Tag Archives: Kenner

#3827: Wicket & Logray

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

WICKET & LOGRAY

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (KENNER)

Here we are, back at the Star Wars!  I’m doing this thing where I jump back and forth between Power of the Force and not-Power of the Force, and last month was a not-Power of the Force month, so we’re back on the Power of the Force!  I sure did say “Power of the Force” a lot there, didn’t I?  One of the neat things about Power of the Force was its aim at a sense of value.  The vintage line would sell you everyone at the same price point, regardless of relative sizing, but for the follow-up, Kenner was a bit more experimental.  For notably small guys, like the Jawas, the Ugnaughts, or, in fact today’s focus, the Ewoks, they were nice enough to give you two figures for the price of one!  How kind!  Let’s look at Wicket and Logray!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wicket and Logray were added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1998, in the midst of the Freeze Frame era.  Wicket was actually technically a re-release, having appeared in the Princess Leia Collection the prior year, but Logray was totally new.  Wicket stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Logray stands almost 1/2 an inch taller, but keeps the same movement.  Both figures are far from super posable.  The necks are quite restricted, especially on Wicket, with his hood and all, while the hip joints are ultimately not super useful for much more than some fine tuning to keep them standing.  They are at least pretty stable on their feet, so there’s at least that.  The sculpts are also pretty nice overall.  I like the head gear being actually separate parts, and the fur detailing is solid for the era and style.  Of the two, I think Wicket’s the slightly stronger sculpt, but they’re both decent renditions of the look from the movie.  Paint work’s not too bad on either figure.  They both get a bit of variation on the fur.  It again works a bit better on Wicket; Logray looks a bit like he’s wearing striped pajamas.  Hey, at least it’s unique.  Both figures get their own accessory, Wicket getting his spear, and Logray his staff.  There’s also the Freeze Frame slide, for those that are interested in such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Would you believe me if I said I don’t actually recall getting these?  I know I got them from All Time, some time after I well and truly committed to this whole buying the entire run thing, but I think I may have gotten them in a batch with some other figures?  I’m pretty sure I got them sealed and then opened them during one of my bouts of needing to open things to feel better.  They’re not bad.  Honestly, it’s hard to mess up an Ewok, so good on them for not doing 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.

#3794: Weequay Skiff Guard

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

WEEQUAY SKIFF GUARD

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oooooooooh, every party has a pooper, that’s why we invited Wequay!  …sorry, do we not all just spontaneously break into quotes from Robot Chicken?  Is it just me?  Yeah, actually, that tracks.  Well, in my effort to get through more of the many, many unreviewed Star Wars figures in my collection, we’re jumping into another one, specifically of the Power of the Force variety.  So, here’s the aforementioned party pooper, Weequay (Skiff Guard)!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Weequay Skiff Guard was added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line-up in 1997.  He initially predated the Freeze Frames, but was one of the figures to be rereleased with one later.  However, Weequay is by far the rarest of the Freeze Frame releases, so it doesn’t really turn up much.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Weequay got an all-new sculpt, which is honestly a pretty good one.  He’s got a fair a bit of pre-posing going on, largely to aid in holding his force pike.  It’s actually pretty dynamic, but doesn’t make him any trickier to stand or anything.  The detailing’s pretty solid; the costume elements are pretty sharp, and the face manages to get that “idealized” version of the mask from the movie, so it’s accurate, but also a little less goofy.  Weequay’s color work is sort of subtle, in that it’s got a bit more going on than you might expect.  It’s a lot of brown, but there’s also some slight blue, and a fair bit of accent work.  The paint work’s all fairly clean, and the sculpted details stand out nicely.  Weequay is packed with his force pike, as well as a brown blaster, for, like, options, I guess?  He can’t actually really hold the blaster, what with the pre-posing for the pike, but you know, I guess there’s the extra?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My most notable exposure to Weequay is in the Robot Chicken Star Wars Specials, where he serves as Boba Fett’s sidekick for a set of running skits (and where the sing-song-y bit from the intro originated).  Beyond that, I don’t know a ton about him, because, well, what’s to know?  I got this guy back in 2018, I think?  I used some Christmas money from my Grandmother to buy a bunch of PotF figures, because I was feeling a touch nostalgic.  He’s actually quite a nice figure, and my favorite of the whole skiff sub-set.

