Tag Archives: Hasbro

#2825: U.S. Agent

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

U.S. AGENT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After being stripped of the Captain America title, John F. Walker’s spirit is shaken and he takes on a new mantle: US Agent.”

John Walker is always sort of a necessary evil when it comes to the Captain America mythos.  He’s kind of got to be there to remind you of the things that Steve Rogers isn’t, and never should be.  The Ultimate Universe had no John Walker, and it kind of showed, because the end result was a Steve Rogers that wound up with a lot of John’s traits.  In the case of the MCU, they really hammered home that comparison to Steve, by actively making John a character that almost feels like Steve at first glance, but who quickly becomes very not Steve very suddenly.  It was an intriguing story, though perhaps not an overly pleasant one.  But, much like the comics, John’s not meant to stay in the Captain America role, and the show ends with him transitioned into the role he’s been in for about four decades in the comics: US Agent, the guy who can be what Captain America isn’t.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

US Agent is figure 5 in the Disney+-themed assortment of Marvel Legends.  Given’s John very prominent role within the story, he’s a natural choice for the line-up, though it is obviously a slight change-up that he’s in his US Agent garb, which he only wears for a single non-action scene in the final episode, rather than the Captain America costume he wears for most of the show (which itself got a Walmart-exclusive release).  This gets into what I was saying with the Loki review, where I mentioned the set’s tendency to go with the looks with more staying power, which is what I’d say is true of this look over John’s Cap look.  The figure stands a little over 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is on par with the more recent Steve Caps, which feels appropriately consistent.  There are probably some areas where he could stand to have a little more range, but for the most part, he does what he needs to do.  His sculpt is, rather predictably, shared with the John Walker Cap figure.  The two designs are very similar, and it only makes sense, really.  It’s a pretty good sculpt for the most part, capturing Walker’s slightly larger build, as well as all of the smaller details in the suit’s design.  I’m not big on the molded gun in the holster, especially at this point in the line, but there may be some licensing things going on there.  Unfortunately, the decision to do a complete parts share means that his helmet’s not screen accurate, since John’s US Agent helmet doesn’t have the A-Star on the forehead. It’s too bad they couldn’t do that one new piece, but I have to wonder if it may have been an early design element.  On top of the sculpt issue on the helmet, John’s paint also takes a slight hit.  They’ve clearly just used the same paint masks as the Cap figure, but with some of the colors changed out.  For the most part, this is fine, but in the case of his torso, it means that he’s got smaller red straps over a black chest, when going by the show, the chest part should be red, and the straps should be white, making for that true US Agent look a la the comics.  This ultimately bugs me more than the helmet, because this isn’t even a cost of tooling issue; it would literally just be changing out the paint apps.  This further adds to me wondering if maybe the US Agent costume wasn’t as different in the original designs, and that’s what we’re seeing here.  John is packed with two sets of hands, one set in fists, the other gripping, as well as another piece to the Captain America wings.  Even if his gun is molded into the holster on the figure, it’s still again a shame that the gun wasn’t also included.  I’m pretty sure we’ve already got the mold for it and everything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always liked John Walker as a concept (though I don’t actually like John Walker as a guy, because he’s generally not the best), so I liked that they brought him into the show, and I liked that they allowed him to have his proper arc.  Wyatt Russell was fantastic in the role, and I look forward to seeing more of the character, even if I don’t actually look forward to seeing him.  While his Cap design was cool, I didn’t really find myself drawn into the exclusive, because, for me, he’s not Cap, he’s US Agent.  This figure has its few issues of accuracy, but even so, I do still really like him as a figure.

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.

