Tag Archives: Marvel

#0100: Captain America – Avengers Version

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

THE AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

Hey look!  100 reviews!  That’s not too shabby, is it?  Like with my 50th review, I’ll be doing another “Deluxe Review.”

For those of you that don’t know, Hot Toys is a toy company based in Hong Kong who are renowned for their almost life like 1/6 scale figures.  They cater strictly to those with a large amount of money to spend on such things, as each figure costs anywhere from $200 to $300 on average.  They tend to pick up the licenses for big block buster movies, and last year they released figures from The Avengers.

Today I’ll be looking at their take on Captain America from that film.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, like I mentioned before, this figure is based on Cap from the Avengers movie.  He was #174 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall, and has a whole lot of articulation.  I don’t know exactly how much, as most of it is hidden by his costume.  So I’m gonna just go with a bunch.

Cap-AvengersCloseUp

THE HEAD IN QUESTION

I’ll look at the basic head here, and the extra head in the accessories section.    The basic head depicts Cap with his helmet/mask on.  The helmet appears to be a separately molded piece, but it’s not removable.    Sculpt wise, all the details look great.   I’m not sure that they’ve quite gotten Chris Evans’s likeness down, but they’ve came pretty damn close.  The helmet is pretty much a miniaturized version of the actual one from the film, with pretty much every little groove and detail included.  The under-the-helmet-hood is also well done, simulating the texture of the fabric impressively.  Paint is one of Hot Toys’ strong suits, and this figure doesn’t disappoint.  The level of detail and the lifelike quality is nothing short of amazing.  Viewed from the right angle, this figure could pass for a real person.

THE COSTUME IN QUESTION

This is kind of a new category for me, as the costume features few sculpted pieces and very little paint.  That isn’t to say he has no sculpted pieces.  He’s got his hands, boots, gauntlets, the chevrons on his shoulders, his belt buckle, and the star on his chest.  These are all fairly well executed, although, the boot and gauntlet sculpts may be a bit on the soft side, sculpt-wise.  All of the sculpted parts are painted quite well, with no slop or bleed over.

So, I’ve looked ate the sculpted parts, now I’ll move on to the rest of the figure’s costume, which is all cloth.  Cap’s costume is tailored specifically to fit his body, and is handled with two main pieces:  Shirt and Pants.  Most of his uniform is made from the same coarse blue fabric.  I find it’s a bit on the dark side for Cap’s look from the movie, but it isn’t too bad.  The costume is assembled from multiple layers, which really adds to the realism.

THE ACCESSORIES IN QUESTION

Cap comes with quite a hefty selection of accessories.  They are:

  • Unmasked Head
  • Pulled down Hood to display with the unmasked head
  • 7 spare hands
  • 2 shields: Regular and Battle-Damaged
  • Chitauri Arm Cannon
  • Display Stand

The alternate head is pretty good.  Once again, I’m not sure they’ve completely captured Evans, but it’s hard to tell given the choice of expression.  I don’t really know why they decided to go with an angry expression for the unmasked head, since that isn’t very characteristic of Cap in the movie, but I guess it looks okay if you’re going for more of a battle-damaged, end of the movie look.  The head switches out at the base of the neck, and does so with relative, which is nice because it means you don’t have to man handle you’re $200+ action figure.

The alternate head is complimented by a hood piece to replicate what Cap’s hood looked like when he pulled it down in the movie.  It’s pretty much just a piece of blue cloth.  It’s okay, but it has difficulty hanging properly, which can look a bit awkward.  It’s attached via two snaps that hook on the inside collar of the costume.  They’re unreliable, and don’t tend to hold well.  Overall, this is kind of an extraneous piece.  I’m glad they included it for those that want it, but it’s not something I ever plan to use.

Cap includes seven hands in addition to the relaxed pair he has on in the box.  The hands include: gripping(R and L), Pointing(R), splayed(R and L), and fists(R and L).  They’re all sculpted well, and offer a nice variety of gestures.

Cap’s most important accessories are his mighty shields.  He includes both a clean and polished one and a scuffed up, battle-worn one.  The clean one is vac-metallized, which is a decision I question, as it doesn’t really accurately depict what Cap’s shield looks like in the movies.  Also, if you’re unlucky, all to paint might start flaking off like some people have experienced, so there’s that.  I much prefer the BD shield, as I feel it looks more like the one Cap carries in the movie.

