Tag Archives: Legacy

#3736: Soundwave – G1 Universe

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

SOUNDWAVE — G1 UNIVERSE

TRANSFORMERS: LEGACY UNITED (HASBRO)

Transformers, a brand with virtually no footprint here on the site for my first five years, is sort of returning to its roots, I guess?  I don’t really talk about it as much any more.  I mean, sure, I looked at one of the Blokees back in October, but the last time I reviewed one that actually transformed was back in May.  It was a Soundwave, which is sensible, since he’s one of my two go-tos.  And, you know what?  I’m gonna go to it again.  Here’s another Soundwave, you guys.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

G1 Universe Soundwave is part of the third Leader Class assortment of Transformers Legacy: United, the third year of the Legacy branding.  This marks Soundwave’s third inclusion under Legacy, at a third size-class no less.  We’ve had Core and Voyager, and now Leader, so all that’s left is some form of Deluxe?  Go for the full spread?  Whatever the case, this guy is, as his name denotes, another G1 Soundwave.  In his robot mode, he’s about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 practical points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s exactly the same as the Walmart-exclusive War For Cybertron release from 2020, which is a mold with less uses than you might expect for such a solid updating of the G1 Soundwave figure.  Prior to this year, it was only available in its initial run and as Shattered Glass Soundwave in 2022.  Earlier this year, it got another re-use in the Dramatic Capture three-pack, and now it’s been used again here.  Yay!  It’s a re-working of the Siege mold (which was *also* re-released in Legacy), and still holds up as a strong offering four years after the fact.  Since he’s using the WFC mold, that means this guy’s alt-mode is a cassette player again, which is how Soundwave do at his Soundwave best.  As with prior instances, it’s good when viewed from the front, but a bit spottier at the back.  This Soundwave’s color work isn’t drastically different from the Walmart release, but it tweaks things every so slightly still.  It adds back in the missing red details from that release, and also makes the other colors match-up a bit better with each other, so no mixes of yellow and gold, and the greys and silvers are also a little closer in finish this time.  It results in a slightly punchier look.  The real test, of course, is whether this one will face the same discoloring issues as the last one.  Like the last release (and the Siege release as well), he gets his two cannons and folding gun, and to justify the Leader class price point, he also adds in three cassette buddies: Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Frenzy Rumble.  Ravage is once more using the Siege mold, with a deco that matches the WFC pack-in, albeit with black limbs now instead of grey.  Buzzsaw’s actually a big deal because this is the first time he’s been done in the Siege compatible style.  That took a surprisingly long time.  He’s a repaint of the WFC Laserbeak re-tool, which isn’t much of a surprise, I suppose.  Frenzy Rumble is re-using the Studio 86 mold, just now in proper toy colors.  Of course, he’s named “Rumble” on the box, despite “Frenzy” very definitely being the name on the blue cassette guy for the toys, but I won’t split hairs here.  I know what his name is in my heart, and that’s all that truly matters.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As someone who got the Walmart release at retail (which is something an unfortunately high number of collectors can’t say), I didn’t *need* this release.  Of course, it *is* a Soundwave, and it *is* different from the prior offering.  On top of that, the pack-in cassettes do a lot to sell me on it this time around, since I’ve been waiting patiently for Buzzsaw since 2019, and I also won’t say no to a toy-colors update to the 86 mold of Frenzy.  I’m glad I snagged it because, if nothing else, I got to mess with the Walmart mold one more time, and I do always forget just how much I like that particular mold.  This is a nice set if you missed the Walmart version, and honestly the superior offering if you have that one already, so I’m happy with my purchase.

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.

#3618: Silverbolt

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

SILVERBOLT

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY: UNITED (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0097: Eagles and wolves are both apex predators, though their completely differing tactics of hunting prey and different places in their respective food chains mean they have little, if any, interaction.  Unless, of course, they make up the two halves of a Fuzor.