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.

#3764: Golden Pharaoh

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

GOLDEN PHARAOH

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

“British archaeologist Ashley Halberstam was working on a dig in Giza, Egypt, when he was struck by a mystical bolt of energy that emanated from a lab run by the New Gods. This bolt of energy Transformed Halberstam, unleashing the latent energies inherent in his body and turning him into Golden Pharaoh. Golden Pharaoh uses his uncanny pyramid power for the forces of good.”

Something that’s been a fixture of my Christmases for a good long while is Kenner’s Super Powers. Somewhat unique about last year was how many Super Powers figures I got between my two Christmases, thanks to McFarlane actually really stepping up their game with their continuation. But, I’m going back to the proper Kenner stuff for the day. And what a proper Kenner thing it is, since it’s one of the two characters they made up for the line, Golden Pharaoh! Who’s Golden Pharaoh? Well, he got that little bio and…that’s actually really it, since he never made the jump to the comics outside of some tie-ins. He did get a DCUC figure, which I’ve reviewed previously, but now I’m going back to the beginning!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Golden Pharaoh was part of Super Powers‘s third abs final assortment, released in 1986. Obviously, this was his first figure, and like his fellow Kenner creation Cyclotron from the same year, it would be his only figure until DCUC. The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  While the general set-up of his articulation is pretty standard for the line, the positioning of his arms, coupled with the nature of his costume design with the wings and all, limits his range on the shoulders a fair bit.  The neck is also rather stiff on mine, but that might also be linked to the age of the translucent plastic, and I’m certainly not gonna force it.  Pharaoh’s sculpt was unique, based on Jack Kirby’s design work for the character.  It’s certainly a unique look, and while the sculpt proper is a little soft in some spots, it generally works out alright.  He’s got a rather basic color scheme.  It’s certainly an odd of assortment of colors, and notably no actual gold (something that was ultimately addressed by the DCUC figure).  I do dig the translucent purple on the torso, though.  Golden Pharaoh was packed with a staff, which he can hold in his right hand.  He also had a “Power Action Soaring” feature, which pops his arms upward when his legs are squeezed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Golden Pharaoh was, as has been the trend for the last few years, my “big” Christmas gift from my parents.  He’s certainly one of the line’s more oddball offerings, and one that I don’t know that I really, truly imagined owning at the outset of collecting this line.  He just seemed like one of those far away things.  On his own, he’s perhaps not the most impressive, and could use maybe a bit more flair.  I have to wonder how much cooler he’d have been if he’d maybe been vac metalized gold, but ultimately, he’s not a bad little figure.  And here I am, three figures away from finishing up Super Powers.  Which feels increasingly odd.

#3679: Crusader Robin

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

CRUSADER ROBIN — SPECIAL LEGENDS EDITION

LEGENDS OF BATMAN (KENNER)

“Armed with his powerful crossbow, bat-shaped shield and cunning wit, Crusader Robin accompanied Silver Knight Batman on his zealous mission to impose peace on the war-torn medieval world. Since being rendered an orphan at the hands of marauding infidels, Crusader Robin constantly battled internal demons as well as the ones visible to the outside world. His never ending quest for justice – coupled with his youthful energy – made Crusader Robin a powerful force – one that the enemy would be wise not to take lightly. Crusader Robin’s brilliant new costume colors inspire his peace-keeping troops to make an all-out effort in battles to come.”