Cap also includes a Chitauri arm-cannon thing.  He takes one from one of the aliens during the movie’s climactic battle, so it fits.  It’s pretty cool, and can be plugged into Cap’s hand peg if you so desire.

Lastly, Cap includes a black display stand with his name and the Avengers logo on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Hot Toys announced their Avengers line, this was a figure I wasn’t going to buy.  I planned on getting the rest, and need to save the money for them.  Plus, I already had Cap from his solo film.  That should be enough for me, right?

Well, as you can see, no, it wasn’t.  I broke down and bought the figure because I really wanted that really cool Avengers set up, and First Avenger Cap just wouldn’t look right.  I’m glad I bought him in the end, but man I am such a push-over on these figures.

Cap-AvengersUnmasked

#0096: Thor & Loki

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

THOR & LOKI

MARVEL MINIMATES

Hey look guys!  It’s Minimates!

This time around it’s another peak at the earlier days of Marvel Minimates.  We’ll be jumping all the way back to wave 16 for this review.  I’ll be looking at the very first Minimates of Thor and Loki.  It’s shocking to think that these two didn’t see a release until 16 waves in, but they were hardly the household names they are now.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 16th wave of the Marvel Minimates line, which was an Avengers themed wave.

THOR

First up, it’s the God of Thunder, Thor!  Thor is depicted here in his classic costume.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  3 of those 14 points are rendered pretty much motionless by the hair and boot sculpts.  Thor’s sculpted pieces include: Hair/helmet, torso cover/cape, wrist bands, boots and belt.  I believe that all of these pieces were new to Thor, but a few of them would see some reuse later down the line.  The sculpts are all reasonable for the time, but they seem a little soft by today’s standards.  They also seem a bit boxy compared to more recent stuff.  Structurally, they all look good, and work really well for the character.  The paint is fairly minimal, with some minor base work on the areas such as the clack on the top of the legs and the silver on the chest and helmet.  These look fine, and don’t seem to have too much slop or any fuzzy lines.  Detail lines are present on the face, torso and boots.  They’re all sharp, and look pretty good, although the face does leave a little to be desired.  In an effort to make it fit without being obscured by the helmet, they kind of squished it, which doesn’t really work for Thor.  It was extremely common to see another face subbed in for this one back when this was the only Thor on the market.  Thor includes his trust hammer Mjolnir, which was a new sculpt.  It’s a bit on the simple side, but it worked well for the time.

LOKI

Next, Thor’s villainous brother, Loki!  Like Thor, Loki is depicted in his classic Kirby costume.  He too is built on the usual body for the line, so he has the usual height and articulation.  Fortunately, unlike Thor, none of Loki’s articulation is impacted by his sculpted pieces.  Speaking of sculpted pieces, Loki has two of them: his helmet and his cape.  The cape was previously used on wave 9’s White Queen Minimate, but the helmet was brand new to Loki.  The cape is a bit questionable, but it looks okay, and it’s easily removed if you don’t like it.  The helmet looks spot on to the one Loki wore in the early comics.  Like with Thor, paint is at a relative minimum with Loki.  He’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but he’s got some yellow paint for his gloves, boots and such.  Loki has detail lines denoting his face and the texturing on his torso.  The face looks appropriately sinister, though it does kind have the same squashed look as Thor.  The texturing is nice, and it looks accurate to the look they were going for.  Loki includes a chalice, painted in the same yellow as is present on the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two were part of wave 16 of the Marvel Minimates line, which was not only a turning point for the line itself, but also for my involvement in the line.  Wave 16 represents the first time I eagerly awaited the release of a set of minimates, and the first time I bought an entire set of them, instead of just a random set here or there.  While they seem a bit dated now, Thor and Loki were a big deal at the time, and they helped put the Avengers a lot closer to a formidable presence in the line, an idea that seems absurd nowadays.  This was the wave that showed that this line could go the distance.  And boy, did it…

#0094: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL 10-INCH (TOYBIZ)

