Tag Archives: King Features

#3820: The Phantom

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

THE PHANTOM

POWER STARS (BOSS FIGHT)

Okay, so, before I get into the main body of today’s review, I’ve got a semi-related plug.  Not the sort of thing I usually do, but I’ve been going down the Super Powers-adjacent rabbit hole the last couple of months and really quite enjoying it.  With McFarlane losing the DC license at the end of the year, there’s some concern about the future of SP-style figures.  One of my personal favorites, Longbox Heroes, just launched a Kickstarter this week for their second series of figures, and if you’re a fan of the style and want to see it continue, I urge you to check that out!  There’s an Arthur and a Tick, and that’s got to at least count for, like, a whole thing!  Okay, that’s the plug, onto the actual review!

Back in the world of Super Powers-adjacent reviews, I’m heading back into Boss Fight’s own similarly styled line, Power Stars.  I looked at Flash Gordon and Ming, and when you’ve gotten the King Features Syndicate rights, then your next stop is very frequently Lee Falk’s The Phantom, the Ghost Who Walks.  Predating Superman by two years, Phantom is a very early costumed hero, with a very classic design, which is super great for toys.  And it’s surfaced as a toy going back to even the days of Captain Action.  So, here’s another of those, but now a bit more retro-y.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Phantom is part of the first series of Power Stars.  The whole set was King Features based, but Phantom is the only non-Flash Gordon character from the bunch, so he sort of stands out.  He’s seen here in his classic purple costume, and even still has those striped shorts that the first NECA figure lacked!  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  His movement is the same as Flash and Ming, which is to say it’s pretty good.  His sculpt is again very similar to the others stylistically, but has no actual straight overlap of pieces, with each part getting at least enough small detailing to keep him unique.  I very much like that.  For a character such as the Phantom, who has such a simple design, it’s easy to sort of phone some things in, so things like the patterned sleeve cuffs or the raised ridges on the shorts are really cool to see.  His paint work is pretty basic, but does what it needs to, without any real issues.  I certainly like the actual shades picked, which is another leg up on the NECA figure.  Phantom is packed with a pair of pistols, which he can dual wield, or store in the working holsters on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was grabbing Flash and Ming, and Phantom was also there at the same time, and I figured, why not?  Actually, it was more than that.  He sort of helped sell me on the idea of grabbing more than just Flash.  I had the NECA figures, and they were fine, but they didn’t really do it for me, and so being able to get all three characters in a style that more appeals to my sensibilities was actually pretty nice.  Flash is still my favorite, but Phantom’s no slouch at all.

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.

#3723: Flash Gordon – King of the Impossible

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

FLASH GORDON — KING OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

HERO H.A.C.K.S. (BOSS FIGHT)

Hey, it’s more FLASH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!  SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!  …Do you see what I’m getting at here?  It’s, uh, it’s Flash.  You know, Gordon?  He’s the savior of some stuff, and some things as well.  Perhaps even the whole universe.  When last I discussed Flash Gordon, it was NECA’s first round of movie figures.  Now I’m looking at more movie figures, but not more NECA ones.  Admittedly, that would require NECA to make more, which they haven’t, so I guess I have to outsource things.  Boss Fight Studios picked up the whole King Features license a few years back, and amongst their stable of offerings was a couple of Flash Gordon movie figures, one of which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flash Gordon — King of the Impossible is part of the second assortment of Hero HACKS Flash Gordon, which was the one, and sadly only, movie assortment for the line, and was released in 2022.  It was Flash and Barin, released following the “preview” release of the Lunchbox with Football Flash.  The figure stands just under 4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s got the standard HACKS articulation set-up, specifically the slightly more improved range of motion like we saw with the Zorro figure.  His sculpt was largely new, and a pretty solid one at that.  His build is slightly more idealized set-up, but the costume details are nice and sharply defined, and a good match for the movie.  The folds and hang of the outfit are especially nicely rendered.  The head is one of the ones included with the Lunchbox release, and it’s a respectable likeness.  It’s certainly on par with NECA’s work, and it’s at a much smaller scale.  The paint work on the figure is generally alright.  It’s on the basic side, but clean and crisp.  The head’s detailing is a bit low contrast, with the hair being a bright yellow, fairly similar to the skin-tone, so it gets a little lost.  His accessories cover the basics, with two sets of hands (gripping and fists), two different styles of rifle, his sword, and a red Hero HACKS base.  I don’t believe I’ve gotten fists on a Boss Fight figure before, so those are cool.  I also really like that not only can he easily hold the sword with both hands, he can also hold the rifle without the trigger breaking off.  Those are certainly both plusses over the NECA release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I recall the announcement of the license from Boss Fight for these guys, and fully intended to jump in on the line, but by the time the figures actually materialized, my mind was on other things, and I wound up missing them.  This one wound up getting traded into All Time, which gave me a shot at actually getting one.  He’s quite a nice little figure, and he’s at least as good as, if not a little better than, the NECA figure.  It’s a bummer the line was so short-lived, because Boss Fight certainly put together a solid 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.