While Marvel jumped full-force into their comics-inspired toy lines in the ’90s, DC, who generally were having a greater success than Marvel with their outside media, tended to lean more heavily on tie-in products. They did at least have a few shorter run lines dedicated to comic versions of their heaviest of hitters, Batman and Superman, with Legends of Batman offering up a number of comics looks, albeit mixed in with some made-up and otherwise “Elseworlds” inspired takes. Batman got to try out all sorts of different personas, and sometimes his sidekick Robin was even lucky enough to tag along. Dick Grayson, seen in his Nightwing gear, got a pretty standard figure, but there were also two more Robins, both leaning more into the Elseworlds side. Today, I’m looking at the knight themed Crusader Robin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Crusader Robin (who, it should be noted, has no relation to the Crusader Batman from the same line, which served as a “standard” Batman) was part of the “2.5” revision to the second series of Kenner’s Legends of Batman line…originally. But that’s not the figure I’m reviewing here. No, this one is the “Special Legends Edition”, one of a whole sub-line of repaints created by Kenner to be sold through the Warner Brothers Studio Store, back when they were trying to give it an actual retail presence in the ’90s. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The Legends of Batman line preceded Total Justice in its usage of rather intense pre-posing for the figures, and Robin’s a pretty good example of this.  In particular, he’s got a rather wide stance, which makes keeping him standing rather tricky.  You have to get his balance *just* right, and even then, it’s kind of a toss-up.  Well, maybe not a toss-up, because if you toss the figure up, nothing’s gonna stand.  But, you get my point.  The sculpt has quite a bit going on, with Robin’s usual spandex re-imagined into a mix of armored plates and chainmail.  The chainmail in particular makes for some visually interesting texture work, which is fun.  The color work on the standard release was pretty close to the Tim Drake Robin’s color scheme, but for this release, it winds up going a lot heavier into the reds, which serve to replace the black from the standard, as well as most of the yellow as well.  What I find interesting about both releases is the decision to give him a medium brown color for his hair, given that all three potential Robin identities at the time had black hair.  Presumably they were attempting to loosely tie-in with Batman Forever‘s casting of Chris O’Donnell, but it’s still kind of weird to see it done on a comics-inspired figure.  Robin was packed with a crossbow, three green arrows for it, a bird-shaped shield, a cape, and a removable helmet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, my first Robin, of course, was Hydro Claw Robin, but he was a movie Robin, and I wanted one that wasn’t.  I recall this resulting in a store trip with my Grandmother, expressly for the purposes of getting a comic Robin, which resulted in me getting the standard version of this guy, who was, admittedly, the best option at the time.  That one took quite a beating, and at one point got completely covered in acrylic paint for some sort of project.  It’s been a project *since* then to clean him back up, which is still ongoing.  In the mean time, I only in the last few years discovered the “Special Legends Edition” figures even existed, and during my family vacation this summer, I happed upon this guy.  He’s fun, as was the original.  It’s crazy that there wasn’t a standard Robin in this line, but with as cool as this one is, I can’t really knock it.

 

#3673: Mynock Hunt

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

CHEWBACCA, PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA, & HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Fleeing the fierce Imperial assault on the frozen planet Hoth, the Millennium Falcon and the Rebel crew fly into the midst of a waiting Imperial war fleet. Unable to engage the Falcon’s malfunctioning hyperdrive system, Han Solo steers recklessly into an asteroid field. Solo maneuvers the Corellian freighter through the deadly storm, missing large rocks by mere inches before locating sanctuary in the cave of a huge asteroid. Inside the cave it become apparent that the Falcon is in danger of being ravaged by mynocks. Large, winged parasites with an appetite for the mineral and energy-rich bulls of starships, mynocks can cause critical damage to star-freighting vessels. Forced to hunt the creatures before irreparable harm is caused to the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca, Princess leia, and Han Solo don breathing gear and venture outside. But the mynocks become a secondary concern once the Rebel crew discovers that the cave they’re parked in is not a cave at all, but something large and very alive.”

To date here on the site, I’ve looked at 9 of the 10 Power of the Force Cinema Scenes sets.  That feels pretty wrong, right?  Yeah, I definitely need to fix that.  So, you know what?  I’m gonna do that now!  Because that’s the kind of commitment I’ve got to seeing things through!  And I’m also gonna stop shouting now because it seems like a bit much for Power of the Force!  …so, yay?  Okay, well, let’s just jump into the review, I suppose.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The “Mynock Hunt” Cinema Scenes set was added to the Power of the Force line in 1998, as a standard release offering.  Interestingly, it’s the only set in the sub-line to be based on Empire.  The set included a stand for the three figures, as well as a Mynock.  Unfortunately, as with pretty much every Mynock ever, there’s no base or anything for it, so it’s just kind of…there?  Ah well.

