Tag Archives: Hasbro

#2424: Taskmaster

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

TASKMASTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Taskmaster is armed with the ability to mimic an enemy’s every move.”

As the MCU has evolved, so have the foes that its heroes face.  While Phase 1 is generally regarded as having well-crafted villains on the whole (we’ll overlook Whiplash), Phase 2 is generally agreed to have had some pretty lackluster ones.  Phase 3 again introduced some slightly more interesting ones, and the post Phase 3-slate will hopefully keep the trend going.  They’ve certainly grabbed a solid starting point for their first film out of the gate, going with classic Avengers foe Taskmaster as an opponent for Black Widow in her solo film.  It’s a solid match-up, and if nothing else it looks like it’s going to lead to some pretty fun fight scenes.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Taskmaster is the one figure in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends not to get a number, due to being the one figure in the set to not include a piece of Dynamo.  He’s also the double-pack for this assortment, which might seem a little odd given it’s Widow’s movie and all, but she’s got the two separate figure releases, so it ultimately balances out.  Taskmaster has had a couple of somewhat divergent costume designs in the comics, and fans are a little split on which one is really the proper Taskmaster look.  For the film, it looks like they’ve somewhat split the difference, resulting in a design that’s actually a pretty solid hybrid of the character’s various looks.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.   Taskmaster is sporting an all-new sculpt, based on his film design, and it’s a pretty impressive one at that.  There are a lot of layers in play here, making it look like it’s actually a bunch of armor assembled on a real person.  The detailing is all pretty sharply handled, and everything seems to line-up pretty closely to what we’ve seen of Taskmaster from the trailers.  The proportions are all nicely balanced, and Hasbro is again getting that articulation worked in as naturally as possible, all while trying to maintain that heightened poseablility we’ve gotten so used to.  The paintwork on Taskmaster is decent, if maybe not quite as impressive as it could be.  The base level stuff is all pretty good, but instead of a black bodysuit with blue armor plating, the bulk of the figure is just straight molded in a very dark blue.  It gets the same general effect, but it ends up not looking quite as sharp as the on-screen design.  Obviously, this is still a far cry from when the AoU figures lost most of their detailing on their backs, but it’s still not quite perfect.  Though Taskmaster is without a Build-A-Figure piece, he’s certainly not lacking in accessories.  He’s got three sets of hands (in fists, gripping, and panther claws), a bow, arrow, sword, and shield.  About the only thing I could really say he’s missing is an alternate head with the hood pulled down, but ultimately this is a pretty impressive assortment of extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m definitely down for a good take on Taskmaster, and I’ve been pretty excited for this guy since he showed up in the concept art for the movie.  Hasbro definitely knows there’s a lot of interest in him, because they’ve definitely put there best foot forward on this release.  Dropping the BaF part in favor of more weaponry was definitely the right call, and it results in a figure that’s really the star of the movie figures in this line-up.

Taskmaster 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.

#2423: Red Guardian

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

RED GUARDIAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Alexei Shostakov is a super soldier and spy who has lived a lifetime of triumph during the Cold War.”

