Tag Archives: Hasbro

#2501: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS PRIME: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE (HASBRO)

It’s been a bit of a spell since I’ve looked at any Transformers, which is something that didn’t used to be a weird thing, but now has become one.  What a weird world I live in now.  Well, the lack of Transformers should be changing post-haste, as I have some new stuff waiting for review.  However, before getting into the new stuff, how about some old stuff?  Though I didn’t watch it new, Transformers: Prime is one of my earlier instances of sitting down and actually watching a Transformers show through, and I definitely dig some of the updated designs that came out of it.  Obviously, my favorites to come out of it are my favorites to come out of any incarnation of the franchise, so I am just all about this incarnation of Soundwave, who I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave was released in the first series of the Prime: Robots In Disguise “Revealers” line, which was the deluxe-class component of the tie-in line.  In robot mode, he stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 23 points of workable articulation.  As with most figures in this line, he was based on his cartoon appearance, which was a quite streamlined, almost bat-like design.  It’s pretty far removed from the classic G1 design, but it still really fits with the spirit of the character, and I feel makes for a much cooler update than what we ended up getting in the movies.  His sculpt was all new to this figure, and does a pretty respectable job of capturing Soundwave’s animated appearance from the show.  It’s pretty slick and poses pretty well considering how it’s designed.  He’s a touch restricted at the shoulders, but for the most part it’s impressive the level of posing you can get out of him.  This Soundwave, as with just about every Soundwave post-80s, had to come up with a new alt-mode that wasn’t just a cassette player, what with those being out of vogue these days and all.  Instead, Prime Soundwave’s alt-mode is a spy drone, reminiscent of the Predator B drone.  Honestly, it’s a pretty solid choice of alt-mode, given Soundwave’s typical characterization as a spy and all that.  His transformation process is a little more involved and finnicky than some of the more recent Transformers I’ve picked up, but it’s still pretty easy to figure out, and the end result is a pretty convincing spy drone.  Soundwave was packed with his companion Laserbeak, who can either be plugged into one of the 5mm ports throughout Soundwave’s body, or folded into his chest for easy storage.  The chest storage is definitely a nice throwback to the cassette set up of the vintage figures, and I really dig it.  In 2013, under the revised Beast Hunters branding for Prime, Soundwave’s mold got a slight re-working, a new color scheme, and a new capture claw weapon and Ravage in place of Laserbeak.  It’s a fun change-up from the initial figure, with a slightly brighter and bold color, and the new accessories are certainly a lot of fun.  Not quite show-accurate, but still kind of nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I wasn’t watching Prime when it was first airing, I wasn’t picking the figures up either.  However, the Beast Hunters release of this mold was eye-catching enough for me to make my first “modern” Transformers purchase to pick it up.  I always dug that one, but when I sat down and actually watched some of the show, I found myself kind of wanting that more standard Soundwave.  I never did get around to snagging him…on my own, anyway.  It’s kind of been raining Transformers collections at All Time recently, though, and one of them had a lot of Prime stuff in it.  Max made it a point of setting aside this guy and one other figure (who I’ll be looking at tomorrow) for me, as a really awesome birthday present.  Now I have Soundwave and both of his smaller buddies!

#2495: Battle Droid – Geonosis

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

BATTLE DROID — GEONOSIS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Rather than use flesh-and-blood warriors, the Separatists prefer mindlessly loyal soldiers that are easily controlled. Battle droids are dim-witted and no match for clone troopers or Jedi, but they weren’t designed to be smart – they were designed to overwhelm Republic civilians through sheer numbers, something they do very effectively.”