#2824: Winter Soldier

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

WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Thrust back into the real world, Bucky is forced to figure out how to become James Barnes again, all while facing demons from his past”

In the comics, Bucky Barnes’s arc after his return as the Winter Soldier had him rather quickly recovering from the brainwashing and becoming one of Cap’s allies again.  For the MCU, his path has been a slower, and ore turbulent one, with his initial return even ending with a bit of uncertainty about what was to happen to him.  Obviously, it’s not been a huge surprise that he’s been generally following his comics-counterpart’s path, but just in a slightly more involved way.  The Falcon and the Winter Soldier delves into the trauma that lies within Bucky’s mind as a result of his time as the Winter Soldier, as well as showing us the true struggles he faces on his path back to “normality.”  It also gives a very convincing rationale in-universe about why the MCU version of Bucky has no desire to be Captain America, in contrast to his path in the comics.  At the end of the series, his contentment in his own role shows how far he has come as a character, and really feels very earned within the context of the story that’s been building.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winter Soldier is figure 4 in the Disney+-based assortment of Marvel Legends, and is the first of the figures from the set based on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is the primary focus of this assortment.  While Bucky spends a lot of the show’s run time in rather average civilian attire, the figure opts for his true combat look from the show, which plays prominently into some of the early in-show missions, as well as the finale.  It’s a design that plays pretty heavily into his classic Bucky design, moreso than his Winter Soldier look, which fits well with the arc his character is going through, as well as fitting with the general evolution of his designs post Winter Soldier, which have slowly morphed him back to that more The First Avenger look for him.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  The ab-crunch on Bucky feels a little bit limiting, but otherwise, it’s a pretty good articulation set, and he benefits from having the pin-less construction for both his elbows and knees.  The last Winter Soldier we got has some parts re-use going on, but this one is an all-new sculpt.  It’s a pretty darn nice one, at that.  The head is by far the best Sebastian Stan likeness we’ve gotten so far, and it’s also nice to finally get a proper new sculpt for his new robot arm (though it is a shame it’s not more easily removable).  In terms of paint work, Bucky’s pretty decent overall, and actually tries a bit more than a lot of more recent offerings.  The base work is all pretty clean and straight forward, and the gold on the arm looks pretty spiffy.  By far the best work is on the face, which even manages to get his stubble on there rather believably.  The jacket is an interesting set-up, because they’ve attempted to do a little bit of variance on the shades of blue, as if it’s maybe a little worn in.  I’m not sure it quite works they way they were hoping for, but it’s also not as bad as it could be.  Maybe the changes between the shades could be a bit more subtle, but I’m happy to see them at least trying something different.  There’s also some slightly accenting on his hair, giving it a slight bit of brown, which looks quite nice.  Bucky’s packed with two sets of hands, one set open, the other in fists, as well as part of Captain America’s wings.  Just getting the hands does seem a little light, and it feels like he’s forever cursed to not actually get any proper firearms, but on the other hand, his arc in the show also has him angling himself a bit more away from those sorts of things, so I guess there’s that.  Still, I would have liked to see maybe something else.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Winter Soldier figures tend to be a bit of a mixed bag for Legends, where there’s always something that really holds them back.  This one doesn’t really have that going on.  While the accessories are maybe a little light, there aren’t any glaring issues with the figure, and he just feels like a really solid representation of the character.  I also just find myself liking this representation of the character in general, so I’m kind of glad that this is the one where Hasbro really put in the effort for the character.

Winter Soldier was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2823: Loki

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

LOKI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Mere moments after his escape during the events of Avengers: Endgame, Loki is apprehended by the TIME VARIANCE AUTHORITY (TVA) and arrested for his crimes against the ‘sacred timeline’”