Imitators of Captain America are no rare thing, in pretty much any incarnation of the Marvel universe.  In the span of the next year, we’ll have two of them introduced into the MCU.  The first is today’s subject, Alexei Shostakov, better known as the Red Guardian, the Soviet Union’s answer to Cap, and, at least in the comics, anyway, the ex-husband of Natasha Romanov.  I don’t think that’s quite going to be their relation in the movie, but only time will tell.  Whatever the case, Stranger Things alum David Harbour has been cast in the part for the film, presumably so that when you say “that comic book movie where David Harbour’s red,” nobody thinks of Hellboy anymore.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Guardian is figure 3 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends, and the second-to-last of the movie-based figures.  This is our second Red Guardian Legend, following the comics-based one from the Civil War tie-ins.  He’s theoretically based on the main design for the character from Black Widow, but…well, there’s a bit to that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  In contrast to yesterday’s Yelena figure, which was too tall, this guy’s really not tall enough, given that David Harbour’s height of 6’3″ should actually make this figure roughly an inch taller than the two Widows, placing him more into Thor territory (since their actors are actually the same height, and all).  As it stands, he’s just about an average height, which does seem a little bit on the small side.  At the very least, his sculpt does seem to have the appropriate bulk to it, so there’s at least that.  What it doesn’t have, however, are two somewhat important things: Alexi’s somewhat disheveled appearance, and his uniform’s helmet.  In circumstances I can only assume are rather similar to what happened with the Infinity War Captain America, where Hasbro was working from early concept art for the character, rather than the final film’s appearance.  The end result is a figure that looks suitably like David Harbour in a Red Guardian costume, but doesn’t seem to be quite so accurate to the proper character as seen on screen.  Maybe there’s a flashback sequence where Alexei is a little more pulled together, but my money’s on that not being the case.  It’s honestly too bad, because it’s a good sculpt, and makes for a very playable figure.  The Harbour likeness is a strong one, too, and I like the general look of the design.  I will say that his paint work is probably the weakest out of this particular assortment, at least on my figure.  There are a few spots where it looks like the coverage wasn’t as consistent as it should be, and my figure is missing some noticeable paint for his beard at the bottom of his chin.  Red Guardian includes his shield and the left arm of Crimson Dynamo.  The lack of an extra head really stands out here, because he’s otherwise quite light compared to the rest of the assortment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pretty much prepped to be a little letdown by this figure.  It happened with IW Cap, and this feels pretty much the same.  The thing is, he’s honestly a good figure, and it’s a shame that a lot of people are probably going to miss that because he’s inaccurate.  I don’t know if Hasbro will be going back for a more proper version later down the line, but I can at least appreciate this guy for what he is until such a time that there may be a better one.

This guy 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.

#2422: Yelena Belova

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

YELENA BELOVA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A product of the Red Room’s ruthless training program, Yelena Belova is a fiery assassin.”

Though initially a name purely associated with Natasha Romanov, in 1999 it was revealed that “Black Widow” was actually a title used by Russia’s top assassin, who, following Natasha’s defection to the US, was Yelena Belova.  Yelena made her debut as an antagonist to Natasha, and has gone back and forth over the years.  For her MCU debut, she appears to be coming in on more friendly terms.  Of course, we won’t really know for sure until October now, so I guess we’ll just have to wait on that.  Well, might as well review the figure, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yelena Belova is figure 2 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends, and the second of the MCU-based figures from the set.  It’s also our first Legends Yelena under Hasbro’s tenure, though we did get one previously waaaaay back in the Toy Biz days.  To say there have been advances since then is a bit of an understatement.  Yelena is sporting what appears to be her primary design from the film, an all-white suit similar to the one we’ve seen Natasha in, topped by a vest that looks suspiciously like the one Natasha had during Infinity War.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  The height seems a bit much, because while Florence Pugh is taller than Scarlet Johannsen, it’s only by an inch, and given that this figure has flats, while Natasha is wearing heels, the height difference shouldn’t quite work out the way it does.  In terms of articulation, she tries out a slightly different articulation scheme, at least for the neck, which is a little more similar to how Black Series has been doing it recently.  I didn’t find the joint on mine to be quite as useful, however, and the neck ends up looking a bit longer than it should because of it.  Points for effort, though.  The sculpt on Yelena is a pretty solid one.  The likeness is respectably close to Pugh; perhaps a little thinner than in real life, but not by much.  The body sculpt is fairly realistically proportioned.  Interestingly, they’ve opted to sculpt the vest right onto the torso, instead of a removable one like on IW Widow, but I think the end result looks a little bit better.  Her paintwork is all pretty respectable.  She’s got the face printing, which looks better here than on Natasha.  The inclusion of the vest also helps break up her coloring a bit better than the all-white Natasha, making for a slightly more aesthetically pleasing figure to my eyes.  Yelena is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), plus two more Markovs (though only one can be holstered this time; the other side has permanently sheathed knives instead), and the torso and shoulder pads to Crimson Dynamo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Classically, I’ve never had much attachment to Yelena as a character, so I didn’t really have much of an opinion about her introduction to the films (I was honestly fine with IW Widow serving as a nod and leaving it at that), but I did like the look of the figure.  In-hand, she’s quite nice, and a good match for Natasha.

Yelena 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.

#2421: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Natasha Romanoff reunites with a group of spies from her past to stop a lethal force.”

