two different sets of hands, one in fists, the other in open gesture.  This gives him two full sets of the combo pair we saw on the original release of the mold.  I do like when they update it to give us the full sets.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nothing about this particular release really spoke to me when he was shown off, and he certainly wasn’t worth the hassle of going through GameStop to get him, so I held off on him.  Honestly, I kinda forgot he even existed, really.  However, one of them got traded into All Time a couple of months ago, and he’s gotten quite cheap, so I figured it was a decent enough time to pick him up.  Ultimately, there’s not a lot going on here that you can’t get elsewhere, and he’s not exactly a standard Hulk anyway, so his exact purpose is sort of weird.  I don’t dislike the figure, but I’m hard pressed to figure out what I’m gonna do with him now that I own him.

#2866: She-Hulk

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

SHE-HULK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Jennifer Walters mutates into She-Hulk, a massive, muscled green hero with boundless strength and the will to do good.”

Introduced in 1980, She-Hulk is notable for having Stan Lee involved in her creation, quite a while after he was contributing to the Marvel day-to-day stuff.  She was originally created, as many distaff counterparts are, in order to secure a copyright so that no one else could.  In true Marvel fashion, though, she became much more than that, and came into a fanbase all her own, divorced from her cousin Bruce’s base almost entirely.  With a Disney+ series on the horizon, she’s ramping up with the merchandising, including getting yet another Legends release quite recently.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

She-Hulk is a stand-alone Fan Chanel-exclusive Marvel Legends release, much like the run of them we got at the end of 2019.  She’s in the standard style packaging, just without the Build-A-Figure part.  This figure’s definitely most inspired by the character’s earlier appearances, while she was still in her “Savage She-Hulk” days, hence the more mainline Hulk-esque tattered clothes.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s built from the same bank of parts as the Super Skrull Series Hulk, which is sensible enough.  It was an all-new sculpt, and I can definitely understand Hasbro wanting to get some more mileage out of it.  It’s not a pitch-perfect match for any of the specifically She-Hulk looks, but it’s close enough to work.  It’s also just a very nice sculpt, so I’m not gonna knock seeing it another time.  She’s got a new head sculpt, which is notably calmer and more composed, in keeping with the majority of She-Hulk’s appearances over the years.  It’s not bad, though it does feel maybe a little bit bland for my taste, at least when compared to the previous sculpt, which was very dynamic.  Fortunately, if you preferred that sculpt, it’s also included here, so you’re free to swap them out as you please.  In addition to the extra head, the other change-up for this figure is the color scheme.  She shifts from the greyer tones of her more recent Hulk appearance, to a more classic green-skinned look.  It gives her a little more pop, and I quite like the overall tone of it.  To fit the overall bolder coloring of the green, her tattered shirt switches to a proper white (in place of the off-white of the original), and the pants are now black (instead of bluish grey).  She ends up losing a few of the smaller details, like the weathering on the pants, and the gamma scarring, but overall it’s a nice classic design.  She-Hulk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, same as the prior release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I quite liked the Hulk release of this mold, but it was, admittedly, not my preferred version of the character.  I was definitely hoping for the proper green, and that’s what we got here.  I think the mold works really nicely in these new colors, so I’m down for that.  The new head’s still not my go-to look for the character, and I’m eternally holding out for that more proper John Byrne She-Hulk, but until then, I do rather like this one.  It’s a step in the right direction.

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.

#2865: Ursa Major

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

URSA MAJOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Who’s Ursa Major?”, you may ask.  He’s a big bear.  He’s Russian.  You’re pretty much caught up.  What, was that not good enough?  ….Alright.  Ursa Major was introduced in 1981, created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.  He was a member of the Soviet Super Soldiers, who would later be renamed “The Winter Guard,” and he was a mutant with the ability to transform into a very large anthropomorphic bear. Much like Sasquatch is “Hulk but more Candian,” Ursa Major is kinda “Hulk but more Russian.”  He’s never been a major character, but he does have the distinction of being one of the few members of the Guard who’s actually been the same person the whole time, rather than being just a code name with a rotating roster like the rest of them.  He also had a small cameo in Black Widow, although not as a bear.  Still, things are moving up, right?  And now he’s got an action figure.  Hard to beat that, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ursa Major is the titular Build-A-Figure for the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  It’s really an Iron Man series, and Ursa’s not really an Iron Man character, but the Winter Guard are a little more all-purpose, and seeing as Iron Man loaned a few characters to Black Widow last year, she’s again loaning one back, so to speak.  At the very least, he pairs off nicely with the Darkstar also included in this assortment.  The figure stands about 8 1/4 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  His articulation is surprisingly good given the size and bulk of this particular piece.  The mid-torso joint in particular really gives him some solid range.  I was also pleased by how stable on his feet the figure wound up being.  Also rather surprising is that this figure’s construction is all new.  I had expected that he would be making use of at least some of Sasquatch’s parts, given their similar builds and generally hairy nature, but there aren’t any parts in common here.  Ultimately, it’s the right call, since Ursa, being a bear, should really look a little different, and would you look at that, he does.  For being a sculpt of effectively just a bear, they do a pretty solid job of giving him a little bit of character.  Some of the anthropomorphized features are definitely present in the core body, but he’s still more beastial than Sasquatch and his brood.  While I’m not always big on super dynamic or intense expressions, the one they’ve given Ursa really works, as the roaring look helps with giving him that extra touch of character and uniqueness.  Ursa’s paint work is generally pretty solid.  It’s not a ton of variety, but there’s some rather nice accent work, especially on the torso.  The only real downside is the shift in shades between the torso and the limbs, but it’s not as bad in person as it is in the photos.  Ursa doesn’t get any accessories, but, really, what is there to give him?  He’s a big bear.  That’s his thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was in for the whole set of figures as soon as they were shown off, so Ursa himself never got to really be much of a selling point, or anything.  That said, I certainly wasn’t unhappy about getting the chance to assemble him.  If there’s a word that best describes him overall, it’s “surprising.”  I just wasn’t really expecting to like him quite as much as I do, but he sure is quite a lot of fun, and it’s nice to have a little Winter Guard display now.

I really liked this assortment a lot, as a whole.  The last few sets of Legends have been fine, but not really the most thrilling across the board.  This one’s a pretty consistently exciting set.  Ursa’s a surprise hit, as I mentioned.  Modular Iron Man and Ultron are fantastic versions of two of my favorite looks.  Iron Heart is a really solid set of new tooling for a new character for the line.  Darkstar and Guardsman are somewhat by the numbers, but still strong new figures.  Stealth and Hologram Iron Man aren’t the most essential variants, and they’re just simple repaints, but they’re still pretty fun too.  A strong set from start to finish.