After the back-to-back extravaganza that was WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we had a little bit of hiatus, before jumping into the next show, Loki, which follows the alternate timeline version of the God of Mischief that escaped during Endgame.  As of this writing, I’ve only seen the first episode of the show, so I don’t know exactly where it’s going to be going, but I do like the look of things.  Loki is the show with the least toy coverage at this point, with only one version of its main character on the market (though Owen Wilson’s Mobius was just revealed to be getting a Target-exclusive figure as well).  I’m going to be taking a look at that one today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Loki is figure 3 in the Disney+-themed assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s patterned on his appearance in the show, specifically his garb while working for the TVA…or at least that’s what I assume this is.  So far, we’ve seen his Avengers gear, and the prison jumpsuit.  But this looks right for working for the TVA, so I’m going with that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Loki is built on the updated suit body first used for Nick Fury.  It’s slightly taller nature makes it a better fit for Hiddleston, and it’s honestly just a little better proportioned, so I get the desire to re-use.  Unfortunately, it does have a few details, most notably the sculpted shoulder holster, which don’t match up with Loki’s look from the show.  The holster is totally hidden, of course, but it’s a weird choice leaving it there.  Loki gets a new head, tie, and jacket piece.  The head is probably our best Hiddleston Loki to date from Hasbro.  It’s still not spot-on, but it does feel at least a little bit closer.  I think not trying to contend with any removable head gear really helps there.  The jacket and tie are nice enough pieces; pretty basic, but they do what they need to.  The paint work on Loki is definitely on the brown side of things, which matches to the show aesthetic.  The face print really works here, but there are otherwise some sort of odd choices.  The neck line is uneven and doesn’t follow the sculpt, and the belt buckle is just totally different than what’s sculpted (probably going for something more accurate to the show).  It’s also weird that the holster is left totally unpainted.  Like, I know it’s not supposed to be there, but not painting it doesn’t magically make it less obvious that it’s there.  Loki doesn’t get any accessories of his own, but he does get Redwing, the backpack, and the flight stand for Captain America, so that makes up for it a little bit, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Going into this assortment, we knew there would be a Loki, but exactly which of the looks from what we’d seen in the trailers was still up in the air.  I will admit, when this one was shown off, I was a bit letdown.  From the looks of things, this may end up as his most prominent design on the show, but it’s hard to say it’s very visually interesting, and clearly most prominent isn’t as important as best visual when it comes to the rest of the assortment.  Loki’s not a bad figure, and I do at least like his new head sculpt, but he definitely feels like the weakest of the bunch.

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.

#2822: The Vision

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

THE VISION

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Harnessing the power of density manipulation with computer precision, Vision is a hero whoa defies the very laws of nature.”

One of the things that I’ve liked quite a bit about the MCU is how it has a real talent of taking concepts that work from story lines that don’t, and putting those concepts into stories that do work.  “Vision Quest” presents some interesting ideas about Vision’s true nature, as well as the very cool visual of an all-white Vision as something of a blank slate appearance, but never really takes the story anywhere truly intriguing or worth while.  WandaVision‘s use of the The Vision as an antagonistic force, and his subsequent face-off against Wanda’s Vision which culminates in their discussion of just what it is that truly makes a person a person feels like a payoff that rings very true for the character and the arc he’s had up to this point.  And, it gave us another look for Vision, which is rather convenient for Hasbro, since, otherwise, there’s no real changes from the last two times they released him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Vision is figure 2 in the Disney+-themed assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s the second of the two WandaVision figures included, both of which are based on the show’s final episode, The Vision, of course, being based on the antagonistic all-white version re-activated by Hayward to hunt down Wanda and destroy her Vision.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  The Vision is built from a lot of re-used parts, which is really kind of expected, since there are certainly quite a few similarities between his two designs.  The body is the same as the Infinity War version, which, while not perfect, is still a pretty decent sculpt.  There are one or two small details that should probably be different for full screen accuracy, but it’s not far off.  The head appears to be different, or at the very least a little bit tweaked from the prior release.  To my eye, the face has a slightly better likeness of Bettany, but it could just be the change of color playing tricks on my eyes.  The cape is very definitely an all-new piece, and I quite like it.  It sits a little closer to the body at the chest, which looks more natural, and it’s also got this pretty cool draping appearance over his shoulders, which just feels very classically Vision to me.  In terms of paint, this guy’s pretty light on application, but that’s really expected.  What’s there is generally pretty good, although I feel like the wrists and ankles are a slightly too dark shade of off-white.  The cape just being clear seems off to me, as I was expecting it to be at least  a little bit white, going by what we see on-screen.  But, this is a problem we’ve run into with standard Vision as well, so it’s not really anything new.  The Vision is packed with two sets of hands, in open gesture and fist poses, as well as two more parts to Captain America’s wings.  Given that they dropped the extra hands from the Endgame Vision release, this does feel like a slight step up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