CHEWBACCA

Despite his lack of drastic changes in the films, Chewbacca wound up in two Cinema Scenes, putting him on equal footing with Han, and second only to Luke. That’s honestly pretty crazy. The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 6-ish points of articulation. 6-ish because the neck is once again kind of pointless in its implementation. Structurally, Chewy is using the second iteration of the standard Chewy sculpt from the line, placing him in line with the Boushh Prisoner and Hoth Chewbacca figures, and retroactively making the first Chewy sculpt more specifically the A New Hope version. It’s a far less bulked up take on the character to be sure. I was never 100% sold on the head for this version, but otherwise it’s not bad. He’s a bit more pre-posed for this specific release, making him, amongst other things, the first Chewbacca that can properly hold his bowcaster two handed. His paint work isn’t bad; there’s some variance in the fur colors, which works pretty nicely. Chewy is packed with his bowcaster, as well as removable breathing mask.

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

This was Leia’s only time gracing the Cinema Scenes sub-line, and was also notable for being the easiest way to get her Hoth attire for a good while, thanks to the single card being locked behind the fan club exclusive set-up. She stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. Her sculpt was new, though admittedly pretty similar to the single carded version. Like the other Cinema Scenes figures, she’s a little more pre-posed, with her arms ever so slightly raised. It’s minor stuff. Honestly, it’s a decent sculpt, so I’ve got no complaints. The paint’s a little overboard, I feel. She’s in all white, but there’s this sort of yellowish film over it all, which is…well, I’m not sure exactly what. But it’s there, I guess. Leia is packed with her own removable mask piece.

HAN SOLO

They sure did like Bespin Han in this line. We had four of them in Power of the Force, all pretty close to each other. This one’s a lot like the single release, but, much like Leia, the limbs are posed differently. It’s not a terrible sculpt to begin with, and this version slightly slims him down even further, so it’s not bad at all. There’s still that Power of the Force flavor, but it’s not over stated. His paint is pretty much the same. The jacket is still black, since that was the Lucasfilm line at the time. He’s packed with his blaster pistol, as well as another removable mask.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is actually one of the Cinema Scenes I was actively on the lookout for, and it still wound up being one of the very last two that I got.  Fitting, then, I suppose that I would save it to be the last Cinema Scenes set I’d review here on the site. I suppose there’s not a lot unique about the set, ultimately, but there’s a general vibe about it that I do quite like.

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.

#3663: Death Star Escape

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

HAN SOLO, CHEWBACCA, & LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Rebel Alliance has infiltrated the Galactic Empire’s most powerful battle station, the Death Star! posing as stormtroopers escorting a prisoner, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca attempt a daring rescue of the captive Princess Leia. Can they escape the dreaded Death Star, or is the Rebellion about to suffer the loss of its newest heroes?”

Hey, Cinema Scenes!  It’s been a hot minute since I’ve looked at one of these!  While Kenner/Hasbro used the later run of Cinema Scenes to fill in more obscure characters from the background of specific scenes, the earliest run of the line was more about recreating distinctive scenes, often with variants of previously released figures from the line.  One of the earliest recreated scenes was the first film’s escape from the Death Star detention center, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The “Death Star Escape” set was the Power of the Force line’s debut Cinema Scenes set, released in 1997 as a Toys “R” Us exclusive.  As with all of the Cinema Scenes sets, in addition to the three figures, this set also included a stand, meant to look like a section of the Death Star’s floor.

HAN SOLO

Originally confined to a Froot Loops promotional offer, Stormtrooper disguise Han made a pretty quick reappearance here. The figure is about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has the usual 6 points of articulation. His sculpt is similar to the previous one, but different for the sake of different. His pose is certainly changed up, largely the arms, which are now stretched outwards. The prior version was one of the rare instances of a figure that could conceivably hold his weapon two-handed (though, ironically, he had no weapon to hold), but not so with this one, who is back to the single hand hold.  Han’s paint work is very similar to the mail-away version, but the plastic used is a little different.  The skin-tone on the head is paler, and the torso and pelvis are prone to discoloring over time.  Han is packed with his removable helmet, and a standard blaster rifle.

CHEWBACCA

Chewbacca doesn’t have a drastic shift in looks in the movies, so he didn’t have any drastic shifts in figures during Power of the Force either.  He started off with one figure to cover all of the movies, and this one is a very, very minor tweak on that.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation, with the caveat of the neck not *really* moving.  He’s almost exactly the same figure as the standard release, with the only notable change being the position of the arms.  It’s Chewy at his most swoll, encapsulating the early line as a whole.  The color work is also pretty much identical, for what it’s worth.  He does get a new accessory, which is directly tied into the new arms: handcuffs!  Perfect for recreating the scene.