In the 90s, ToyBiz’s 5 inch Marvel line was pretty unbeatable when it came to superhero toys.  They had wide variety and best assortment of articulation you could find at the time.  Having met a great success with the 5 inch line, ToyBiz decided to release a larger scale line through a partnership with toy store KB Toys.  The 10 inch line was made from sized-up molds from the popular 5 inch line, and offered a variety of characters at a low price.  They were also a bit more durable than the smaller figures, which made them great for play.  Today, I’ll be looking at the basic Spider-Man from the line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man was part of KB’s exclusive line of 10-inch figures, though the line never really had “waves” or “series.”  Instead, the figures were just kind of in constant supply.  Anyway, this was the basic Spider-Man, who was offered for the entirety of the line.  The figure stands 10 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation.  The sculpt quite simplistic, but fairly well handled, especially given it would have been released in the 90s.  The web lines are painted instead of sculpted, but that was the standard at the time, and it does make the figure look like he’s from the 90s Spider-Man Animated Series, which was undoubtedly an influence.  For the most part, the figure is molded in the appropriate colors, but there are a few painted spots.  The color matching is good, and everything looks clean, with no smudges or slop.  I believe that this figure included a web-line with a suction cup, but I’ve long since lost it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy was purchased on one of the many trips taken to the nearby, mall-based KB Toys with my Grandmother.  She would occasionally buy me one or two of these figures and I would joyfully take them home to play.

#0093: Darcy, Selvig & Dark Elves

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

DARCY LEWIS, ERIC SELVIG  & DARK ELVES

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, I’ll be doing the second half of my Thor: The Dark World Minimates review.  I’ll be looking at the two short packed sets, which feature Darcy Lewis and Eric Selvig, each packed with a Dark Elf.

I mentioned yesterday that I wasn’t as happy as I’d hoped with Thor: The Dark World, and sadly, the Dark Elves had a lot to do with that.  I get that the director was obviously a fan of Star Wars.  Who isn’t?  But, it’d be nice if the Dark Elves weren’t such thinly veiled knock offs of the Stormtroopers.  But perhaps I’m too picky.

Anyway, others seemed to like the Dark Elves, and they don’t have bad designs, so they seem rather toy worthy.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were released as part of the 53rd wave of Marvel Minimates.  The wave was released to coincide with The Dark World.

DARCY

First up, Kat Dennings’s love-or-hate character Darcy.  Darcy was in both Thor films, but was absent from the first movie’s merchandise.  It’s nice to see her included this time around.  Darcy is based on her appearance in the film, although, she seems to be missing the coat and hat she wore for most of the movie.  I assume that this was done to save on tooling.  Darcy features two sculpted pieces:  hair and skirt.  Both of these pieces are reused from previous Minimates, and the hair in particular seems to be popular on Marvel movie females.  These pieces were well sculpted initially and still look good now, so the reuse is fine.  Darcy’s paint is alright, I guess.  The detail lines are all applied nicely, and the likeness of the face is fantastic, but the basic paintwork leaves a lot to be desired, with lots of slop and a few mismatched colors.  Darcy includes a mobile phone, a laptop and a clear display stand.

SELVIG

Next up, friendly scientist gone madman, Eric Selvig!  This is Selvig’s second appearance as a Minimate, but the first Selvig suffered from some pretty bad quality control, and a few unfortunate plastic choices, so it’s nice to see him get another shot.  Selvig has a few looks in the movie, but since several of them wouldn’t be fit for a toyline, they’ve opted for his business casual look from the film’s climax.  Selvig has 3 sculpted pieces: hair, and rolled up sleeve cuffs.  These pieces have all been used before, but they all look appropriate to the character, so no complaints.  The paintwork is better here than on Darcy.  The likeness is really good, and the detail work on his plaid shirt is nothing short of phenomenal.  Selvig includes the same mobile phone as Darcy, a spare set of legs, and a clear display stand.  The spare legs are a fun addition, and let you display Selvig sans pants, illustrating his mental instability throughout the film.  They’re not quite as well painted as the rest of him, but they look okay, and are a really cool add-in.