During the show, I was wondering how they were going to justify actually doing more Vision figures, but once it was confirmed that Westview Vision wasn’t in the original’s body, I had a sneaking suspicion we’d see this design crop up.  It’s a cool call-back to the comics, and a much better version of the story than what we originally got.  In terms of the figure, this one is rather by the numbers, but that’s not the worst thing, and he ends up being a pretty nice 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 and their eBay storefront.

#2821: Scarlet Witch

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

SCARLET WITCH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Wanda Maximoff’s abilities of telekinesis, energy manipulation, and neuroelectric interfacing allow her to read thoughts and give her targets walking nightmares.”

Forgive me if I opt to find a story about someone’s struggle to come to terms with a devastating loss of a loved one, and subsequent efforts to do everything in their power to hold onto some vestige of that person very relatable at the moment.

Since Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision were introduced into the MCU, I’ve been excited by the prospects of building their relationship further.  It was touched on in both Civil War and Infinity War, but wasn’t the main focus in either, so I was ecstatic when the pair were given a TV show to further explore their characters and their relationship.  WandaVision was a really fantastic show, which has given the MCU a very stable footing moving forward with its overall narrative, as well as showing that Elizabeth Olsen is very much a bankable talent to keep central to the MCU, even in light of the exit of the films’ bigger name stars.  Her performance as Wanda was nothing short of amazing, presenting a very human character going through very real emotional turmoil, while also building her up to be, very believably, one of the strongest characters in the Marvel universe, as she damn well should be.  Now she’s got herself another action figure, and it’s a cool one, and I feel like she really deserves that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlet Witch is figure 1 in the first Disney+-themed assortment of Marvel Legends.  She’s one of the two WandaVision figures in the line-up, and she’s based on Wanda’s proper Scarlet Witch appearance from the show’s finale.  For the first time, we got a more proper adaptation of something more akin to Wanda’s comics get-up, and boy was that really cool to see.  In general, it’s one of the best costume designs in the MCU, and showcases how well they’re advancing in their abilities to translate costumes from the page to the screen.  It’s got all the proper flair of Wanda’s classic costume, without looking silly at all.  I really dig it.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme on Wanda is pretty nicely handled.  It’s not like it’s revolutionary or anything, but it does what it needs to, and it does it well.  Near as I can tell, Wanda’s sculpt is all-new, with no parts shared with her prior figure.  I thought maybe the hands might be, but the details on the gloves are just a little bit different.  It’s quite a nice sculpt overall.  The likeness on the face is just a little bit closer to Olsen than the prior release, and the hair has a nice, dynamic feel to it, without being too over the top.  The body has a fairly realistic looking build, and the articulation is worked in pretty well.  The details on the costume are all pretty sharp, and they mostly match up pretty closely to the on-screen costume.  I think, technically, the tops of the gloves go a little bit too high on her arms, but it’s a very minor detail.  The figure’s paint work is generally pretty impressive.  She’s got the printed face, which is quite life-like, as well as some pretty decent accenting on her hair.  The rest of the application is also all pretty clean.  Technically, there are a number of parts of the costume that should be a bit darker, but I think it’s also very possible that some of it really comes down to the exact lighting in the show.  I’m happy with the color scheme presented here, and it’s not like it’s very far off if it is at all.  Wanda is packed with two sets of hands (one in standard color, one in translucent), two energy effects, and a piece of Captain America’s wing.  I know some people were hoping they might throw in the cape she was sporting in the final stinger, but it’s admittedly not part of the main chunk of the episode where this look appears, so I understand why they may have left it out.  Still wouldn’t have minded getting it, of course, but not having it doesn’t ruin the figure for me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