It was difficult for me to truly avoid Beast Wars as a kid, what with it being a toy-driven show in the ’90s that aired during the Fox Kids block.  That said, it’s never been a *major* focus for me.  I remember watching it a little, but I only had two toys from it, and only really ever latched onto one character.  Of course, that character is Silverbolt, and he’s one of the best Transformers just in general, so, you know, big win there.  Since Hasbro went back to the Beast Wars well for Kingdom, I’ve been patiently waiting for my Silverbolt update, and boy did it take a while, but, hey, here it is.  Oh yeah.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Beast Wars Universe Silverbolt is part of the second Voyager Class assortment of Transformers Legacy: United, the banner that goes along with the third year of the Legacy branding.  He shipped alongside Cybertron Universe Starscream, and he was the heavier packed of the two.  In his robot mode, Silverbolt stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  His articulation is an improvement on his vintage counterpart, of course, and it’s especially notable that his wings actually sit flat to his back, rather than just jutting straight out the back like the old one.  The new sculpt aims for improved accuracy to his animation model, and it does a pretty good job at that.  The details are a lot sharper, and the proportions are far less blocky than the original.  His color scheme is nicely handled, with a lot of molded silver, of course, but there’s plenty of painted elements as well.  Unlike the original figure, all the proper details get their painted work, and the application is all nice and clean.  Silverbolt is packed with his “feather swords”, which he can either hold, or clip onto his wings, replicating the show set-up.  They just clip on this time around rather than being spring-loaded this time around.

Silverbolt’s alt-mode is, as is tradition, a merging of a wolf and an eagle.  It’s a distinctive mode, to be sure, and this figure does a good job of capturing it.  The transformation scheme is actually pretty intuitive, and the end result holds together nicely.  His hind legs sit a little bit further back than I’d like, but beyond that, it’s pretty solid.  He’s also generally more posable in this form than the original, and even gets a posable jaw.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I sure do love me some Silverbolt, and I really wanted this figure.  I was quite excited to see him shown off, and the end result is very, very fun.  I have some minor quibbles, I suppose, but it’s all very small and ultimately rather meaningless.  It’s certainly not enough to detract from how super excited I am to have an update on the character.

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.

#3434: Hot Shot – Armada Universe

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

HOT SHOT — ARMADA UNIVERSE

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY: EVOLUTION (HASBRO)

Hey, remember back in February, when I was talking about Transformers: Armada?  Cool.  Well, um, I’m gonna talk about it again.  So, there.  Specifically, I’m talking about Hot Shot, a character created for Armada, who was specifically designed to fill a role somewhere between Bumblebee and Hot Rod.  Which makes sense, because he totally looks like a cross between those two.  Well, at least in his original incarnation.  Which is the one I’m looking right now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hot Shot is part of the first Deluxe Class assortment of Transformers Legacy: Evolution.  Evolution serves as the sub-branding for everything in Legacy‘s second year, and they started hitting in early 2023.  He’s the second Armada update in Legacy, following up on last year’s Starscream. This is our second update to Armada Hot Shot since the show’s tie-in line ended, following the Universe one from 2009.  In robot mode, Hot Shot is about 5 inches tall and he has 22 workable points of articulation, as well as the original figure’s moving visor for his helmet.  All of the Armada figures were pretty restricted in terms of articulation, and Hot Shot was pretty notable for his complete lack of neck movement, as well as shoulders that didn’t go forward and back.  This one addresses both of those points.  The neck is really just a swivel, but that’s better than no movement at all.  His sculpt was an all-new one at the time, but it’s already been tapped for a Powerlinx re-paint.  The sculpt does a pretty solid job of capturing all of Hot Shot’s key design elements, both from the toy and the show.  There are a few areas, mainly the lower legs, where there’s a slightly off construction due to transforming elements, but he generally goes together pretty solidly.  Also, it’s a minor little thing, but I miss the goofy smirk on the face.  Sure, the stoic expression’s more accurate, I guess, but I miss it nonetheless.  Guess it’s a good thing I have my old one still.  Hot Shot is designed to keep the original’s “axlezooka” weapon.  It’s not spring-loaded this time, so you just deploy it manually, but it’s still there, which is very much appreciated.  His color scheme mimics the original figure pretty closely, albeit with a few trade-offs.  He’s got more detailing on the face and head, but loses some of the details on his legs.  Certainly still looks very Hot Shot-y, though.  Hot Shot is packed with his gun, which he can hold, but cannot mount on his chest the way his original version could.  Still no minicon present for this one either, but there’s a Jolt coming with the Power Linx version later in the year.