Since the Stormtroopers were off limits due to timelines and continuity and all that jazz, the Prequel Trilogy had to come up with its own form of armies of troops for the bad guys to throw our heroes’ way.  Taking advantage of being able to do designs and concepts not as easily allowed by the technology of filmmaking in the early ’80s, Lucas and company introduced the Trade Federation’s Battle Droid army, who became the backbone of the separatist forces for the next three films (and Clone Wars, of course), all while some how becoming more comically slapstick in their mannerisms with each subsequent appearance.  At this point, it really wouldn’t be that far-fetched for them to come out with a rendition of “who’s on first?”  Whatever the case, they were absent from The Black Series for a good bit, but finally joined the line early last year.  Of course, the assortment they were a part of was kind of unbalanced in its distribution, so Hasbro opted to give us another chance at the mold, this time with a tweaked color scheme.  Yay for me!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Battle Droid (Geonosis) is figure 108 in the Black Series line-up.  He’s the third Battle Droid we’ve gotten, following the tan Episode 1 version and the Gaming Greats heavy gunner.  All three of them are the same mold, which is sensible, since the core droid design didn’t change throughout the three prequel films.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Battle Droid figures historically have a lot of trouble matching the movement of the droids in the films.  Given that the joints are right there in the design, it’s a shame that they almost never articulate them.  However, this figure addresses that, and actually manages to articulate most of the built-in joints, making this by far the most Battle Droid put out by Hasbro.  The hip joints are slightly limited, and a few of the smaller joints were stuck on mine right out of the box, but he’s overall really posable, and a lot more steady on his feet than prior Battle Droids I’ve messed with.  Most impressively, he can actually properly fold up like the droids do in the movie, which is pretty cool.  The sculpt is also a pretty spot-on recreation of the designs seen in the movie, with all of the detail work being nice and crisp, sharp, and clean.  He’s quite a sleek-looking figure.  The colors are where this figure differentiates himself from the prior releases.  This one uses the Geonosis coloring, so he’s all red to match the rather amber terrain of the planet.  I’ve always been kind of partial to this coloring, so I’m happy to see it represented here.  The paint work gives him some wear and tear, so that he looks like a proper “battle” Droid.  He’s armed with the standard E-5 blaster, and also includes both a backpack, and the streamlined antenna pack, to allow for some distinction of ranks within the set-up.  It would have been cool to also get a C-3PO head to swap out, but perhaps they’ll just make the heads swappable when they make the inevitable AotC 3PO.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was tempted by the tan release of this figure last year, but never saw him in person, and didn’t feel majorly inclined to track him down after the fact.  Once I knew this one was coming, I officially switched over to just wanting him, because I like this color set better.  Now that I’ve finally gotten to mess with this mold, I can definitely see why people like it so much.  I’m sure Hasbro’s already planning to do a few more rank variants with it, and I can see myself picking some of those up to be sure.

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

#2494: Anakin Skywalker – Padawan

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

ANAKIN SKYWALKER — PADAWAN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A hero of the Clone Wars, Anakin was caring and compassionate, but also had a fear of loss that would prove to be his downfall”