WandaVision was a very impactful show for me.  It was one I was looking forward to as soon as it was announced, and by the time it actually dropped, the subject matter had become very poignant for some of the struggles I was personally going through.  In light of the last month, it’s become even more so for me, and I have particularly been holding onto Vision’s dialogue about grief being love persevering the last few days.  All of this has served to make Wanda an incredibly relatable character for me, which gives this figure a little extra weight.  She’s a very nice figure of a very nice design, from a very nice show.  I really like her.

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.

#2818: Elite Praetorian Guard with Heavy Blade

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

ELITE PRAETORIAN GUARD with HEAVY BLADE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“As the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Snoke was flanked by crimson-clad guardians, loyal protectors encased in ornate armor ready to defend the Supreme Leader from any thread.”

The Last Jedi‘s Praetorian Guards may not be on the screen for long, but they make the most of their time, and participate in the very coolest fight scene in the whole sequel trilogy.  Plus, they’ve just got a very cool look.  Actually, they have three slightly different, but all very cool looks, due to their three differing helmet designs mixed in amongst them.  Hasbro opted for completely separate figures for each of these three helmets, something they delivered through a few different avenues.  For The Black Series, I had two of the three, but was waiting on the last one.  I wait no more.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Elite Praetorian Guard with Heavy Blade was an Amazon-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series offering, which they placed up for order in the fall of 2017, in anticipation of the movie.  It was the third of the three figures to be released.  This one is the “underbite” helmet, which is the only one I haven’t looked at in any style here on the site (largely due to him being an exclusive in every case).  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure is identical to the #50 Guard, which makes sense, since they were all the same.  It’s interesting, of course, because it makes the one from the Guardians of Evil pack the outlier on exactly how he handled the skirt, since this one is sculpted, not cloth.  The posability’s not there as much, but it does look better.  This guy gets a new head sculpt in order to replicate the third helmet design.  It meshes just as well with the body as the other two, and fits the styling of the rest of the armor quite well.  It’s fairly easy to tell it’s a new piece, so that’s good.  The paint work on this figure truly is just identical to the standard release figure, which is to say it’s basic, but it looks good.  Apart from the helmet change-up, the other new piece for this guy was the weapon selection.  He gets the larger Heavy Blade weapon, which is mentioned in his name. It’s a larger, and certainly impressive piece.  He also gets a second weapon, which is more of a sword thing.  Not my preferred of the two, but it’s nice to get the options.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The slightly higher base retail on this release was enough for me to hold off on buying him right away.  Unfortunately, he wound up selling out through Amazon, and that meant I missed out on him entirely.  It always bummed me out, because this was my favorite of the three helmets, and I had missed out on both his Hasbro figures.  Fortunately for me, Max had picked one up a while back, and while downsizing his Star Wars collection, he was kind enough to set me up with the one I was missing.  I’ve reviewed the majority of this guy before, so it’s not like he’s doing a whole lot new for me, but it is nice to finish the set, and he really is the best of the three, so I’m glad to have him.

#2817: Qui-Gon Jinn

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

QUI-GON JINN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A venerable if maverick Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn was a student of the living Force. Qui-Gon lived for the moment, espousing a philosophy of ‘feel, don’t think, use your instincts.'”