Hot Shot’s alt-mode is the same stylized sports car as his original release. The transformation scheme is a bit more involved, as expected, but it’s not too terribly hard to figure it out. In car mode, he gets fancy clear windows, and he even has a Minicon port, a very pleasant change from Starscream. As with the “axlezooka” for the robot mode, Hot Shot’s vehicle mode includes a non-spring-loaded version of the original’s “driving claws.” Sure, it’s just flipping the feet out, but that’s all the original did, so, you know.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Armada is really the closest I get to having a thing that’s “my Transformers,” so I’ve got a real soft spot for it, especially when it comes to the three figures I had as a kid. Hot Shot was one of those, and I’ve held onto him the whole time. I got the Generations Select Hot Shot when he came out, and he was cool, but he was a placeholder for the real deal. This guy was a birthday present from my son Matty, who has also gained an appreciation for my old Armada figures. This one’s cool. I like him a bit more than I did Starscream. I wish he had Jolt, but other than that, I do really like him.

#3308: Dinobot Slug

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

DINOBOT SLUG

TRANSFORMERS: LEGACY EVOLUTION (HASBRO)

I’m getting to the point now where my Transformers reviews are infrequent enough that I’m honestly not the greatest at coming up with compelling intros for them anymore.  Mostly I talk about how long it’s been since the last one, and that’s kinda boring, right?  And sure, I can stumble my way through a “let’s prattle on about the complex differences between this and that version of Ultra Magnus or Soundwave” intro, but what happens when I’m out of that comfort zone?  This.  Rambling.  Meta.  Yikes.  Alas, there’s just no helping it, I’m afraid.  One of the subsets of Transformers in the G1-incarnation is the Dinobots, a group of Autobots that turn into, you guessed it, dinosaurs.  The main one is Grimlock, who I’ve looked at previously, but there’s a whole contingent, which are slowly being done in Studio Series, and before they’ve even wrapped up there, they’re also being done in Core Class!  So, I’m looking at one of the little guys, Dinobot Slug, today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dinobot Slug (formerly Slag, before that word’s use as a slur in the UK led to a rebranding) is part of the first 2023 Core Class assortment for Transformers: Legacy, which is now brandishing the additional Evolution heading for the year.  He’s one of two Dinobots in the line-up, the other being Dinobot Sludge.  That’s not bound to get confusing at all!  In his robot mode, this guy stands just over 4 inches tall and he has 10 practical points of articulation.  As you might expect for a character with this chunky a build, his movement is a bit on the restricted side, but he generally manages pretty well; the most notable things are the lack of elbows, and the iffy movement of the neck, but those aren’t terrible.  Also, in his robot mode as shown by all the official shots, the waist joint is rendered motionless by the back, but if you flip the back pieces up, you can make use of it.  It also simulates the “wings” that prior versions of the character had, so it’s honestly how I prefer him to be.  The sculpt is an all-new one, which is quite G1-inspired, of course.  He’s a bit more kibbly than, say, the Studio Series equivalent, but given the scale, he makes for a good recreation at this size.  Adding to his out of the box quirks, he also had the upper legs reversed when I opened him, but since they’re on ball-joints, they’re easily swapped back to the way they’re supposed to be.  Or are they?  The innards of the thighs, the part stamping indicates that they’re meant to go as they were assembled out of the box.  So…umm…it’s a toss-up?  I personally like them the way I have them, so I’m leaving them that way.  So there.  As per usual, Slug’s alt-mode is a robotic triceratops.  It’s not a terribly difficult transformation, and the end result is a fun little chonky boi, so I consider that one a win.  He also gets an additional mode, which turns him into the upper torso and head for Volcanicus, the combiner that all of the Core Class Dinobots are going to add up to.  I’m not planning to get the others, so it doesn’t really do much for me, but I guess it makes for a nifty bust sort of thing?  Sure, let’s go with that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when the Studio Series Dinobots started, I was still pretty deep into Transformers stuff, so I was actually entertaining the thought of picking them all up.  By the time Slug hit, I was already moving away a bit from the line, but he was a triceratops, and that’s, like, my favorite dino, so I wound up grabbing one of them…who then proceeded to sit under my desk for over a year, untransformed, unphotographed, and unreviewed.  I felt like maybe I wasn’t really fully appreciating him the way I should, so I decided it might be time to let go of him, right around the time that this one got shown off, meaning I could still have a triceratops, without needing to go to Leader Class scaling for him.  I honestly wasn’t expecting a ton from this figure when he came in, but he’s one that I find myself surprisingly impressed by.  He’s just a very fun little guy.  I dig 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.