Okay, so we were looking at some figures from Empire, the second installment in the Original Trilogy, which everyone loves.  Now, let’s jump forward (or is it backward?) to Attack of the Clones, the second installment of the Prequel Trilogy that most people don’t love.  I’m with most people on this one.  Delving back into my archive of old reviews tells me that the only other Anakin Skywalker figure I’ve reviewed here was back in May of 2014, and was another version of him from Attack of the Clones.  So, let’s do more of that, I guess?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Anakin Skywalker (Padawan) is figure 110 in the Black Series line-up.  He’s from the latest assortment of the main line, which is an entirely AotC-based line-up.  It’s also the last line-up before the line ditches the overall numbering scheme and goes to more themed subsets starting in the fall.  Gotta say, ending the longest running incarnation of this line with an all Attack of the Clones assortment is a pretty baller move.  Go for it, Hasbro.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  A lot of this figure’s parts are shared with the Revenge of the Sith version of the character, released way back in Series 4 of the original Black Series incarnation.  Remember in my Luke review on Tuesday, when I mentioned how nice it was to get an all-new sculpt for the Snowspeeder gear, even though they might have been able to try for some re-use?  Well, that feels somewhat relevant here.  Anakin’s look in the two films isn’t terribly different, so on one hand, some re-use is sensible.  However, it has the side effect of putting this guy on a base body that’s from 2014, which, from both a sculpting and an articulation stand point, puts him rather behind the times.  The torso in particular is rather boxy, and the movement on the elbows, waist, and knees is quite limited, especially when compared to more recent offerings.  He does at least get a new head, right forearm, and belt, which help to change him up a bit from the prior release.  The head is probably the strongest piece, and manages to give us a solid rendition of Hayden Christiansen.  It’s certainly an amazing improvement over any of the prior versions of him we’ve gotten, especially when it comes to his AotC appearance.  They definitely got that broody facial expression down.  The only slight issue with mine is that he’s got a bit of flashing on the right side of his jaw.  The new forearm is really just meant to mirror the left side, since this is a pre-robo arm Anakin.  It’s a real shame they didn’t take the opportunity to make it more easily removed at the elbow, to simulate some battle damage.  Of course, they also left Bespin Luke without an easily removed hand, so maybe they’re just really banking for potential variants down the line.  In terms of paint, this figure tries, but has one major issue, which is that his neck and face just don’t match.  Sadly, this is the potential problem you face when you’re painting one and molding the other in the appropriate color.  More recent figures have been using the double ball joint set up so that the neck is separate from the torso, allowing it to also be molded in the appropriate color, but no such luck here with this older mold.  At least the face printing looks pretty good.  In terms of extras, Anakin’s pretty light.  He gets his lightsaber…and that’s it.  It’s not even a really great mold, since the hilt feels somewhat oversized.  I’d really liked to have seen an alternate arm with his robot hand, or a robe, or even his green loaner saber from the end of the movie, so that we could properly set up the duel with Dooku (I had to steal one from Grievous to set up the shot at the end of the review).  Given that the figure whose mold he’s using most of included an extra head in addition to the lightsaber, this feels like a real missed opportunity.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I feel the need at this point to say that not only has my “no prequels” rule with this line been broken, it’s been poisoned, shot, stabbed, clubbed and finally drowned.  Very Rasputinian, if I do say so myself.  I’m really just all in at this point, honestly.  It helps a little that I already had Dooku, and also that I’m becoming increasingly in touch with the nostalgic twinge I have for Attack of the Clones, especially when it comes to toys.  This guy’s got his flaws, and in some ways feels a touch phoned in, but as a whole, he’s still a very enjoyable figure, and I’m hoping I can manage to snag Obi-Wan to go with him soon.

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

#2493: R2-D2 – Dagobah

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

R2-D2 — DAGOBAH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Can you believe that in the 133 Black Series reviews I’ve written, I haven’t yet looked at R2-D2?  That’s crazy, right?  Well, okay, not really, since I got my Series 1 figure a couple of months before starting the site, and obviously didn’t pick up the subsequent re-release for the 40th line.  They finally opted to actually do a slight variant to the character, so I can totally justify buying another figure, and I have the drive to actually review the mold.  Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