Though opinions have changed a bit on the prequel trilogy in the two decades since it began, the movies, especially The Phantom Menace, have been the slowest to find their way into The Black Series, with really just a trickle of items, every so often.  In the case of TPM, we aren’t even averaging one figure a year, and don’t have much of the core cast yet.  I’d gotten all but one of the ones released up to this point, and now, I finally got that one.  So, today, I’m looking at arguably the film’s lead character (even if he’s not part of any of the films that follow), Qui-Gon Jinn.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Qui-Gon Jinn was figure 40 in the Phase III Star Wars: The Black Series line-up.  He was released in the spring of May 2017, as part of the assortment that also included the Royal Guard, Lando Calrissian, and the Tusken Raider.  It was one of those sets that showed up more in theory than anything else, since it was the last assortment before the change-over for Last Jedi product, and earlier Rogue One launch product was still lingering.  Qui-Gon was only our second TPM figure, following up on the Darth Maul from the very first assortment.  The figure stands a little over 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Compared to more recent figures, Qui-Gon is definitely more restricted on the movement front, but it’s still pretty workable.  Additionally, given that Neeson’s portrayal of Qui-Gon had him generally being more reserved in his movements, it works alright for the character.  His sculpt was a wholly unique one, and has only been shared with the recent re-issue of the same character.  It’s a pretty good one, honestly.  Neeson’s tall and lanky build is captured well, and the details on his clothes are fairly impressive.  The head sculpt also does look quite a bit like him.  It’s a little bit harder to see it with the older style paint work, but the likeness is very definitely there (something that the recent re-issue with the new paint only further pushed).  The hair does get in the way of the neck movement a little bit, but that’s really hard to avoid, unless you’re going to try rooted hair or some other nonsense, and that’s just not gonna work at this scale.  The paint work definitely does mark this figure’s biggest short comings, but, honestly, it’s not quite as bad as you might expect.  The face is definitely not as life-like as later releases, but nor is it quite as lifeless as some of the figures that closely preceded it.  It’s an okay middle ground.  Additionally, they’ve actually gone to the trouble of giving him some accenting on his robes, so that they aren’t just all flat molded plastic colors.  It certainly looks much better that way.  Qui-Gon was packed with his lightaber, as well as two alternate left hands, one for gripping, and the other in open pose.  While it’s too bad we couldn’t at least get a robe for him, the alternate hand was still kind of a big deal at the time, and even now, that’s more than we get with a lot of the Jedi figures.  Heck, it’s more than we got with TPM Obi-Wan.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Full disclosure: this section’s about to get a little sad and sentimental.  This is the first review I’ve written since my wife’s passing, which will have been almost a full month ago as you read this, but is, for me, four very long days behind me.  Obviously, this soon after, I am still finding my footing and my new normal, but Jess did not want me to stop writing, and she was quite adamant about that.  So, I am going to try to keep writing, at least a little bit.  Qui-Gon being the subject of this review, is a bit serendipitous, I suppose.  I already had him on the schedule a month ago, but it feels appropriate, since one of our earliest conversations was about The Phantom Menace and how Qui-Gon was always her favorite character in the prequels.  I remember her being frustrated that I never found this figure when it was new.  When I did finally pick it up just this year, she was quite excited when I showed him to her.  It’s an excitement I’m going to miss as my collection continues, but one I’m going to try to keep in my own mind moving forward.

#2816: Carnor Jax

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

CARNOR JAX (AKA KIR KANOS)

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“Training himself in the ways of the dark side of the Force, Carnor Jax became one of the most formidable members of the Imperial Guard. He betrayed this brotherhood by usurping the Imperial throne.”