#3608: Flash Gordon Movie Figures

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

FLASH GORDON — FINAL BATTLE, MING THE MERCILESS — MILITARY SUIT, & PRINCE VULTAN

FLASH GORDON (NECA)

Fun FIQ Fact #0087: Despite my love of Flash Gordon, Queen, and most of the actors involved, I didn’t see the 1980 Flash Gordon in its entirety until 2016.

I’ve been a Flash Gordon fan since I was very young, thanks to my Dad’s copies of the movie series on LaserDisc.  Yes, we were that family.  When I was a kid, the only option for Flash Gordon toys was Playmates’ rather small line of figures from the ’90s cartoon, but boy how things have changed.  There’s, like, options, and stuff.  NECA’s first stab at the license was via Defenders of the Earth, followed by a more comic-based set of figures, now followed by a set of figures based on the 1980 movie.  Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Flash Gordon, Ming the Merciless, and Prince Vultan make up Series 1 of NECA’s Flash Gordon line, which hit back in January of this year.  All three are based on their appearances in the movie, and, unlike prior King Features offerings from NECA, they’re all at NECA’s “Ultimate” price-point.

FLASH GORDON — FINAL BATTLE

You can’t very well do Flash Gordon figures without the title character, now can you?  Flash has a number of designs over the course of the film, most revolving around the same general design set-up.  This figure specifically is based on his “Final Battle” attire, which is his most distinctive look in the movie, and the one used for most of the marketing stuff.  It’s a natural choice, and one that NECA already referenced previously with their movie-inspired repaint of the Defenders figure.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Flash’s articulation is the standard Ultimate fare from NECA, so it’s fairly posable, but definitely has its limitations.  Still, you can get some decent poster style poses for him, which is really all you need, and he’s certainly the most posable of the three in this set.  The sculpt is all-new, and it’s honestly pretty good.  There’s some really nice texture work on the outfit, and the layering of everything works very well.  He gets three different head sculpts, all slight variations on Sam Jones’ dull surprise expressions.  There’s actually more variation than you might think at first glance, but I definitely think the slightly mouth agape one looks the best of the three.  None of them is a perfect match for Jones’ likeness, but they’re certainly not bad by NECA standards.  Flash’s paint work’s pretty decent; there’s a little bit of bleed over on the shirt, but it’s otherwise pretty clean, and it all manages to look the part pretty well.  Flash is packed with five hands (fists, gripping, and a right trigger finger), a sword, a rifle, and…whatever the small gold handled thing is.  The rifle’s trigger broke putting it into his hand the first time, and the stock is likely to break any moment as well, so that’s not great.  The sword’s at least nicer, but it takes some definite doing to get him holding it two handed.

MING THE MERCILESS — MILITARY SUIT

Flash is nothing without a worthy antagonist, so you gotta have a Ming, right?  Right.  Ming is seen here in his military garb.  It’s a slightly more tactical look, and matches up with Flash’s look, but it’s definitely his *second* most distinctive look from the film, the first being his more ornate robed look.  This one does alright, though, so I guess here it is.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall, and, like Flash, has 28 points of articulation.  His articulation is the same general set-up as Flash, but it’s more restricted to be sure.  Of course, Ming’s a far less mobile character, so it works out okay.  His sculpt’s another strong one.  The uniform is sharp and well-defined, and there’s plenty of fun ornate details going on with it.  Ming also gets three different heads.  His main one is wearing his helmet, while the other two are sans-head gear.  All three get different expressions, and they all get an impeccable likeness of Max Von Sydow.  I honestly don’t have a favorite of these ones.  His color work is alright, dealing with more metallics and such.  There’s still a little bleed-over, especially on the gold.  Ming is packed with three pairs of hands (gripping, fists, and open gesture), and his sword.  For some reason, the left fist is missing Ming’s ring, but otherwise, it’s a nice little set-up.