#3307: Soundblaster

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

SOUNDBLASTER

TRANSFORMERS: LEGACY EVOLUTION (HASBRO)

You gotta love those guaranteed repaints, don’t you?  Yes, since the vintage line, Soundwave has had the potential of at least two uses of any G1-inspired mold, thanks to the introduction of Soundblaster, Soundwave’s goth-phase upgrade, in 1987.  We don’t *always* get a Soundblaster for every Soundwave, but there’s enough to at least give him proper updates in the main scales every few years.  The War For Cybertron trilogy got him for the Siege mold, and now, Legacy is getting its own fancy new Soundblaster.  Yay, fancy new Soundblaster!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundblaster is part of the first 2023 Core Class assortment of Legacy, which is the fourth overall Core Class assortment for the line.  This one bears the additional Evolution branding that’s running on all of Legacy figures this year.  In his robot mode, this figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and he has 15 practical points of articulation.  The mold on this guy is a total re-use of the Kingdom Core Class Soundwave, which is more or less expected.  For the full Soundblaster effect, he should technically get a re-tooled chest door to add the extra space for a second cassette, but it’s not the first time its been omitted on him for the sake of an easier repaint.  Whatever the case, the Core Soundwave is a very strong mold, and quite possibly Hasbro’s best modern update on the G1 design, so it makes for a pretty fantastic figure.  The change-up for this figure comes down to the paint scheme.  It’s not drastically different, mind you; largely it’s swapping in black for the original figure’s blue.  There are a few other differences, like the chest door being purple this time around.  They’ve also cut a number of the smaller paint apps that Soundwave had, which is a little bit of a bummer.  It’s not major, but it’s still a little frustrating.  Soundblaster gets the same two cannons as Soundwave, done up in colors to match the new scheme.  While Soundwave came with a non-transforming Laserbeak cassette, Soundblaster gets the same piece redecoed to be Buzzsaw.  Yay, we finally got a Buzzsaw!  Sure, he’s non-transforming, but is that the point?  As with his mold-mate, Soundblaster’s alt-mode is his usual mini cassette player.  It’s still a pretty simple transformation, and aside from the feet still sticking up, it’s a good set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Core Soundwave is honestly my favorite modern-era Soundwave figure, and I’m just a really big fan of this mold in general.  I don’t *need* another use of it, but I’m also not going to fight against it if it’s right in front of me.  Which, you know, it was, because it came into All Time, and there it was.  Being all cool and Soundblaster-y.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much excitement I’d get out of a figure I already kinda had, but he’s still a ton of fun.

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.

#3287: Starscream – Armada Universe

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

STARSCREAM — ARMADA UNIVERSE

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY (HASBRO)