Remember back on Sunday, when I was talking about how all the Royal Guards do in the movies is just stand around?  Well, I wasn’t the only one who noticed that, which is good, what with it having been a rather obvious thing that was happening right there on the screen.  In an effort to remedy things somewhat, the Expanded Universe came into play, with Crimson Empire, a six issue comic which explored the background of a few members of the Royal Guard, and then followed them through to just past Palpatine’s demise in Jedi.  Central to the story are Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos, two guards who fall on opposite sides of a rather vicious power struggle.  The two of them have been privy to a few figures over the years, but The Black Series is finally taking a real stab at some comics-based material, and one of them got to be the first one up to bat.  But which one?  Oh, I’ll get to that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Carnor Jax is one of four figures in a special assortment of comics-inspired Black Series figures, each based off of a different story, and in nice, fancy boxes, patterned on the covers of the books they hail from.  Or, at least, that’s what I’d be saying if there were actually a Carnor Jax Black Series figure.  Trouble is, there’s actually not.  Despite the name on the box and the bio that accompanies it, the figure in today’s review isn’t actually Carnor Jax; it’s Kir Kanos.  Somewhere along the way, Hasbro mixed up the names for the two characters, and without any time to fix it after the reveal, they can pretty much only say “sorry” and move one.  It does make more sense for Kir to be the debut figure, of course, since he’s kind of the story’s main character anyway.  But it’s another amusing mix-up.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. Kir is structurally a re-use of the molds from the standard Royal Guard, which I suppose is fitting, since the armor under the robes was patterned on what we saw in Crimson Empire anyway, and therefore matches Kir’s design pretty well.  It’s not a bad sculpt, though it does still have the slightly too long arms.  It’s too bad they didn’t retool him to give him a removable helmet, like the 3 3/4 inch version.  As it stands, there’s very little to actually differentiate him.  He does swap the full cloak of the other one for a more straight-forward cape, which does at least make it easier to see the armor on this one.  The cape’s also got a nice purple lining, which is again a bit more different.  Other than that, the changes are all to do with paint.  Again, not major changes, but the jumpsuit’s black now, some of the reds are shifted around a bit, and the visor’s more of a maroon.  It’s mostly changes that you might not even notice if you didn’t have the two figures side by side.  Kir gets the small pistol from the last release, as well as a new double-bladed axe thing.  It’s a cool design, but he does have a little trouble holding it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never read Crimson Empire, but I’m familiar with the concepts, and I do generally like the looks of the two main guys.  I missed out on their smaller scale figures, so new ones aren’t a problem for me.  What is a problem, though, is how phoned in this whole thing feels.  Starting with getting the names mixed up, and ending with not actually investing in any new tooling beyond the one weapon, this figure’s a bit of a let-down.  I wanted to like him a lot more, but I struggle to.  Maybe if they do Carnor for real, and possibly throw in an unmasked head for Kir or something, my opinion might change, but this figure’s a bit lackluster, at least as a new offering.  If you never got the Royal Guard, I imagine you might have a differing opinion, since he is, in a vacuum, at least, a decent toy.

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.

#2815: Greef Karga

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

GREEF KARGA

STAR WARS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“An expeditor for the Bounty Hunters Guild, Greef Karga runs the trade on Nevarro. He’s a middle-man, a connector between clients and bounty hunters.”