DARK ELF

Lastly, my least favorite part of these sets (yeah, I keep going on about it.  Sorry, I just really was disappointed by them!), the Dark Elves.  They are, of course, based on the look of the big bad’s army in the film.  In all fairness, they aren’t a terrible design.  They feature 6 sculpted pieces:  helmet, torso armor, upper arms, blaster hand, and shield hand.  These pieces are all new to the Dark Elf.  They’re all well done, though I feel they don’t quite live up to, say, the armor on Heimdall.  Some of the details are a bit soft.  The paint, on the other hand, is some of the best in the wave.  All the detail lines are quite sharp, and the basic paint work is clean and without any noticeable slop.  The Dark Elves include unarmed hands and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked these two sets up from my local comicbook store.  While I certainly like Darcy and Selvig, and I understand the necessity of the Dark Elves, even if I personally didn’t care for them, I can’t help but feel these slots could have been put to better use.  Sure, these are all great Minimates, and I’m glad to have them, but would I want them in place of, say, Fandrall and Hogun, or even Frigga?  Not really.  Of course, it’s hardly Diamond’s fault.  Those three were set to be made, in the TRU wave for the movie.  But Toys R Us decided they didn’t want said wave, mucking up Diamond’s plans.  So, in actuality, it’s all the fault of Toys R Us.  Which seems to be the usual state of affairs…

#0092: Loki & Heimdall

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LOKI & HEIMDALL

MARVEL MINIMATES

So, the sequel to Thor, entitled Thor: The Dark World was released this past November.  I very much enjoyed the first Thor, so I was quite excited for the sequel’s release.  Well, sometimes, things aren’t quite what you hoped they’d be.  I saw The Dark World, and while it wasn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, it was far from what I’d hoped it would be.  In particular, I found the villains lackluster, which is why my first review of the recently released minimates from the movie is not of Thor & Malekith, the hero and villain of the film.  I didn’t particularly need another Thor, and Malekith wasn’t interesting enough for me to feel the need to buy him.

Regardless, the movie did have its good parts, and two of the best parts are contained in this set here:  Loki & Heimdall!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Loki and Heimdall were released as part of the 53rd wave of Diamond’s Marvel Minimates line, the wave released to coincide with Thor: The Dark World.

LOKI

First up, it’s the guy you love to hate or hate to love, Loki!  Loki is presented here in his more cleaned up look that he sports for most of the movie.  He’s built on the typical Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Loki has 4 sculpted add-ons:  Hair, coat, and bracelets.  The coat is brand new to this figure, and it’s quite well done.  All the different layers are defined well, and it looks quite sharp.  The hair and bracelets are reused.  The hair has been used a few times before, and the bracelets were last used on the Avengers version of Loki.  Loki’s main detailing is on his face and legs.  The legs have a nice subtle line work detailing the tops of Loki’s boots.  The face is fairly sharp;y detailed and has a decent resemblance of Tom Hiddleston.  Loki includes a set of Asgardian handcuffs and a clear display stand.  The handcuffs are much appreciated, as Loki spends a good portion of the film in them, and I’m really glad the clear stands have become a standard accessory.

HEIMDALL

Next, it’s the guy cancelling the apocalypse.  Wait, sorry, wrong movie.  It’s Idris Elba’s other big role this year:  Heimdall!  Like Loki, Heimdall is built on the basic Minimate body, so he’s got the usual height and articulation.  Heimdall has 6 sculpted pieces:  helmet, torso cover, bracelets, and boots.  All of these pieces are brand new to Heimdall, and all of them are expertly handled.  The ornate detailing of the armor is impressive.  The basic paint work on the sculpted parts is pretty well done.  Not perfect, but certainly passable.  Detail-wise, he has detailing on his face, arms and legs.  The arms and legs offer some nice texturing, and the face offers a rather good likeness of Idris Elba.  Heimdall includes his sword and a clear display stand.  The sword is as impressively sculpted as the rest of Heimdall, and really fits the figure well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix.  I really like this set.  It’s nice to get Heimdall after he was overlooked in the first Thor movie, and Loki is definitely the best version done so far of the movie version of the character.  I almost wonder if Diamond may have done themselves a disservice packing these two together, as they are hands down the two best Minimates in the wave.

#0082: Power Man & Iron Fist

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POWER MAN & IRON FIST

MARVEL MINIMATES

Day 4 of my post-Christmas Review is now here, and shocking absolutely everyone, it’s more Minimates!  This time around, it’s another set of Marvel Minimates, though it’s actually one of the older ones that I missed on its initial release.  It’s everyone’s favorite Heroes for Hire:  Power Man and Iron Fist!