Launched in 2002, Transformers: Armada really did a great job of moving the collective consciousness back to vehicle mode Transformers after the shift caused by Beast Wars.  With it celebrating 20 years last year, it’s being given a little bit of extra focus in Hasbro’s Legacy imprint, albeit in a rather slow and drawn out sense.  To kick things off, Hasbro’s starting with one of the show’s real fan-favorites, its uniquely heroic take on Starscream.  I’m taking a look at that guy today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Starscream is part of the third Voyager Class assortment of Transformers Legacy, alongside the Beast Wars version of Inferno.  The figures hit just before the end of last year.  This figure marks Armada Starscream’s second update since the original Armada run, following up on the Thrilling 30 release from 2014.  In his robot mode, Starscream stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  He’s quite a bit more posable than his older release, which is definitely cool.  He’s definitely good for more than just standing around like the old one.  The all-new sculpt is a pretty solid piece.  He’s not quite as thick and blocky as the original figure, but he’s not as angular and thin as the Thrilling 30 release.  It’s a nice middle ground, as I always felt the Thrilling release was just a bit too far removed from that much bulkier Armada aesthetic.  This version hits the spot a lot better, and does a nice job of sticking pretty closely to how he looks in animation.  There’s one sizable downside to this sculpt: his complete lack of any sort of Mini Con ports.  The Cons were pretty essential to the whole Armada thing, and even if packing them in with the figures doesn’t cost out, not including the ports means that they can’t even be released after the fact.  Fortunately, it looks like there was a rather quick course correct on this one, as the upcoming Hot Shot has the ports accounted fore.  Like his sculpt, Starscream’s color work is likewise a pretty good match for his animated design.  The only notable change up is the lack of the black “collar” around the neck.  Otherwise, it looks spot-on, and the application’s all nice and cleanly applied.  Starscream is packed with his Energon Sword (designed to mimic the folding wing sword from the original release), as well as a small version of the Star Saber.

Like his original toy, this version of Armada Starscream transforms into a sci-fi jet.  The same sci-fi jet, even, which is nice bout of consistency.  His transformation sequence is a little more involved than the original, but it’s still got a similar layout.  It’s not too tricky, and it ultimately winds up with a pretty satisfying jet-mode.  He’s stripped of any of the electronic features of the original, but I can’t say I miss them.  In this mode, the swords can both be mounted under the wings, which isn’t quite as convenient and worked in as the original figure, but at least they can go somewhere?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Armada hits a real soft spot for me, being the first iteration of the franchise that I actively followed, while it was still fresh and new, no less.  I only had three figures during the original line’s run, but Starscream was one of them, and I’ve always enjoyed this take on the character.  I got a direct replacement for my original Starscream back in 2021, but the idea of an update, especially one a little more true to the character than the Thrilling 30 release.  The lack of Mini Con ports really does suck, but other than that, he’s a very fun update on a figure that I already really liked.  I’m even more hyped for Hot Shot now!

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

#1555: Gold Ranger

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

GOLD RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LEGACY (BANDAI)

I don’t review many Power Rangers figures on this site.  And when I do, they’re pretty much always from the Mighty Morphin’ incarnation of the show.  It’s amusing, because, while I certainly have an appreciation for MMPR, since it’s the original and all, I only caught it fleetingly in its original run.  I’ve touched on this somewhat in past reviews. Power Rangers in Space is actually the first Rangers show I got actively invested in, but the first incarnation I owned any toys from was Zeo, Mighty Morphin’s follow-up series.  My favorite Ranger design of all-time is definitely Zeo’s sixth member, the Gold Ranger, who I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Gold Ranger was released in Series 4 of Bandai’s Power Rangers: Legacy line.  He’s one of the three Zeo-based figures in this series, alongside the Green and Yellow Rangers (the other two figures are the Blue and Red Rangers from Dino Thunder).  The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  That’s slightly less posability than the Red Space Ranger, but the missing joints were mostly redundant on that figure and ended up adding a bit of extra work to pose him so that none of his extremities were oddly twisted.  With this figure, he’s definitely less contorted looking right out of the box.  That being said, I do feel it’s important to note that this guy does *not* have mid-forearm cut joints like the last figure.  I gave one of them a small twist on my figure and the glue holding his wrist in place came undone, which was a pain to fix.  The Gold Ranger’s sculpt uses the same basic starting point as the Red Space Ranger, so he has the same exaggerated, superhero build the Bandai America likes to give to their Rangers, for better or for worse.  He also has the same wonky shoulders that I wasn’t super crazy about, but fortunately those shoulders are mostly covered by his chest plate, so the issue is lessened.  In general, the new armor additions really help this figure out, since they cover a lot of Bandai’s usual sins on these figures, and in general help to keep him looking far more in line with his onscreen counterpart.  The armor pieces also off Bandai the chance to add a little bit more intricate detailing to the figure, thus keeping him from being quite as simplistic and bland as some of their other sculpts.  I also quite like his head sculpt, which does a great job of capturing the show’s design, and manages not to look too small in comparison to the rest of the body.  The paint on the Gold Ranger is the source of some controversy.  The prototype and all promotional shots of the figure showed him with armor that was actually gold, matching up with the show depiction.  When he arrived on retail shelves, his armor was more of a orangey yellow, with only the slightest metallic twinge to it, which has upset a lot of fans.  I can understand the complaint, and I’d probably be happier with the figure if he were in the proper colors, but I don’t find myself all that upset with the final product.  As it stands, I think the color’s close enough to work, and his overall appearance hasn’t been altered all that much.  I suppose it might bug me more if I had the Green or White Rangers, both of whom have a different shade of gold, but just on his own, I think this guy looks fine.  As a sixth ranger figure, the Gold Ranger doesn’t include a piece of his team’s Megazord, but he does include his Staff of Gold, which is pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy’s really the whole reason I got into the Legacy line in the first place.  I’ve wanted a Figuarts version of him since I got the Mighty Morphin’ team, but the odds of that getting made are kind of slim at this point.  So, when this guy was shown off, I was pretty pumped.  It took him a little while to get here, but I can’t begin to describe the excitement when I found him.  He’s got his flaws, but I’m overall very happy with this figure!