Hey, remember when I reviewed that one stray Black Widow figure last week?  Good, because if I’m honest, I only barely do.  It’s been like three weeks my time, so it’s but a distant memory.  Black Widow?  Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in quite some time.  Despite the film’s delay to October, all of the toys were set to arrive just before everything went nuts, meaning they’re all out there and ready to go for a movie that’s now six months out. Hey, who am I to knock new toys, though?  I’m kicking these reviews off with another figure of the title character herself, the Black Widow!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow is figure 1 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends, which is the dedicated Black Widow-tie-in assortment.  She’s the first of the four movie-based figures in the main line-up (there’s also the previously reviewed deluxe Widow, which is its own stand alone release).  The deluxe release gave us Natasha in her all-white number from a lot of the promotional material, while this one gives us her in her more standard color scheme.  I’m actually quite a fan of this particular design, as it’s really the closest that the MCU Widow has gotten to her classic ’70s costume from the comics.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  A lot of what’s here is shared with the deluxe release, as I assumed would be the case when I reviewed that figure.  It’s sensible, as it looks like the two designs are rather similar.  This figure gets a new upper torso piece, which changes out the webgear she’s sporting on her shoulders.  Now there’s a spot for her to stow her batons on her back, something I was happy to see after said feature was absent from her Infinity War release.  Beyond that, it’s the same sculpt I looked at before, which is fine by me, because it was a really good sculpt.  The paintwork on this release is overall an improvement on the deluxe’s.  The color scheme of the costume allows for more of the sculpted details to be properly accented, and is just generally a slightly more engaging design.  The only slight down turn is on the face, which doesn’t quite have the same lifelike quality to it that the deluxe release did.  I’m probably going to end up swapping those two heads for my display.  Though not packing quite the same impressive haul as the deluxe figure, this release of Widow still includes two sets of hands (fists and gripping), her dual Markovs, batons, and the left leg to the Crimson Dynamo Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With things starting to head back into the beginnings of the path to normality, the floodgates have kind of opened up on toy distribution again, so I didn’t have quite as much of a wait for the full assortment of Widow figures as I’d thought I might.  Having quite liked the deluxe release, I was more invested in this one.  Though the face paint was a slight let-down, the figure is otherwise really solid, and definitely the best MCU Widow to date.  Even with the film pushed back, this figure is definitely worth getting a hold of.

Widow 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.

#2413: Soundwave Spy Patrol 3

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

FRENZY, KNOK, WINGTHING, & SKAR

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: EARTHRISE (HASBRO)

And yet another new item.  Wow, we are just rolling through these new boys, aren’t we?  For what it’s worth, there’s a week of time between Black Widow/Probe Droid and Drake, and then another week from Drake to today’s subject, even though there’s been no gap for you, the readers.  I’ve just been sitting here worried I was gonna have to dig into my old toys again.  I think I might be losing my grip on the now….where was I?  Or, more accurately, *when* was I?  Eh?  Time traveler thing? …Yeah, it’s really not that funny.  Sorry, I’ve not really had real people to run these things by as of late.  …the toys…should review the toys!  Yes, so the toys for today are some more Transformers.  It’s been over a month, so it’s probably time for some more of those!  I’m on record as being quite a Soundwave fan, and something that kind of accompanies that is the need to pick up his support crew, whatever their current alt-mode may be (since cassettes are so passe), and I’ll be taking a look at Soundwave’s Spy Patrol 3 today!  What happened to 2?  Don’t make me hurt you!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This four-pack is one of the online-only (in theory, at least) Transformers Generations: Selects offerings, officially falling under the Earthrise heading.  As I noted when I reviewed fellow Selects offering Hot Shot, these figures make use of minimal new tooling in order to accent the main retail lines.  Though listed as “Soundwave Spy Patrol,” only two of the figures included here are actually really meant for Soundwave, with the other two intended to go along with the Earthrise Doubledealer figure.  All four are technically compatible with Soundwave (and Soundblaster), of course.