I just recently reviewed another figure of Power Man, so I won’t go into great detail there, but this time he comes with his trusty partner Iron Fist, who’s a guy with an…iron fist.  Okay, not literally, but he’s got a complicated origin I don’t feel like getting into here.  He’s a guy who’s really good at martial arts.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as a ToyFare exclusive 2-pack, released around the 7th series of the Marvel Minimates line.  For those of you paying attention, the last set I reviewed here was a Toys R Us exclusive set released to coincide with the 51st wave of the line, so these guys are from quite a ways back.

POWER MAN

First up, it’s the original Hero for Hire, Luke Cage, aka Power Man.  Power Man is depicted here in his original costume from his series in the 70s.  He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has the standard 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has four sculpted pieces:  his hair, belt, and bracelets.  These pieces were all new to the figure, but have been used a few times since, particularly the bracelets, which have seen rather frequent reuse.  These pieces are all well sculpted, but are very definitely a product of the much more simplistic look of Minimates at the time.  The paint is alright, but definitely not up to par with the current offerings.  The detail lines are sparse and fairly heavy, and there’s a sizeable amount of slop around the boots.  Power Man includes no accessories.

IRON FIST

Next, it’s the master of Kung-Fu, Iron Fist.  Iron Fist is also depicted in his original costume from the 70s.  Like Power Man, he’s on the usual body, so he’s got the typical stuff there.  Iron Fist features three sculpted pieces: mask, torso cover, and sash.  These were all new to the figure at the time, but the mask and sash have both seen reuses within the line.  These pieces are all pretty well done, though the torso cover is a bit on the bulky side for Iron Fist, who shouldn’t be that big of a guy.  The paint on Iron fist is a bit better than that of Power Man, though he still has some pretty noticeable slop on his shoes.  One cool detail is the ability of the torso to be reversed, so Iron Fist can be displayed with or without his dragon tattoo.  Iron Fist is accessorized with a little translucent piece that slips over his hand and simulates his chi being transferred through his “iron fist.”   It’s a well done piece that would later see monumental reuse.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These guys were yet another Christmas gift from my uber-supportive parents.  I had wanted this set for a good long while after missing out on ordering it from ToyFare, so I was very happy to unwrap it on Christmas morning.  It’s certainly not on the same level as some of the more recent releases in the line, but it definitely reminded me of cool the line still was, even at this point.  It’s so cool to see how far the line has come.

#0076: Alicia Masters & Moloid

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ALICIA MASTERS & MOLOID

MARVEL MINIMATES

Hey look!  More Minimates!  Yay!  Ahem.

So, yeah… more Marvel Minimates.  This time around, it’s The ever-lovin’ Blue-eyed Thing’s girlfriend Alicia Masters, and her longtime nemesis the Moloid.  Okay, not really, but isn’t that more interesting than “they just happened to be packed together”?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as the short-packed one-per-case set in Series 48 of the Marvel Minimates line.

ALICIA MASTERS

First up, my main interest in the set, Alicia Masters.  This is Alicia’s first venture into the world of action figures, though that’s not a huge surprise, given that she’s a fairly average looking person in a world full of super heroes.  Alicia is built on the typical Minimate body, with the standard height of about 2 ½ inches and 14 points of articulation.  She’s depicted here in a pink sweater and a slightly darker pink skirt.  I’m honestly not sure if this is based on a specific look for Alicia, but it seems to suit the character.  Alicia has a newly sculpted hair piece, and a reused skirt piece.  The hair looks fine, and sits well, and the skirt is a well worked piece of reuse.  The rest of the detailing is handled via paint.  The line work is all well-handled, with the edges and wrinkles of her clothes all handled with care.  I do wish the sleeve detail on her arm went all the way around, but it isn’t terrible.  I do like the unevenness of the bottom of the sweater, as it adds a nice touch of reality to her look.  The face looks appropriate for Alicia, and I like the way her eyes have been handled to denote her blindness.  Alicia includes a clear stand and a clay bust of her boyfriend.  The bust is really cool, and has a nice faint face detail.