#1256: Kaylee Frye

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

KAYLEE FRYE

FIREFLY: LECACY COLLECTION (FUNKO)

Okay, remember several months ago, when I reviewed three of the five Funko Firefly: Legacy Collection figures, and I noted in my Zoe review that, while Wash is my favorite character, Zoe’s a close second?  Well, if I’m being totally honest, Zoe does sort of share that close second spot with one other crew member: Kaywinnet Lee Frye, better known as Kaylee, Serenity’s ever cheery mechanic.  Just like it’s hard not to love Wash in all his goofiness, it’s hard not to love Kaylee’s downright genuine  enthusiasm and trust of others, especially in a show as jaded as Firefly.  Kaylee made her way into the world of action figures as part of Funko’s ReAction line, but that figure was…less than stellar.  On the plus side, she got another stab at action figure greatness not too long after, courtesy of the larger Legacy Collection.  Let’s see how that one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kaylee is figure #3 in the Firefly: Legacy Collection, which puts her between Jayne and Wash numerically.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and has 26 points of articulation.  The Legacy Kaylee is based on the same basic look as the smaller ReAction figure; it’s her standard sleeveless jumpsuit with a colorful shirt beneath it look, which she sported quite frequently on the show. It’s also an exact match for the what she was wearing in the promotional pictures, meaning she matches up with all of the other Legacy figures except for Mal in that respect.  Kaylee’s sculpt is fairly decent.  She’s definitely better than Mal, and more in line with the Wash and Zoe figures.  She’s a little closer to Wash, really, being a bit more on the cartoony side.  It’s not quite as drastic, but she’s definitely got a bit of stylization going on.  That being said, Kaylee still fairs quite a bit better here than she did on the smaller figure.  The head presents a passable likeness of Jewel Staite, and she’s got a nice, friendly smile.  Her features seam a touch more angular than they are in real life, but it’s rather minor.  The body sculpt has reasonable proportions, and she actually looks like a real person, so that’s good.  The details on her clothes are pretty solid; this is definitely an area where she goes just a bit more cartoony, but it actually doesn’t look bad at this scale.  Kaylee’s paintwork is mostly pretty good.  The colors all look to be appropriate matches, and there’s even a wash over most of the sculpt, to help accentuate some of the sculpt’s details.  Even her eyes are actually pretty decent, which is a nice change compared to the others in this set.  Truth be told, I think Kaylee’s the best painted Legacy figure I’ve picked up.  Like her smaller scale counterpart, Legacy Kaylee includes a wrench.  On the plus side, this figure can actually hold it.  Progress!  I wouldn’t have minded something else, since the wrench is really small.  Could they really not throw one of those cheap parasols that you get in drinks or something?  Guess I’ll just have to supply my own…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like all of the figures in this set, I passed on Kaylee when she was new.  And then I passed on her for half-price from Think Geek, mostly due to just going for the parity presented by Wash and Zoe.  I had thought about grabbing her from Movie Stop when they were going under, but by the time I got there, all they had left was Mal.  Ultimately, I ended up getting her from the Farpoint Charity Auction.  Not only was she a good deal, the money also went to a good cause, which always makes me feel even better.  I’m glad I finally got around to getting her, because she’s actually a really nice figure.  Funko’s stuff is still very uneven, but when they get it right, they get it right.  *sigh* I guess I need to get around to buying a Jayne now.  Here’s to having the same incomplete Firefly crew in TWO scales!