LUKE SKYWALKER

Luke’s Stormtrooper Disguised figure was a standard release, so we didn’t *need* a re-release, but, you know, you gotta finish up the scene, I guess.  He takes pretty much the same approach as the Han, replacing the more basic standing pose of the single release Luke with a a wider stance, even wider than Han’s.  He’s got the same basic color work, and he’s got the same issue with the discoloring on the torso and pelvis.  Paint work on the face is honestly a lot nicer, though, so he’s at least got that going for him.  And hey, look at that, same helmet and blaster as well.  Lot of same-ness going on.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is honestly a pretty common Cinema Scenes set, so it’s genuinely surprising it took me this long to get around to picking one up.  I guess the right opportunity never presented itself to me.  Well, you know, until it did, which is why I own it now.  I’d seen a couple of loose ones, but didn’t really want to go that route, but a sealed set came into All Time, and now I’ve got one.  It’s easily the weakest, most forgettable of these sets.  There’s nothing that really makes it worthwhile, and I genuinely only have it for completion’s sake.  I don’t know of any other reason to get one, but, at the same time, it’s not like it’s a *bad* set, or anything.

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.

#3649: Aquaman

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

AQUAMAN

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

“Born in the underwater world of Atlantis, Arthur Curry leads a dual life as Aquaman, protector of the world’s oceans. He is able to “breathe” water, swim at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, and communicate with most sea life. Though his strength diminishes after prolonged exposure out of the water, Aquaman’s Fractal Techgear allows him to remain on land and battle villains with his blasting hydro spear for extended periods of time.”

Aquaman seems like he’s in this perpetual state of bouncing back and forth between everyone thinking he’s lame and the people responsible for his stories trying overcompensate for the perceived lame-ness by making him super edgy.  Perhaps the earliest instance of this was Peter David’s revamp of the character in the ’90s, a run which, amongst other things, had Arthur lose a hand and replace it with a hook.  Don’t ask how he lost it.  It’s really important that you don’t.  Because it made him very edgy and serious, and you don’t want to risk upsetting that.  To aid with the edginess, Arthur also grew a beard and long hair.  Edgy!  It was the ’90s, so there were toys abound, meaning this new Aquaman got coverage pretty darn quickly.  Let’s look at him today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aquaman was released in 1996 as part of the first series of Kenner’s Total Justice line.  This was Kenner’s second time doing an Aquaman, following their Super Powers offering in the ’80s.  That one was, of course, in his classic attire, while this one was, as noted above, all edgy.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Well, 5-ish.  The neck joint’s pretty my useless, what with the hair, and the range on the hips is also pretty restricted.  You can spin those shoulders all the way around, though.  Total Justice figures are, of course, defined by their extreme posing.  Aquaman follows suit, and has perhaps one of the most extreme poses the line had to offer.  So extreme that he can barely even stand most of the time, which is a bit frustrating at times.  Why the pre-posing?  What exactly is the pose?  I have no clue.  The sculpt is…well, it’s also extreme.  There’s certainly a lot of detail going on there, with all those flexing muscles and everything.  It matches well with the typical depictions of Aquaman from the time, so I’ll certainly give them that.  Aquaman’s color scheme came in two set-ups; the standard had the shoulder armor in an off-black, while there was a variant that did it in gold, presumably in reference to his classic costume.  Beyond that detail, the paint work remains the same on the two figures.  It’s not a bad set-up, and all the major details are present and pretty cleanly handled.  In addition to the odd posing, one of the other signatures of Total Justice was the “fractal armor.”  Aquaman’s is a sort of purple-ish asymmetric set-up.  It’s very goofy, and it’s very ’90s, and I very much enjoy it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I may not be the world’s biggest Aquaman fan myself, but he’s one of my dad’s favorite characters, which does give me a bit of a link to the character.  My first figure exposure was my dad’s old Mego, which he had on display in my parents’ living room.  I wanted my own Aquaman, and this was really my only option at the time.  I got the standard one pictured above, I want to say from an Ames near where my family vacationed?  I might be totally off on that, but it’s what I’m visualizing.  He was well-loved, and my only Aquaman for a bit.  He lost the hook not terribly long after I got him, and it was never fixed.  I snagged the gold variant more recently, when a loose one came through All Time.  He’s oh so much a product of his time, more so than just about anything else in this line, and, honestly, that’s pretty fun.