PRINCE VULTAN

Vultan’s the one odd-ball here, but he’s Brian Blessed, and he’s also by far the most glaring omission from Bif Bang Pow’s run with the license in the early ’00s.  And, you know, he’s Brian Blessed.  How can you not.  Unlike the other two, Vultan really only has the one look to choose from, so that’s the one here.  The figure is a little over 7 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  He gets an extra mid-torso joint, as well as swivels on the wings.  His build makes him a little more restricted, but he’s a little better than Ming.  His sculpt is another all-new one, and it’s….well, it’s easily the best of the three, to be sure.  There’s so much more layering, and the build is just a great match.  Plus, he’s got four heads instead of three, with a hair piece and a helmet to swap between them.  Blessed is known for his expressive nature, and these four heads cover all manner of expressions.  Well, okay, they’re mostly forms of shouting.  It is Brian Blessed after all.  All of them have a strong likeness of Blessed; it’s certainly very clear who it’s meant to be.  His paint work is decent enough.  He’s fully painted, unlike the other two; the painted skin-tone does soften some of the facial details, but not terribly so.  Vultan is packed with two pairs of hands, his club, communicator, and that clear rock/crystal thing.  They, of course, all pale in comparison to the extra heads, but it’s cool he’s got more than just those to go on.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I missed most of Bif Bang Pow’s Flash Gordon line, so I’ve kind of been looking for a good intro point.  NECA gave me that with these three.  I wasn’t sure when they showed off Flash and Ming, but once Vultan was shown off, I was 100% on board.  Flash is solid.  Not perfect, and the breakage on the rifle is annoying, but solid.  Ming, for me, was along for the ride.  I’d have preferred the robed version, and this one feels a little bare bones, but he’s again a serviceable figure.  Vultan?  Vultan’s perfection.  I love Vultan.  It’s been a few months, and we’ve heard nothing more about this line, so I don’t know if NECA’s planning anymore, but I’d certainly be a fan of getting more characters from the movie.  At least a few more of the main cast, perhaps?

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.

#2802: Ming The Merciless

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

MING THE MERCILESS

DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH (NECA)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“Evil ruler of the planet Mongo.  Ming the Merciless has been battling the unconquerable Flash Gordon for years, in their constant clash of good against evil.  Desperate to seize and dominate the Earth, Ming’s greed for conquest has become his obsession.”

As I touched on in yesterday’s into, Defenders of the Earth leaned pretty heavily on the Flash Gordon franchise for much of its plot and mythos.  To that end, the show’s primary antagonist was Flash’s own nemesis, Ming the Merciless.  Much like Flash was a quite prototypical hero, Ming is very much the prototypical arch-villain, inspiring many popular villains that would follow.  Like his nemesis, Ming has had his fair share of figures over the years, but who’s going to complain about getting one more?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ming the Merciless is figure 03 in the first series of NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line.  He too is based on his animated design from the show of the same name.  Even more than Flash, Ming’s design has been subject to much adjustment over the years, and that was true for the show as well.  Beginning initially with some very definite Yellow Peril overtones, by the time of Defenders, they were trying to move him away from such things.  It marked an early transition to a more alien design for the character, with making his skin a very distinctive green hue.  It also, much like with Flash’s design, attempted to take elements from many prior designs and role them all into one.  The end result is something that’s still very much Ming in terms of look, and definitely gets the idea across.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  He’s got the same articulation scheme as the other two figures, by virtue of again using the same base body.  Ming winds up with the most sculptural deviations from the main body, with a new head, a slightly tweaked upper torso to add the epaulets, new forearms, a new collar piece, and a skirt piece for the waist.  It’s all topped off with a cloth cape, complete with a wire in the lining for posing.  Technically, for full accuracy to the show, the arms should feature looser sleeves, but that might have been too many new parts to cost out.  The parts that are there are quite impressively handled; there’s a lot of character in the face, and the depth of detail on the costume parts is really well-rendered.  Ming’s paint work is more involved than the other two, but it works well.  The accenting on his face and hands is fairly lifelike, and while he’s still got the chipping issue on the ankle joints, at least the molded color is a little darker, so it’s not quite as noticeable.  Ming is packed with two alternate left hands (one open gesture, one trigger finger grip), a sword, a staff, a laser gun (modified from the other two), and two laser effects pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Obviously, if I’m gonna get Flash Gordon, I can’t very well not get Ming, right?  That would be silly.  Ultimately, I wasn’t quite as sure about Ming going in, but I do have to say, he turned out very nicely.  The QC issues are less so on this release, and he’s got a very dynamic appearance.  While he doesn’t quite dethrone Flash as my favorite, he’s still a mighty fine offering.