#1227: Red Space Ranger

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

RED SPACE RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LEGACY (BANDAI)

redspacerangerlegacy1

When most people think “Power Rangers,” they think of the Mighty Morphin’ incarnation, which launched the show.  That’s pretty fair, as it’s by far the most distinctive, and represents the franchise at its highest point in terms of popularity.  I was born in ’92, so, while I still remember a little of Mighty Morphin’s original run, it’s not what I consider *my* Power Rangers.  That would be the show’s fourth incarnation, Power Rangers In Space, which is actually pretty well-regarded in the community, and is widely considered the season that saved the show, following the less than stellar performance of Turbo.  Unfortunately, nowadays, there’s very little product for any Power Rangers that aren’t either the current incarnation or the Mighty Morphin’ Rangers, meaning I’m mostly reliant on my old figures from the show’s original run.  I’d love some Figuarts, but those are little more than a dream.  Lucky for me, Bandai America is offering the next best thing, courtesy of their Legacy line.  I picked up Andros, the Red Space Ranger, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

redspacerangerlegacy2The Red Ranger is part of the second series of Power Rangers: Legacy.  He’s one of the two In Space Rangers included in this set, with the other three figures hailing from Mighty Morphin’ (the  rest of the main In Space Rangers are in Series 3, and the Silver Ranger is as of yet unannounced).  Though the line has been touted as being about 6-inch scale and the figures are clearly designed to mimic Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, the Red Ranger stands 7 inches tall, placing these figures more in scale with the Masters of the Universe Classics or something from NECA.  There’s no commingling with the Figuarts Rangers, that’s for sure.  The figure sports 36 points of articulation, which is certainly an impressive count.  The movement on the joints isn’t terrible, but there are some slight oddities on a few of the joints, which means it can take a fair bit of careful posing to make sure he doesn’t look a little mangled.  Still, it’s a pretty major step-up from the last Banda America Ranger I looked at.  In terms of sculpt, the US Rangers figures have always skewed the proportions a bit more to the side of super-heroic.  This guy does some of that, but reigns it in a bit, resulting in a final product that is somewhere between the old figures and the actors in the suits.  I don’t mind the look, and it’s consistent with all the others from the line so far.  The sculpt is of varying quality.  The helmet is by far the best work on the figure, and it’s a pretty much pitch-perfect recreation of the helmet from the show.  The redspacerangerlegacy4body is decent, but the articulation sticks out more than a little bit, especially on the hips and shoulders.  The shoulders in particular feel like they’re set too far out from the torso, as if they got the length of the pegs off or something.  Also, it would appear that the forearms have been reversed, which makes them look rather strange.  By and large, he’s pretty solid, but there’s still some of that Bandai America flavor of “why would you do this?”  In terms of paint, the Red Ranger is pretty straight forward.  Everything is pretty basic color work; all the lines are nice and crisp and the colors are pretty much on point.  For extras, Andros includes his trusty Galaxy Blaster, as well as the torso and head of the In Space Megazord.  Bandai’s doing something slightly different with these figures and only packing corresponding Zord pieces with each Ranger (i.e. the Mighty Morphin’ Zord is only packed with those Rangers and so forth), meaning each Zord is spread over a minimum of two series. Time will tell how this works out for them, but the fandom seems rather split.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I caught the first series of this line several times, but I don’t really have any attachment to Ninja Storm and I’ve already invested in the Figuarts versions of the original team, so I passed.  As soon as I learned the In Space figures would be part of the Series 2 line-up, I started looking out for this guy.  He seems to have been the hottest figure in the set, at least initially.  I finally tracked him down at my closest Toys R Us, back in January.  Ultimately, the figure’s okay.  I can’t say he’s fantastic, but he’s better than the usual Bandai America product.  I’m holding out to hear if there’s going to be a Silver Ranger before committing to the rest of the In Space team, but I can see myself picking up the occasional figure from this line (especially the Series 4 Gold Ranger).  If you don’t have the Figuarts stuff, I’d definitely recommend checking this line out.  I think lack of comparison may do these guys some favors.