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.  Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.  Letting the days go by, same as it ever was.  Why the Talking Heads opener?  Didn’t I do that yesterday?  Yes.  But it’s the same as it ever was, you see?  Aren’t I clever?  But really, sometimes with Hasbro’s variety of scales and styles, I do feel a little bit like I’m just reviewing in circles, and that’s very true with the back half of this set.  Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you.  Anyway, let’s look at the wheel of a large automobile Greef Karga!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Greef Karga is the final figure in the seven-figure Mando-inspired assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars Retro Collection.  While Greef getting a figure isn’t weird at all, given how prominent he was in the first season, especially it’s closer, the fact that he’s actually the only explicitly Season 2 figure in the mix is a little interesting.  I guess it does at least change things up a bit from the Black Series figure I already reviewed, but then it also means he’s in the same attire as the also small-scale Vintage Collection figure.  And, on top of that, he’s very limited when it comes to who he fits in with.  But, of course, that’s part of the vintage game, now isn’t it?  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Greef’s sculpt is a decent match for the Kenner style.  Again, he doesn’t look much like Carl Weathers, but there’s enough of the character in there to make it work, at least as much as any of the others work.  The right leg has a sculpted holster, but, rather cleverly, it’s designed to actually work, in a sense.  It’s not a modern style design, but actually something that feels more in line with what Kenner might have done.  I like that.  Like Mando and Gideon, Greef’s sporting a vinyl robe.  And while it’s still not technically accurate, it winds up in effect being more accurate to the character than going for a time-period accurate cloth cape might be, since it means he’s got the actual robe he wore, rather than just a straight cape.  So, this one I don’t mind so much either.  Okay, I honestly don’t mid any of them.  The paint work here is about on par with the others.  It’s obviously an adaptation of the design’s proper coloring through the vintage lens.  I get a kick out of the parts of it that are purposefully not painted, since it seems so counter to modern sensibilities, but also so perfect for the style.  Greef is packed with his small blaster.  It makes him a little lighter than everyone bar Kuiil, but he can hold it well, and it’s got that cool holster set-up, so that distracts me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Gideon, I don’t know that I felt an undying need for this figure, but I think that may again be linked to getting the Black Series release a bit closer, and also maybe preferring the season 1 design a little bit.  I think of the whole set, Greef is ultimately the one that does the least for me.  Not that he’s bad or anything.  Honestly, he does what he needs to.  He’s just a little more middling than the others.  But, he’s still certainly a nice addition to the line.  In general, I liked this set quite a bit, even more than I’d been expecting to.  And I’d been expecting to like it a lot already.  I would love to see them delve more into the Season 2 characters, and maybe even a few more Season 1 characters.  I’d also love to see them go back to some of the other properties, like the sequel trilogy, and do more with the retro style, because it really works.

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.

#2814: Moff Gideon

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

MOFF GIDEON

STAR WARS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“Imperial Moff Gideon is fiercely determined to capture a specific quarry. Clever and formidable, Gideon values power and knowledge.”

Much like Kuiil, I feel like I was just talking about Moff Gideon.  But, as I’ve established, it’s actually been over a month, because time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us.  And you may ask yourself, where is my large Moff Gideon?  And I would say that he’s over on the shelf, having already been reviewed, you know, a month ago, as previously stated.  Today, I’m looking at the small one, not from Las Vegas, but from the Retro Collection.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Moff Gideon is part of the seven-figure Mando-themed assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars Retro Collection line, which as noted previously, marks the line’s first proper presence at full mass retail.  The figures up to this point have all been early first season figures, while Gideon signifies a move to the end of that season, and into the second.  He’s undoubtedly a major player in both seasons, though, and kind of a natural choice for early inclusion.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is another all-new piece, and it’s another well-executed one.  While he doesn’t look like the spitting image of Esposito in the role (which would be inaccurate, of course), he does still have enough of a likeness to be identifiable as the character, and the rest of the body has just enough detailing to suggest the important parts of his outfit, while also being dialed back to match the proper level for the era they’re going for.  There are some slightly changed up details, in the effort of again working in some of those proper Kenner era errors, so small details on the costume change, like the lack of fingerless gloves, or the slight reworking of his gauntlets.  Like the Mando, he’s got a vinyl robe.  Technically, this is again inaccurate, since he really should be aping a later run figure, and should therefore have the cloth cape instead.  However, it works in a sense of playing up those Vader similarities, and also in making him feel like he’s an earlier run character than he is, which does in a sense feel right for Gideon.  Gideon’s paint work is fairly nice.  Probably more involved than a true Kenner figure would be, but that’s hardly a point against him.  The red detailing on the arms and legs certainly does look cool.  Gideon is packed with a small blaster, which is a new piece, and the Dark Saber, which is a re-use of Bespin Luke’s saber from the vintage line, but molded in an appropriately darker color.  It’s a nice touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Gideon well enough, though I can’t really say he was high on my list for this particular assortment.  Not a knock on him, really, just more that I *just* got the Black Series figure, and unlike Kuiil, this one doesn’t really fill a different need for me.  That said, I still like this guy a fair bit, and he certainly accents the set quite nicely.  Also, not really small when compared to the rest of the line he’s meant to go with, which is always a plus when it comes to Gideon figures.

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.