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.

#2801: Flash Gordon

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

FLASH GORDON

DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH (NECA)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“Out of the sky, his rockets ignite.  Jets into battle faster than light.  Flash Gordon is the legendary swashbuckler of space travel.  This intergalactic adventurer is known throughout the galaxy as the one man to battle the evil Ming — and come out the hero!  Flash alone understands the twisted mind of this wicked tyrant — and leads the Defenders’ war against him to save Earth from extinction.”

Preceding The Phantom by two years, Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon was introduced as a competitor to Buck Rogers, but wound up becoming an institution all his own, arguably becoming even bigger than Buck Rogers himself (in fact, when they produced the first Buck Rogers film serial in 1939, they even cast Buster Crabbe, who had famously played Flash three years earlier, in the lead role).  In fact, Gordon’s prominence extended even to Defenders of the Earth, where elements from his series and franchise formed much of the back bone of the cartoon’s plot, making him very much the central figure.  He’s been no stranger to figures over the years, but that doesn’t make getting one more any less cool.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flash Gordon is figure 02 in the first series of NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line (making him quite literally the central figure in the first set).  Like the Phantom, he’s based on his appearance in the cartoon, but again through that slightly different lens of the NECA release.  While Phantom’s design remained more or less consistent, Flash’s was a much more fluid appearance.  His show design tried to go for something that summed up those elements into one piece, while also streamlining a bit for the purposes of easier animating.  The end result’s a fairly decent, somewhat regal, but still functional design, that feels very true to the character.  The figure stands just over 7 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is the same as Phantom’s, by virtue of them using the same core body.  As with Phantom, it’s a good enough fit for Flash, matching alright with his usual depictions.  He adds a few more new parts to the mix, with a new head and shoulders, as well as an add-on for his collar, and a waist cap with a slightly adjusted belt.  The head’s definitely my favorite part of the figure; despite being based on the cartoon character, NECA has opted to also inject quite a bit of actor Buster Crabbe’s likeness into the face, which makes it look even more like that classic Flash Gordon to me.  In general, Flash’s sculpt offers just a bit more in the way of detailing than the Phantom, and it really works.  Flash’s paint work is about on par with the Phantom for the most part, though perhaps a little better.  He’s still got the issue with the paint flaking on the joints on the wrists and ankles, but at least both of his boots match in finish.  I do quite like the slightly metallic finish on the jumpsuit, and the red and gold mesh well together.  There’s a touch of bleed over between the colors, and my figure’s got a small scratch on his forehead, but overall it looks okay.  Flash is packed with a slightly larger array of accessories than the Phantom, with five hands (pair of fists, pair of gripping, and a left trigger hand), a laser gun (same as the one included with Phantom), a sword, and two different effects pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In contrast to the Phantom, I’ve been a fan of Flash Gordon since a rather early age, courtesy of having my dad’s copies of the film serials to watch (on Laser Disc, if you can believe it).  I’ve had a number of toys over the years, but I’m always down for another cool one.  Of all the figures shown off for this set, Flash was certainly the one I was most looking forward to, and I have to say, he’s also my favorite figure in-hand as well.  He’s still got some slight QC issues, but they don’t seem quite so bad on him, compared to Phantom.  He’s a very fun figure, and I’m certainly glad to have gotten one for my collection.