FRENZY

One of the original four cassettes, released along with Soundwave in 1984, Frenzy quite frequently receives the short end of the stick on newer releases.  This figure follows that lead, since when it came time to release one of the two humanoid cassette bots, it was Rumble who got first dibs as part of the Spy Patrol 2 set.  Of course, with that set being practically non-existent for most collectors (myself included), maybe Frenzy’s not in quite as bad shape.  In robot mode, he stands just over 2 inches tall and has 9 workable points of articulation.  As one would expect, what with the two characters being always built on the same molds and all, Frenzy is the same sculpt as Rumble.  This is my first exposure to it, and I dig it overall.  Compared to a lot of the Siege and Earthrise stuff, he’s not quite as sleek, but given his alt-more is just a box, I guess a little bit of boxiness is certainly excusable.  He’s also a bit less of an outright figure of his own than the TR-style Frenzy from the Bumblebee cassettes pack, but with the smaller scaling, I find that to be fairly excusable.  Like all of the Spy Patrol guys, Frenzy turns into a definitely-not-a-cassette rectangle, designed to fit in Soundwave’s chest compartment.  I had heard that he was a little too large to properly fit, but I didn’t find this to be an issue with mine, though I did notice he was a little snugger in there then Ravage and Laserbeak.  Not by much, though.

WINGTHING

After the original four cassettes were released, there was one additional cassette added in 1986, Ratbat.  Ratbat made his way into the Siege line proper alongside Rumble, but much like the Rumble/Frenzy re-use, we also get a re-use of the Ratbat mold here as Wingthing, Soundwave’s Action Master partner, who has subsequently been re-worked into another of his cassette boys.  In bat-mode, Wingthing stands an inch and a quarter tall, and has a moving neck, wings, and feet.  His robot mode is decent, but not super posable, or really posable at all, for that matter.  Mostly, the joints are just there to facilitate the transformation scheme.  He’s kind of rudimentary, and doesn’t stand so well, but it’s a cool enough visual, I suppose.  This body’s transformation turns it into less of cassette-esque box than the previous molds.  Said box is even larger than the one Frenzy turns into, so there’s really no way to put it into Soundwave’s chest capacity, which is a definite bummer.

KNOK

Okay, now we jump into the “not technically cassette bots” segment of this set.  First up is Knok, who was originally Doubledealer’s Autobot powermaster, but has now been made a Decepticon, at least according to the instructions included here.  It’s okay, though, because he’s without any sort of insignia, so he can kind of be whatever you want.  Structurally, he’s pretty much the same as Frenzy, but with a new head (one of two new pieces included in the set).  Using the same sculpt as Frenzy means he’s as good as Frenzy, so I can definitely dig that.  Interestingly, in my case, I found that Knok actually fits into Soundwave’s chest cavity even a bit better than Frenzy.

SKAR

Last up is Doubledealer’s other powermaster, Knok’s Decepticon equivalent, Skar.  Skar makes use of the same basic mold as Wingthing/Ratbat.  He’s got a new head (the other new part in the set), but is otherwise identical.  So, you know, same basic issues that I outlined about the mold just above.  Not really my favorite.  He changes up the colors into something more classically decepticon-y, so that’s cool.  Again, he’s got no insignia, but he’s correctly labeled as a Decepticon.  Whatever the case, he can again be what you want.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never saw the Rumble/Ratbat set once, and I was definitely a little bummed about missing out on the Rumble mold.  I was kinda holding out hope for the Frenzy re-deco, though, so this set’s announcement did make me a little happier.  I was even happier when I was actually able to secure one.  It’s funny, because I realized I’ve inexplicably ended up with a Frenzy to go with each of my main Soundwaves.  I’m okay with that.  Knok is pretty cool by virtue of being more or less the same figure as Frenzy.  Wingthing and Skar, I’m not quite as into.  They aren’t bad, nut they aren’t as cleverly designed as the cassettes, made worse by the fact that they aren’t actually compatible with the cassette feature.  Still, a 50/50 split on this set isn’t the worst.

Thanks to All Time Toys for setting me up with these guys to review.  If you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2411: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Natasha Romanoff reunites with a group of spies from her past to stop a lethal force.”

Oh boy, a second new thing!  …Yeah, okay, I mentioned it yesterday, so I guess you guys kind of new this was coming.  So, after years of waiting, we’re finally getting a Black Widow solo film…you know, six months after we were supposed to.  To be fair, that feels about right for the track record of getting the solo film out so far.  A smooth journey never really was part of the process.  There are some things that you can’t really put a stop to, even if you move a movie’s release date.  In Widow‘s case, it’s all the tie-ins.  While the movie won’t be out for another six months, all the toys are starting to show up now anyway.  Oh darn, new toys.  What am I gonna do?  Write some reviews, probably.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