R2-D2 (Dagobah) is another figure from Series 2 of the Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary sub-line of The Black Series line.  He’s the last “new” figure in the assortment, but as I touched on above, new is sort of relative here, since he’s just a repaint of the first R2.  He’s a little under 3 1/4 inches tall and has 10 points of articulation.  The movement is a little different on this figure.  He’s got fairly typical joints at the top of the legs and at the “ankles”, as well as an opening door on each side of his front, each with an articulated arm inside.  The head turns as well, but it’s connected to an action feature that drops his third leg down.  It’s surprisingly gimmicky for this line, and makes posing the head a little tricky, since getting it set just right can be a little counter intuitive.  I think leaving the feature out may have ultimately been better, but I suppose it’s not the worst concept.  Otherwise, the sculpt is a pretty impressive representation of R2.  It’s a solid rendition, and pretty sharply detailed.  The main selling point on this release, of course, is the paint, which this time around replicates R2 after he falls into the swamp after landing on Dagobah.  He’s pretty sufficiently grimy and gross.  My only gripe with it is that the third leg doesn’t get fully painted, so it’s slightly jarring when extended.  That said, I don’t believe R2 has the third leg out while on Dagobah, so I guess it’s technically accurate this way.  I think the grime helps to showcase the strengths of the sculpt a little better than the original release’s paint, so I definitely dig it.  The original R2 had quite an accessory assortment, covering attachments from six movies.  This one’s not quite as impressive, getting only the periscope attachment from the first release.  It’s not a huge surprise, given it’s the one we see him use in the movie, and this is supposed to be a specifically Empire-based and all.  You can still remove all of the panels and swap them with the accessories from the prior release as well, but he does end up feeling a touch light given that he still holds the same price tag as the original release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve picked up more versions of the core OT cast in The Black Series, I’ve arrived at the point of having multiple displays with them from each film.  However, I still only had the one R2, and at the going rate for the standard, I certainly wasn’t picking up a second.  Fortunately, this guy came along and solved that problem for me.  He’s a little light on the accessories front, but I like the new paint job for sure.

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

#2491: Rebel Soldier – Hoth

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

REBEL SOLDIER — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“After the battle of Yavin, the rebels fled from the Imperial Starfleet, seeking a new main base of operations. They settled on the frozen Outer Rim world of Hoth.”

For The Black Series, Hasbro’s managed to give us a quite a good number of troop building options for the Imperials, the Republic Army, the First Order, and even the Battle Droids as of late, but somewhat smaller in quantity at this point in time are the Rebel forces.  Admittedly, part of that’s to do with how it’s a fair bit harder to make an easy army builder of the not-so-faceless forces that back up our heroes.  We got a Fleet Trooper from A New Hope back in 2018, but he was based on a specific guy from the movie’s opening moments, so army building was a touch more difficult.  For our first proper follow-up to that figure, based on the main look of the rebels from Empire, Hasbro’s really throwing their all behind some true troop building.  Let’s dive right on into this review, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Soldier (Hoth) is one of the five figures in the second assortment of the Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary sub-line of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.  Unlike the first assortment, most of this round is new figures, or at least notably changed figures.  The Rebel is one of two all-new offerings, though he will also be showing up in the standard line as well this fall.  That’s a very smart idea on Hasbro’s part, because this guy is definitely one that warrants multiple purchases.  This guy is meant to replicate the frontline soldiers we see in the trenches on Hoth during the Empire’s invasion.  He’s doesn’t look to specifically patterned on any one soldier in the film, and is like many Rebel Soldiers a sort of an averaged appearance.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  I’m happy to see that the butterfly joints introduced with the Sith Trooper are becoming a standard offering for the line, because they really add to the posing potential on these figures.  It means that he can certainly get more realistic poses with his rifle, at the very least.  The sculpt on this guy is all new, a slight surprise, given they never did anything more with the Hoth Luke from early in the line.  I can’t say I blame them for going all-new, because that old sculpt is more than a little dated.  This is definitely one of the best of The Black Series sculpts, and I really love all the layers to this sculpt.  I can also really appreciate that they gave us a clean-shaven Rebel Trooper, since most of the Hoth troopers were without facial hair, and for some reason we still always end up primarily getting them bearded. The paint work on this guy is pretty basic  for the line.  It does what it needs to, there’s no noticeable slop or major issues with bleed over, and the face gets the face printing to keep him more lifelike.  Now, onto perhaps the best part of the figure: accessories, and by extension, customizability!  This guy gets both a Blastech A-295 rifle and a DH-17 blaster, as well as a pair of goggles and a bandanna for more layout possibilities.  What’s that?  You want more customizability?  Well, pull off his enviromental pack from his back, pop of the panel at the bottom and, boom, extra faceplate, sporting that beard that these toys all seem to love.  With all of the extra parts, you’ve got a lot of distinct combinations, making army building with this release very easy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting for some good Rebel Soldier army builders since The Black Series started, and while the Fleet Trooper was cool, it’s never been my favorite Rebel look.  As soon as this guy was shown off, I knew I was down for him, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting his release since we saw him at Toy Fair.  Honestly, in hand, he’s even better than I’d expected.  The options for customization on this guy are really fantastic, and I hope that Hasbro can keep this same energy going for when the Endor version gets its time up to bat.  I definitely look forward to some army building.