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.

#2800: The Phantom

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

THE PHANTOM

DEFENDERS OF EARTH (NECA)

NOTE: This review was written before June 6th.

“Lord of the jungle, the hero who stalks, the beast call him brother, the ghost who walks!  The Phantom is the possessor of the strongest and most unique powers on Earth.  He draws upon the ancient secrets and supernatural strengths of his roots in the Deep Woods.  The Phantom’s ‘flashes’ of raw animal power are invaluable in the Defenders’ conquest of evil Ming and his ruthless robot army.”

First appearing in 1936, Lee Falk’s The Phantom is a costumed hero that actually predates Superman and the introduction of the super hero proper in 1938, which is something of a surprise to a lot of people.  The Phantom was a pulp hero, but something of a transitional one, as he helped to move the whole genre more into the direction that Superman would take things two years later.  Definitely a prominent role in the history of modern storytelling, right?  It’s a shame he’s never been able to find his footing with modern audiences.  The character got a less than stellarly received film starring Billy Zane in 1996, as well as some movie serials in the ’40s. Most relevantly for the purposes of this review, however, was his appearance alongside other King Features properties in 1986’s Defenders of the Earth, a 65-episode cartoon, which serves as the basis for NECA’s new line of figures.  I’m kicking things off with the Ghost Who Walks today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Phantom is figure 01 in the first series of NECA’s Defenders of the Earth line.  He’s based on his design from the Defenders of the Earth cartoon, albeit through the lens of something slightly more typical for a modern NECA figure, rather than something purely cartoon accurate.  For the cartoon, Phantom’s appearance was fairly close to his original design, just minus the striped shorts he tended to have previously.  The figure stands a little over 7 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  He’s quite posable for a NECA release, even one of the more recent ones.  The joints are definitely on the stiffer side, but it means he has an easier time holding a pose.  Structurally, Phantom is making use of the core body from NECA’s earlier DC figures from their AvP comic packs.  Of course, given how hard to get those were, these might as well be all-new molds.  It’s a rather bulked up, and kind of an almost ridiculous, body, definitely not the more realistic proportions we see from NECA.  It works well enough for the Phantom, though, especially given his more basic design.  He’s been given an all-new head sculpt, which does quite a nice job of capturing his cowled and domino-masked appearance.  He also gets a new waist piece with his distinctive skull-buckled belt, and a new set of forearms sporting some detailing on the wrists of his sleeves.  It’s a small touch, but a very nice one.  In terms of paint, Phantom is really good…in theory.  In practice, he’s mostly good, but there are some rather notable issues in terms of production.  On the positive side, there’s some really great work on the face, with subtle work on his stubble.  There’s also some nicely handled shading on the body suit, keeping it from being too much of the same color for one large stretch.  Unfortunately, there are two issues that plague pretty much the whole production run.  Firstly, for some reason, his two boots are a differing finish; the left is glossy, and the right is matte.  Secondly, they opted to mold the wrist and ankle joints in purple, and paint them to match the hands and feet.  Unfortunately, the paint shears off after the first posing, leaving them rather obviously a different color.  In terms of accessories, the Phantom is packed with three alternate right hands (standard fist, trigger grip, and fist with a hole for the ring effect), a laser gun (the show replaced his more usual real world firearms with one of these), three different energy effects (two for the gun, and one for his ring hand), and Zuffy, the small little alien that accompanied the Defenders’ children.  Zuffy gets hit pretty hard by the QC issues as well, with incredibly sloppy paint on the face, and a rather obvious and major crack in the mold on the right side of his chin.  I didn’t buy it for Zuffy, but that’s still really annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In terms of pulp heroes, my experience with the Phantom is rather minor.  I largely knew him from him getting a Captain Action costume, and a little bit from having seen the movie on TV as a kid.  So, I don’t have a huge attachment to him.  That said, I do really like the design, and there’s no denying that he’s a prominent character, worthy of some cool toy treatment.  When NECA unveiled these figures, I was certainly interested, so I snagged the whole first set.  Phantom himself is okay, but he’s held back by those rather frustrating QC issues.  I hope NECA can get those sorted out on future releases.  Still, even with those issues, he’s the best Phantom figure out there.

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.