While there is a specific Black Widow-themed assortment of Marvel Legends that is hitting some places right now, this particular version of Widow is a solo-offering hitting alongside them, and is set up at the deluxe range price point like Archangel and the reissues of the Build-A-Figures.  While the standard release will be giving us Natasha in her more typical black attire, this release is based on the all-white number we’ve seen her in for a lot of the promotional material.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Widow is an all-new sculpt (albeit one that has a large overlap with the standard release in terms of pieces), not relying on prior figures.  That’s good, because much like Cap’s Winter Solider figure got milked just a bit too much, so did Nat’s.  And, while the Infinity War version was a nice figure, the differences in costume design definitely warranted an all-new approach.  It’s the best MCU Natasha sculpt we’ve gotten, and I say this as someone who was quite a fan of both of the prior sculpts.  Something about this particular figure really seems to get down Scarlet Johansen’s build in a way that previous releases didn’t.  In particular, the last two figures were both a little bit skinny for Johansen, at least for any of the movies past IM2.  This slightly more solid build feels like a much better match, and makes for a sturdier figure as well.  The head also has our best Johansen likeness from Hasbro to date.  They’ve been steadily improving with each Widow they’ve done, and it seems to have really paid off here.  The paint work on this figure is fairly basic.  The head’s got the face printing, so that’s quite lifelike, but the body feels a little more devoid of anything.  I feel like a little more accenting would have gone a long way; the all-white nature of the body means that a lot of the really nice sculpted details are a little more easily lost.  Perhaps the standard release will be better in this regard.  As it stands, this version is certainly passable.  What sets this figure apart from the standard release even more than just the color of her suit is her accessory selection, which helps to justify that deluxe price-point.  Widow is packed with three sets of hands (in fists, gripping, and trigger finger), two Markovs (thanks again to Tim for the gun ID), a pair of hooked weapons, seven different effects pieces covering all manner of explosions, gunfire, and her widow’s stingers, and a dynamic display stand.  It’s an impressive selection, and a far cry from the days when Widow couldn’t even get a single pistol of her own.  Now she’s got stuff to spare, and I can definitely see this set being picked up by a lot of people just for the accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The story of how I got Widow here is pretty much the same as yesterday’s Probe Droid: All Time got her in right as I was hitting the peak of my “I haven’t bought anything new to review in a while” phase.  I was definitely planning to get this figure, but didn’t know what to expect.  She’s a lot of fun, both just as a figure, and as an excuse to get a lot of cool accessories.  I’m actually kind of glad I got her divorced from the standard release, because it lets me look at the two Widows on their own merits a bit more.  I think the core figure to this one might have gotten the short end of the stick otherwise.

As noted above, Widow 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.

#2410: Imperial Probe Droid

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

IMPERIAL PROBE DROID

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Tenacious hunters, probe droids are armed with powerful blasters.”