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

#2488: Scarlett

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

SCARLETT

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

To wrap up up my look at the first assortment of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe relaunch, I’m making my way to the First Lady of the franchise, Shanna O’Hara, aka Scarlett.  Debuting as one of the Original 13 back in the day, Scarlett has a sort of hot-and-cold run when it comes to action figures.  She’ll go long stretches between updates, and finds herself frequently left out of line-ups where she should be included (Sigma 6 being the biggest offender on that front).  Fortunately, she’s right here at the start for Classified.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlett is figure 05 in the Classified Series line-up.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 35 points of articulation.  As far as mobility goes, she’s definitely the most limited of the first series figures, thanks to actually just having less articulation.  For the most part, she’s still pretty serviceable on that front, but the elbows are a lot more limited than I’d like, especially given that she’s got a weapon she’s meant to hold two-handed.  Some deeper bends are really needed.  Of all the designs in this first set, Scarlett’s is the one that’s the most far-removed from her original figure.  Now, in her defense, even the original animation and comics designs were a little bit removed from how the figure looked, so she’s already starting from there.  That said, there’s still a lot more modernization and tweaking going on this one.  It kind of makes sense, with her being the least regulation of the original bunch anyway.  She was running around in a leotard and was just shy of a super hero costume, so she’s always been a little bit of an outlier.  She’s also the one most prone to rather sizable re-works as the line progresses, so this is really just the next one of those.  For me, this design really works, because it possesses all of the broad strokes elements that really read as Scarlett, while still fitting in a little bit better with a modern aesthetic.  This design has a nice fusion of practicality and fantasy, and it keeps it pretty fun.  The sculpt does a solid job of bringing her into three dimensions, with a nice set of balanced proportions, and a ton of small detail work that helps her really pop.  In terms of paint, Scarlett is definitely a brighter splash of color than the rest of the assortment.  That’s not a bad thing, and it’s in keeping with usual depictions of her.  The use of the gold that’s been on most of the Joes looks a lot better here, especially when merged with the yellow that’s already there.  I’m also quire a fan of the variation on her hair, which gives it a nice sense of transparency and light.  I did notice a few spots of slop on the base paint for my figure, especially on the wrist guards.  I’m hoping Hasbro can tighten up the paint a little more on this line going forward.  Scarlett is packed with an updated version of her crossbow, plus three knives.  The crossbow is in two parts and has a tendency to pop apart a lot, but is otherwise pretty cool.  The knives can all be stowed on the figure, which gives them a nice extra interactive feel which I really enjoy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a very big fan of Scarlett, so as soon as I saw Snake Eyes, I was waiting to see the corresponding Scarlett.  I know she’s not everyone’s jam, but I really dig this new design a lot, and I like having her to go with my updated Snake Eyes.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a more classic version at some point as well, though, since I’m hardly going to turn down the chance to get another Scarlett 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.