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#1099: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY LEGACY COLLECTION

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If you had to pick a face of Firefly, I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s Malcolm Reynolds.  Despite the definite ensemble bent of the show, he was the captain, and he was front and center for pretty much everything.  As the “face,” Mal has been privy to by far the most action figures of any cast member, with a good seven of them under his belt.  As one of only two characters to get a figure (well, two, actually) from the criminally short-lived Serenity line back in 2005, he was already covered in the 6-inch scale, but Funko probably didn’t want to do Legacy without him (and I’m sure a good number of people never got the Serenity figures), so he found his way into that line too.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

mallegacy2Mal was figure #1 in the first series of Funko’s Firefly Legacy Collection.  That makes sense, what with him being the captain and all.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Or he would had my figure not broken.  Yep, after fairing alright with my Rocketeer, all of my GoT figures, and Wash and Zoe, Mal was my first official break from the Legacy line.  It was just a manner of time, I suppose.  While taking this guy out of the box, I apparently handled his right hand a little too roughly, and it fell off.  I can’t say I’m surprised, though, since his wrist pegs are thin, hollow, and made of clear plastic (the weakest plastic out there).  I’m not sure how this figure wouldn’t break.  That’s just very poor design.  Like most of the other figures in this set, Mal is sporting his look from the promotional images.  It’s a pretty straightforward look for Mal, what with the suspenders, red shirt, and signature brown coat.  Mal’s sculpt is…well, it’s something.  It’s definitely not as good as Wash or Zoe, or even any of the GoT figures.  I wouldn’t call it bad per se, but I can’t say I’d call it particularly good either.  He’s long and lanky, which isn’t necessarily wrong for Mal, but it’s handled in an odd sort of “this person wouldn’t be able to live” sort of way.  I’m not sure what’s going on with the hips, but it looks sort of like he broke one of them and is trying to hide the body cast in his pants.  His shoulders are quite narrow, which is emphasized by the slightly bow-legged stance of the figure and his inability to put his arms down all the way.  Then there’s the jacket, which I can’t tell if it’s too short or his legs are just too long, but something’s off about it.  It also sits rather clumsily on his shoulders, as if it was taken from another figure entirely.  The head is probably the figure’s strongest point, though even it’s a little strange.  From some angles, it’s a spot-on Fillion likeness, but from others he looks kinda like Michael J Fox.   The paint work on the figure is decent, I suppose.  The best work is probably the body, though it feels kind of murky and slapdash compared to the others.  The head has some okay work, but something about the eyes is just deeply disturbing.  Mal includes his usual revolver, as well as a larger rifle (different from the one included with Zoe).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Seeing as I already had the Serenity Mal, and I was hemming and hawing over Wash and Zoe to begin with, I was definitely not planning on getting this guy.  But then Movie Stop was going out of business, and this was one of the very last figures they had, and he was like $4.  And for that price, I figured he was worth a shot.  Between the strange sculpt, the iffy paint, and the fact that he broke right out of the box, I’m definitely glad I didn’t pay full or even half price for this guy.  I’d like to write this guy off as being an example of Funko’s inexperience in the field of action figures, but the other Legacy figures show they can make a very good figure when they want to.  I guess everyone needs a worst.  Man, this one was kind of a bummer…