Oh my, could it be?  Could it actually be something new on the site?  Yeah, I’m as surprised as all of you.  I was fully expecting the delving into the back catalog to go on a little bit longer…it actually might still, but at the very least, I’ve two new items for today and tomorrow to keep everyone feeling at least a little bit up to date (or as up to date as a review written a month ago can be…I built up quite a buffer you guys).  So, what’s the new thing?  Well, technically something old.  2020 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and so Hasbro’s kind of re-orienting their various Star Wars lines this year in order to tie in with that a bit.  Some of the vintage-style-cardback figures have slipped out early, but the first real release of the 40th stuff is the next entry in the Black Series deluxe line-up, the Imperial Probe Droid.  As the first thing the audience sees in Empire, I suppose it’s a pretty fitting way of launching things, so let’s get right into it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Imperial Probe Droid is figure D3 in the Black Series line-up, putting him right after the (no longer Best Buy-exclusive) Heavy Infantry Mandalorian.  It marks the Probe Droid’s fourth time in figure form, coming fairly closely to the third, which was released with the Last Jedi stuff in 2017.  On its base, the Droid stands, or floats rather, 8 1/4 inches tall and it has 23 points of articulation.  The smaller Probot was quite well articulated for the line he came from, and this guy does even better, with joints at pretty much all the spots that there are joints on the actual thing.  You’d be surprised how rare an occurrence that is.  In terms of the sculpt, this figure feels very much like an upscaling of the Last Jedi figure, which I suppose makes sense, because it effectively is.  They are adapting the same source material after all.  It’s even more sharply detailed this time, as you would expect for something with this much more canvas to work with.  In general, it’s just a very technically impressive sculpt, and the only way you’re really going to get better is with something on the much more high-end side of things.  And even then, that goes into the question of more details just being more attainable at a larger scale.  While the smaller Probot was light on the paint front, this one is actually pretty involved.  There’s a lot of really nifty little detail work, with all sorts of wear and tear worked in on the body’s main chunk.  It makes him look like a real working robot, and it really sells that signature used styling of the Star Wars universe.  The Probe Droid is a bit hard to accessorize, since it’s not like it uses a lot of stuff.  This guy gets a base to allow for a simulation of its usual hovering.  It’s the one area where I don’t feel this is quite as across the board an improvement on that smaller release, as they’ve opted to go with a more environment based stand, rather than the all clear like the prior figure.  It doesn’t look bad, and the snowy grounds of Hoth are the only time we see the bot in the movie, but it’s a little bit less versatile than I’d like, since I’m not really one for diorama set-ups.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Probe Droid is my first new toy purchase in roughly a month…or at least was when I wrote this review back in April.  I don’t know what antics future Ethan’s gotten up to in the mean time, but I’m sure we’ll all find out together.  While I wasn’t quite as excited as some when the figure was shown off (I was pretty darn happy with that smaller-scale one), I’ve kind of given in on owning most things Black Series these days.  Whatever the case, All Time got them in stock, and I, as previously noted, hadn’t gotten anything new, so, yeah, sign me up for that.  I’m glad I picked him up, because he’s the best Probe Droid out there, and a cool centerpiece to the Empire collection I’m going on only further build during this coming year.

As noted above, the Probe Droid was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2405: Jarek Yeager & Bucket (R1-J5)

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

JAREK YEAGER & BUCKET (R1-J5)

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“Jarek Yeager runs a repair shop on the Colossus refueling station, enjoying the solitude of being so far off the beaten paths of the galaxy. Bucket has been Jarek Yeager’s loyal astromech for years, and despite being a battered, decrepit droid addled by outdated, glitching programming, is also a skilled mechanic.”

I told you there would be one more day of this, and I’m a man of my word.  So, here’s another day of this here Resistance stuff, because what else am I going to review? The other 2,300 figures still left unreviewed in my collection?  Don’t be preposterous.  I couldn’t do that….Today, I round out the Resistance stuff I have with a two-fer–Jarek Yeager and Bucket!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Jarek and Bucket are again part of the launch assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Resistance line, which hit in early 2019.  They were part of the same not-quite-so-basic assortment as Poe & BB-8.

Jarek’s up first, since he’s the standard normal figure of the set.  He stands 4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is not very outwardly impressive, I suppose.  There’s not exactly a lot going on with his design, so at first glance the sculpt seems perhaps a little “meh.”  However, there’s actually a lot going on here, and the detail work on this guy is really sharp.  The head in particular, with its separate hair piece, really has depth to it, and really captures the character’s design from the show.  Like the sculpt, Jarek’s paint is kind of drab and boring at first glance, but it’s got more going on than you might realize.  The face is the sharpest part by far, but the whole figure looks pretty good, with minimal bleed over and slop throughout.  Jarek is packed with a blaster pistol and an extra helmeted head, much like Tora, though unlike Tora, there’s no face in this one.  It’s better when he’s holding it, but has the flipside of looking quite strange when it’s popped onto the body.

Also included is Bucket, Resistance‘s resident whacky droid, and probably the main selling point of this set for most people, I’d say.  The figure’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  That’s right, he’s got more articulation than the standard figure’s he’s included with.  Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.  It’s all pretty useful, too, and he’s the most fun of these figures to mess around with.  The sculpt is a very technically impressive one.  There are a lot of layers to it, making for a decent depiction of a deconstructed astromech.  The paint’s also pretty eye-catching, especially that fighter helmet he’s got.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Jarek and Bucket here at the same time as Tora and Synara.  I had actually looked at this particular set once or twice before the clearance prices set in, mostly because I really liked the look of Bucket, but I just never got around to picking them up.  When given the chance at a lowered price, it was a very easy sell.  Bucket’s the star here, but Jarek’s honestly no slouch either.  I’d say this set is probably my favorite thing to come out of the Resistance line.  I really wish I’d supported the line in full back when it was first released, because it was really cool.