#2487: Duke

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

DUKE

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Alright, we took a slight detour over to the Cobra side of things yesterday, but today we’re returning back to the Joes with perhaps the most Joe-y Joe there is, Conrad “Duke” Hauser.  Since joining the teams ranks in 1983, Duke has pretty much been the face of the franchise, taking a major role in the the last several revisions of the franchise as well.  He’s also nowhere near as cool as anyone else on the team, but I guess we’ll try not to hold that against him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Duke is figure 04 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line.  Initially, he was supposed to be heavier packed alongside Snake Eyes, but when the cases dropped to 6 figures instead of 8, he went down to one per case.  It’s okay, though; it’s just Duke.  It’s not that big a deal.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  In terms of posablilty, he falls between Snake Eyes and Roadblock, being not quite as agile as Snake Eyes, but still getting a little more range than Roadblock.  Much like yesterday’s Destro, Duke’s a more faithful recreation of his old figure than the others in the set.  There are still a handful of changes, of course, to help bring him more in line with the slight sci-fi flair of the rest of the updated line, and to just sort of modernize him a bit.  I know some people weren’t big on the shin armor, but it feels rather Aliens-like to me, and I’m definitely down for that.  The head sculpt has gotten a little bit of flak from collectors who think he either has too modern of a haircut or looks a little too young for Duke.  I myself quite like the sculpt.  It’s got a little bit of a John Cena vibe to it, which actually works surprisingly well.  I also like that they’ve kept the scar that Duke frequently sports (in reference to the original Joes, of course), though it’s been moved up to his eyebrow instead of his cheek.  The overall end result definitely amounts to a very Duke-esque figure, and I can definitely get behind that.  Duke’s paint work is rough; definitely the roughest of this bunch.  My figure’s got quite a bit of slop on his uniform, especially at the top of the shirt and on the gloves.  Like I said, it’s rough.  At least mine has a decent looking face, which I can’t say for every other Duke that All Time got in.  I don’t know if there are line-wide issues with him or what, but he definitely ended up way worse on this front than the rest of the group.  Duke’s accessory selection is almost a match for his V1 figure’s set-up.  He gets a rifle, a pistol, a back pack, and a small pair of binoculars.  The rifle and pistol are again more sci-fi-esque designs, though I really dig how they’ve matched the silhouette of the rifle to the vintage counterpart’s sub machine gun.  I also really like how the binoculars clip onto his belt.  About the only thing this guy’s missing for the full vintage set-up is a helmet, and that’s honestly never been a very intrinsically Duke piece.  I definitely can’t knock what he’s got here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Classically, I’m not the biggest Duke fan, but of the Toy Fair reveals, he was probably the one who impressed me the most, because I think he’s a very nice merging of classic with modern.  The final figure has to contend with some production errors, which makes him a little touchy in some spots, but I’m overall quite happy with the end result.  I suppose he’ll be a suitable leader to my Joes for now.  You know, until Hawk arrives and I kick this guy to the curb.

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.

#2486: Destro

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

DESTRO

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

At the mid-way point of this new set of Joe reviews, we’re breaking from the Joes themselves and taking a look at their opposition.  Of course, it’s not a hard line Cobra member, but instead Destro, a mercenary arms dealer who has the potential to fall on either side of the conflict.  He’s gonna fall on Cobra’s side, because that’s how he always do, but there’s that option there, right?  That keeps things fun and funky fresh, right? Sure, let’s go with that.  Onto the figure review!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Destro is figure 03 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, and is so far the line’s lone villain, though he will be joined by a number of others in the coming months.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  With all of the shifting designs with this new line, Destro stands out, actually being a pretty darn straight update of his original ’83 design.  All of the core design elements are maintained, with the metal head, the chained pendant, the open collar, and the general layout of his costume’s major details.  The updates to this particular design amount to adding some extra piping to the bodysuit and a few differently textured patches to the shoulders.  It all amounts to rather minor changes to the overall aesthetic of that classic design.  The sculpt is definitely a strong offering, with sharp and bold line-work, and some really well rendered features on the mask in particular.  The texturing on the outfit is also really well implemented, keeping things intriguing, while still saying overall pretty basic.  Destro’s paintwork is all pretty solid, and is probably the best to come out of this particular assortment.  It’s crisp and clean, and there’s just enough small pops of color to keep him from looking too drab on the shelf.  The silver paint for the helmet works quite well, and I like the minor shifts from grey to black.  In terms of accessories, Destro includes two guns, one larger, one smaller, and a briefcase with a Cobra computer and some stacks of money on the interior.  The larger gun and the case replicate the original Destro’s accessories quite nicely, and the additional gold pistol is a rather fun piece, that can easily be stowed in the holster on his side.  The only slight downside to the accessories is that the larger gun ended up a little too large to fit into the case, which would have been a nice storage option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Destro was the last of the first series figures we got a preview on, and I honestly never formed all that much of an opinion on him.  He’s here.  He’s nice.  He’s a good recreation of the classic design, and that’s definitely cool.  It just doesn’t give me quite as much to say about him, honestly.  But, hey, he is a good figure, so there’s that.