#3644: Evil Bizzaro

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

EVIL BIZZARO

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

While Kenner’s tie-in line for Batman: The Animated Series was far from lacking in made up variants of its main character, it still did an okay job of filling in the villains and supporting cast. For Superman: The Animated Series, things were a touch less balanced, especially notable given how much harder it was to make variants of Superman. The third assortment of the line was *just* Superman variants, which led to it being skipped at mass retail. Kenner tried to course correct for the next set, which had a whole three non-Superman figures. It wound up being too little too late for mass retail, but the set got a second life through Diamond, which, amongst other things, made sure we didn’t miss out on Bizarro!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bizarro, or “Evil Bizzaro” as he was called on the packaging, was part of Series 4 of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series line, which was released domestically through comic shops via Diamond Distributors. He was also re-released under Hasbro alongside Supergirl and Metallo from the same series as part of the “Super Heroes vs Super Villains” boxed set. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. His sculpt was totally unique to this figure, and honestly one of this particular line’s best. Kenner struggled with keeping these figures on-model to the show, especially when it came to proportions, but Bizarro is actually a pretty good match to his animation model. Even the rather notable pre-posing isn’t a terrible departure from Bizarro’s usual poor posture in the show. Bizarro’s color scheme here isn’t bad. The purple’s a little closer to lavender than it really should be, and his belt is green for some unknown reason, but generally the look is good. Bizarro is packed with a wheel and a gear, molded in grey for this one, which is the single release, or in block for the boxed set version. The figure has a wheel in his back, which, when turned, spins his arms in opposite directions, allowing him to swing his accessories back and forth.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I owned one figure from Series 4, and it wasn’t this guy. My first Bizarro was actually one of the Mattel ones, though I always wanted one of these. I got my shot at him a little bit back, when a bag of DC animated figures got traded into All Time, and Max and I split the contents. He’s one of the best this line had to offer, so I’m glad I finally got one.

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

#3636: Parallax

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

PARALLAX

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0115: According to Wikipedia, a parallax is “the difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight,” which is honestly not a terrible name to attach to a former hero driven to extremism.

Growing up, thanks to my dad’s old comics and re-runs of Challenge of the Super Friends, I became rather attached to Hal Jordan, despite his having been replaced by Kyle Rayner in the role before I started reading comics.  Options for Hal figures were, admittedly, a little limited in the ’90s, with the only option in 5-inch scale being not a Green Lantern figure, but Parallax, Hal’s villainous turn from the comics.  Of course, in my collection, he was never *really* villainous.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Parallax was released in Series 3 of Kenner’s Total Justice, which wound up being the line’s last series.  Each set got one “villain”, which was Parallax…I guess.  Like I said, never so much to my eyes.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Total Justice‘s sculpts were always very heavy on the pre-posing, and Hal’s no exception.  This one’s definitely one of the better ones; Hal’s flair for the dramatic during this era translates well into the sculpt, and he’s got a pose that reads as dynamic, without being too absurd. The sculpted elements of the costume are a pretty good match for the source material (certainly a closer match than McFarlane’s attempt from two decades later), and there’s a nice sharpness to them. The head’s my favorite part of the whole thing, capturing Hal’s likeness, while also getting the crazed expression he was so wont to have during this period of time. The last set of Total Justice got a lot of its paint budget slashed, resulting in a lot of unpainted elements. For his part, Parallax was pretty fortunate, getting all of the base details he was supposed to, and really only missing out on a few metallic details. The end result still looks totally fine, and you’d be unlikely to guess what was cut if you didn’t know it was supposed to be there. Another notable change-up for the last round was making the accessories into things that made a little more sense for the characters. Rather than “fractal armor”, Parallax gets a missile launcher and a shield, both molded in clear green.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I had a few Total Justice figures when they came out, but Series 3 was pretty rare at the time. I wanted a Parallax, of course, since he was the only option for Hal, but it took a bit for me to find one. I wound up getting him just a few years after his release, at a toy show my dad took me to, I think for my birthday. He’s a solid figure, even now, and remains my favorite of the Total Justice line-up.