#2404: Synara San

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

SYNARA SAN

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“A salvager who scours the oceans and islands of Castilon for crashed starships, Synara keeps much to herself.”

Well, I sure hope you liked yesterday’s Star Wars: Resistance-themed review, because there’s two more of these suckers where that one came from.  Yes, let’s jump into the further adventures of Ethan reviewing toys from a show he’s seen like three episodes of!  That’s always fun and exciting, isn’t it?  And this time, I’m even reviewing a character from beyond the episodes I’ve watched!  Yay!  Let’s have a look at *checks packaging* Synara San!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Synara San is another figure from the basic assortment of Star Wars: Resistance figures.  She’s the last of the “heroic” characters from the assortment, with the remaining slots being filled by General Pyre and a Stormtrooper.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Synara’s another all-new sculpt, and definitely another nice one.  She’s actually a little bit pre-posed, with a sort of shifted weight approach.  It’s a very natural appearance, and sells that she’s got that slightly seedier background than the others.  Sculpturally, she’s also one of the less stylistic figures in the set, and I dare say she wouldn’t look too out of place with the main line figures.  I like the scavanged gear aspect of this figure, and I’m especially a fan of the various Biker Scout stuff she’s got.  That’s a really cool touch.  Synara’s paint scheme is a little more subdued than some of the others in the assortment, but it’s still pretty eye-catching, and I liked how crisp it is, especially on her face.  She doesn’t have any of the major application issues that Tora did, which is a definite plus in my book.  Synara is packed with a removable helmet (which is of a similar design to the one Lando was sporting in Jedi) and a blaster pistol, which is a pretty nice combo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Synara at the same time as Tora, a little bit after the kind of “meh” Triple Force Friday launch.  I was itching for some more toyetic Star Wars love, and these guys definitely worked to tide me over.  While I mostly just grabbed Synara because I was grabbing everything Target had on clearance from the line, and not so much because her specific design appealed to me, I do have to say I really like the figure a lot after getting to sit down and mess with her a bit.

#2403: Torra Doza

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

TORRA DOZA

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“A daring pilot at the Colossus station with a sense of flair and competitiveness, Torra Doza has the combined energy of a hotshot ace and a fifteen-year old.”

Okay, what else do I have that I can review?  *Looks around desk*  Hey, do you guys want to read about some more Star Wars stuff?  I’ve got a bunch of that.  I mean, it’s kind of new.  Demented and sad, but kinda new.  In 2018, Disney launched a sequel-era Star Wars cartoon, dubbed Star Wars: Resistance, alongside a small assortment of figures based on the characters from the show.  Included in the line were a number of the Resistance pilots featured in the series.  I’ll be looking at one of them, Torra Doza, today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Torra Doza is another basic figure from the first (and only) assortment of Star Wars Resistance figures.  She stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Torra’s sculpt is all-new to her, and like the others I’ve looked at so far, it’s a pretty spot-on recreation of her animation model from the show.  It’s not quite as sharp a sculpt as Kaz’s, but it’s still got some pretty cool little details going into it, especially on the boots and gloves.  The rest of the details are very clean looking, and the figure’s certainly quite slick.  Rather than getting a removable helmet (which would no doubt be quite difficult with her hair), Torra has a second head, with the helmet permanently attached. It’s fairly nice, but the presence of the eyes makes it look really weird if you have her holding it while unmasked.  Torra’s paintwork is quite colorful, as is the case with most of the Resistance figures.  I appreciate the very bright colors, as they aren’t always as common with Star Wars figures.  The application on the head is very sharp, but the body suffers a bit.  In particular, on my figure the paint on her neck is mostly covered by the blue of the jumpsuit, rather than being the appropriate flesh tone.  Though her hand appears to be molded for a blaster of some sort, Torra’s only accessory is the previously mentioned helmeted head.  It feels a little light, and is made worse by the fact that she’s yet another pilot without a ship to fly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the lack of any sort of basic line component to the Rise of Skywalker product, I decided I wanted at least a little bit of a 5POA fix, and set about tracking down these guys, seeing as I’d liked the Poe figure so much.  Fortunately for me, that was right around the time that Target was clearancing them out, so I was able to get a handful of the figures that way, Torra included.  The paint’s a bit of a mess, and I wish she had at least one more accessory, but I do really quite like this figure.