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.

#2485: Snake Eyes

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

SNAKE EYES

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

For my second day looking into Hasbro’s relauched G.I. Joe, I’m already retreading.  I know, that’s crazy.  Here me out, though: it’s Snake Eyes.  Having one Snake Eyes is like having one potato chip: I just prefer not to have any at all because potato chips are weird and so are the people that like them.  No, wait, that’s not right.  I mean, the potato chip thing is right.  You potato chip people made your bed, now lie in it, and all of its inevitable potato chip crumbs.  But the Snake Eyes thing is definitely not right, because I will buy just about any Snake Eyes figure you put in front of me.  So, here’s this Snake Eyes.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Snake Eyes is figure 02 in G.I. Joe: Classified Series, and is notable for being the one figure in the first assortment to be double-packed.  That’s a smart move, because people sure do love Snake Eyes.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Do you remember my review of the deluxe Snake Eyes?  Do you recall how much I loved that figure’s sculpt?  Good, because this guy has the exact same sculpt.  I’m not surprised, because it’s not like Hasbro was quiet about Snake Eyes also being in the main line, and it would be silly to only use such a great sculpt for a one-off exclusive.  What sets this guy apart is the color scheme.  The deluxe release went for a palette that was overall more complex and varied than we tend to see on Snake Eyes, with lots of browns, greys, and silvers.  I remarked in my review of that figure that Hasbro could have just left a lot more of the figure straight black.  Well, turns out they had that in mind, because this release strips things down a fair bit more, to mostly just black this time around.  Lest anyone think they just cheaped out, there’s still plenty of variation in the finish of the various black sections.  Personally, I enjoyed the slightly updated design colors from the prior release, but the all black does really feel more like Snake Eyes to me, so I like having both options available.  The other slight change-up for this guy is the accessory selection.  Obviously, he doesn’t get the whole rack of weapons of the deluxe, and he also drops the extra set of hands.  In addition, the Uzi and Beretta have been dropped in favor of more sci-fi-esque weaponry, more in line with the how the rest of the line is armed.  They’re both pretty nifty designs in their own right, and I’m sure a slightly easier sale to retailers in this day and age.  He does keep the backpack, silencer, and knife, although there seems to have been a slight mold error with the knife and its corresponding sheath this time, as it doesn’t want to go all the way in.  I may need to see about modding that, because it’s a little bit annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was absolutely thrilled with the exclusive Snake Eyes, and honestly didn’t know what to expect of the standard retail release.  I honestly wasn’t even sure he’d be any different, at least as a core figure.  The paint change-up was not expected, but I really do enjoy it, and I’m just as happy with this guy as I was the initial release.  It will be hard to decide which one will be my main one for display.

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

#2484: Roadblock

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

ROADBLOCK

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

“G.I. Joe is a highly skilled, on-demand, special operations force of men and women from around the globe. These extraordinarily talented heroes are selected for their elite abilities and tasked with defending the world from Cobra, a ruthless criminal organization bent on total domination. With unwavering courage and steely determination, the brave members of G.I. Joe are prepared to seek out Cobra in any environment on the planet. From hostile jungles to ice-clad arctic peaks…wherever there’s trouble, G.I. Joe is there.”