#3586: The History of Superman

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

SUPERMAN (GOLDEN AGE, SILVER AGE, & MODERN AGE)

THE HISTORY OF SUPERMAN COLLECTION (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0065:  On April 1st, 2016, Superman was the subject of my third April Fools Day gag.  Neat, huh?  Anyway…

I don’t talk a *ton* about 1/6 scale figures here.  I mean, sure, I’ve looked at a lot of higher end figures, but for base level 1/6, it’s not really hip and happening.  That’s not to say that I don’t own any of them.  Back in the day, I had a whole bin of 12-inch G.I. Joes, and a handful of other characters as well.  Even some DC stuff.  Today’s figures *weren’t* actually in my collection as a kid, but they did exist, so I suppose they could have been…theoretically.  Isn’t that wild and crazy?  No, not really.  More just a factoid.  Anyway…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

“The History of Superman Collection” was released by Kenner exclusively through FAO Schwarz in 1996.  There was also a similarly-themed “History of Batman Collection” also released via FAO Schwarz that same year.  The set included three versions of Superman, as well as four trading cards produced by Fleer/Skybox.  Three of the four cards each give a cover that lines up with one of the figures, and the last one’s a holographic, chrome thing.  Weird, but fun, I guess.

GOLDEN AGE SUPERMAN

The purpose of this set was to cover the major bases for Superman’s looks over the years, so they start, as you might expect, with some of his earlier appearances.  Not his *earliest* appearances, as he had a slightly more drastically different look at the beginning, but more after his look had refined just a touch.  This figure is clearly a ’40s Superman, which is really the heart of the Golden Age, so it’s sensible.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  The construction here is…well, it’s very much a product of its time.  The head sculpt is undoubtedly the strongest part here, doing a pretty strong job of capturing the essence of the early appearances of Superman, without getting too artist-specific.  Obviously, this isn’t meant to be anything even close to Hot Toys quality, and it’s definitely on the softer side, but it works.  His base body is definitely the most dated part of the whole thing; the articulation is a bit stiff and restricted, and those hands are just humungous.  It does mean he fits right in with Hasbro’s very short-lived JLA line in the same scale, though, so that’s all pretty cool.  The outfit is permanently attached to the figure, with a jumpsuit and cape, as well as a sculpted pair of boots/feet.  He’s got an embroidered logo, which is the proper Golden Age one, and there’s a matching one on his cape.

SILVER AGE SUPERMAN

Our next Superman moves to the “Silver Age”, which is generally late ’50s into the ’60s, though for this one, we’re definitely angling more towards the later end of the Silver Age, if not early Bronze Age.  Ultimately, “classic” would probably be a more accurate description for the figure, but that wouldn’t really fit the set’s naming scheme, so I get it.  He’s using the same basic set-up as Golden Age, so he’s the same height and has the same articulation set-up.  He does get a new head, though.  It’s not *drastically* different from the first sculpt, but the eyes are wider and the spit-curl is far more pronounced.  I dig the subtle changes, and they really work to sell the later look.  His outfit remains pretty similar as well, keeping more or less the same coloring.  The cape is a little longer here, and his logos have been updated to the more standard S-logo.

MODERN AGE SUPERMAN

Last up, it’s the most mullet-tastic and least exclusive member of the set, Modern Age Superman….or at least as modern as you got in 1996.  This one would actually get his own single release at mass retail, under Kenner’s Man of Steel banner.  He’s using the same base body again, with another new head sculpt.  This one’s all mullet-y, as it should be.  It’s still got the same general features, though his chin is a little narrower, and he’s got the extra locks.  His outfit adjusts the design even further, giving him an even longer cape than the Silver Age version, and his blue and red have been switched to much deeper hues.  The single release had a silk-screened logo, but this one keeps the properly embroidered one to match the rest of the set.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t step foot into FAO Schwarz until I was a teenager, more than a decade after this set’s release, so I didn’t have one growing up.  I did know of its existence, though, thanks to Raving Toy Maniac’s archives, and it’s one I’ve always been fascinated by.  It’s not something I felt the need to track down, but when one landed in front of me last summer through a trade-in at All Time, it was hard to say no.  So, umm, I didn’t?  It’s hokey and goofy, and I probably didn’t need it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.

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.

….oh, you guys weren’t expecting something April Fools-related, were you?  Well, maybe this year the gag is the lack of a gag.  Yeah, that’s totally it…