Back in April, I took my first look at the Classified Series, Hasbro’s new attempt at relaunching G.I. Joe as a line of 6-inch figures in the same vein as The Black Series and Marvel Legends, with their fancy deluxe Snake Eyes figure that they offered up as a Pulse Exclusive.  That guy was pretty darn awesome and definitely got me excited for the rest of the line.  Well, just four short months later I’ve finally gotten my hands on the first series proper, and I’ll be kicking things off with the most rhyme-tastic member of the Joes, Marvin F. Hinton, aka Roadblock!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roadblock is figure 01 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, the first of the five figures that make up Series 1 of the line.  Roadblock at first glance seems sort of odd as number 1, but Hasbro’s really been pushing him as a main character as of late, so this tracks with that.  At 6 3/4 inches tall he’s the tallest of the initial set of figures, and he has 37 points of articulation.  From a movement, he’s got all the same sorts of joints as what we saw on Snake Eyes, but his mobility is slightly more restricted, both by Roadblock’s slightly larger frame, and also by the presence of a somewhat thick vest piece overlay on the torso.  He’s still quite capable of attaining plenty of the necessary Roadblock-appropriate poses, and then some.  For my figure, his legs are a touch loose at the hips, but otherwise, the articulation is solid.  When these figures were unveiled, Roadblock’s design was under quite a bit of scrutiny, with people generally feeling it didn’t look enough like the character.  He’s certainly not a pitch-perfect recreation of the V1 figure, that’s for sure.  He is, however, a pretty close update of Roadblock’s 1986 V2 design (minus a t-shirt, and plus a couple of armored bits on the legs), which, among other things, is the design that was used in G.I. Joe: The Movie.  So, it’s not like that look doesn’t have its own level of prominence.  Now, is it quite as quintessential and appearance?  Perhaps not, but it’s still a valid Roadblock look.  Personally, I might have liked to see them throw a tank top under the vest and make the vest a little more easily removed, but I’m sure a more classically-inspired Roadblock is very definitely in the cards moving forward.  Taken on his own merits, this Roadblock’s sculpt is still rather impressive, and makes for a cool looking figure.  The detail work on his uniform is nice and sharp, and it’s cool to continue to see Roadblock portrayed as noticeably larger than the other members of the team.  His paintwork is generally pretty solid stuff.  There’s certainly a lot going on.  I know people weren’t big on the golden armor plates.  I’m not super crazy about them myself, but I also don’t find myself all that upset with them either.  They’re just there.  I do really dig the tattoo on his left shoulder; that’s a fun little piece of character added to the figure.  Okay, so, let’s talk about the other area that people weren’t so big on: the accessories.  Or, more specifically, the primary accessory.  Roadblock is the team’s heavy gunner, and he was originally packed with an M-2 Browning.  This figure replaces that with a more sci-fi-y rail gun-style weapon.  The thing is, it’s actually far more sensible for him to be carrying something like this in the somewhat sci-fi driven world than it would be for him to be carrying an actual WW2-era M-2 Browning, which is almost a century old at this point.  So, I can really understand Hasbro’s desire to update.  It’s a cool weapon with a cool design, and I really dig its removable clip/battery pack.  And, if you don’t dig the rail gun, I find that Deathlok’s mini gun makes for a pretty awesome replacement.  In addition to the rail gun, Roadblock also includes a small knife, which can be sheathed on his vest.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Going into this line, Roadblock was probably the figure I was looking forward to the least.  You see, for all the defending of the changes to the figure I did up there, I will admit that they amounted to a figure that did feel a little bit less Roadblock-y to me.  Ultimately, he was at the bottom of my list.  However, All Time ended up getting in their Roadblocks a week before the other figures, so I wound up with him on his own, and that allowed me to enjoy the figure in a vacuum.  He’s still probably my fifth-favorite figure in the set, but he doesn’t trail quite as far behind the others as I’d feared he might initially.  He’s actually a pretty fun 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.