MOLOID

Next is the Moloid.  The Moloid is the army builder of the series, and depicts one of the Mole Man’s faithful minions.  The moloid isn’t totally new to the action figure world, but he’s not the most frequently released character.  He’s also built on the usual body, only he’s got a specially sculpted head to show off the Moloid’s big, pointy ears, and a pair of “short” feet.  The short feet aren’t totally new, though this is the first time they’ve had the holes in the bottom to allow them to be plugged onto one of the stands.  The Moloid’s also got a sculpted loin-cloth, which is new to the figure, and accurately depicts the typical wear of the Moloids.  The Moloid has fairly basic detailing, done on a completely painted pale yellow body.  The Moloid’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I enjoy this set a lot, more than I should, given the relative low-keyness of the character’s featured.  But things like Alicia’s awesome Thing sculpture are a great example of how Diamond can take a figure that could be boring and make it one of the stars of the series.  Both figures in the set are really cool additions to anyone’s Fantastic Four collection.

#0075: Luke Cage

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

LUKE CAGE

MARVEL LEGENDS (TOY BIZ)

Today, it’s my second look at the early 2000s juggernaut, Marvel Legends.  I’ve mentioned in the past my issues with this line’s tendency to draw out the worst in the collector market, but the figure’s themselves weren’t always bad.  I’ll be looking at one of the figure’s from towards the end of Toy Biz’s run with the line: Luke Cage, sometimes known as Power Man.  Sweet Christmas!

Luke Cage was a character created in the 70s to somewhat tie-in to the trend of “blaxplotation” movies.  Marvel wanted to try and appeal to that market, so they created Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.  He starred in his own series for a while, that was very 70s.  When his own series started to suffer, he was rolled in with fellow 70s character Iron Fist.  It was here that the two characters found their audience, and it’s how they’re often remembered.  When the 70s passed, Cage fell into obscurity, but he came into a bit of a revival in the last few years, and is set to appear in his own Netflix-original miniseries in 2015.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Cage was released as part of the 14th Series of ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends line.  He’s a little bit over 6 inches tall, and he has 35 points of articulation.  The figure depicts Luke in his original yellow and black look.  It’s incredibly dated, but given that the character seems to just where normal clothes these days, this is the most interesting look the character’s had.  Luke’s sculpt isn’t too bad.  The body sculpt is one of the better ones that the line had to offer.  It doesn’t have some of the stranger proportions that plagued the line, although his super articulation does make some parts of the sculpt look a little…off.  The head looks fine, if a bit on the angry side.  Most of the figure is molded in the proper color, but there’s some nice accent work done to bring out the sculpt’s details.  Cage included a piece of Series 14’s Build-A-Figure Mojo, and a copy of his first appearance.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In my last review of a Marvel Legends figure, I lamented how difficult it was to get a hold of the figures.  Well, but the last two series or so of the line, this was less the case, so I had no real issues getting Luke here.

#0069: Storm

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

STORM

MARVEL SELECT

Yesterday, I looked at Wolverine from the Marvel Select line.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of his teammates, Storm.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Storm was released in the last year of the line.  As with everyone else in the line, she’s not part of a specific series. Instead, she was released solo.  Storm is presented here in her original costume.   It’s nice to see this costume, as it’s not used as often as it should be in my opinion.  Storm stands about 7 inches tall, and has 17 points of articulation.  She’s definitely got one of the better female sculpts I’ve looked at on the site.  It’s pretty well proportioned, and does a fair job of living up to her comic book counterpart’s looks.  She’s not as Cockrum influenced as Wolverine, instead going a bit more generic, but she still looks appropriate for the character, so I can’t complain.  The paint is all nice and cleanly applied, with no slop or fuzziness.  I really like the choice of shiny finish for the black parts, as it makes them stand out well.  They’ve opted to use gold for the traditionally yellow parts, which adds an air of regality to her, which works nicely.  Storm includes a small display stand and a corner of the Danger Room.  It’s got several parts, and has a great geometric look to it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Storm was picked up at the same time as the Select Wolverine, also at my local comic book store’s end of the year sale.  I’d actually been wanting to pick this figure up for a while, and I was glad to find it at a slightly lower price.  I don’t have many Storm figures in my collection, so I was very glad to add this one.  She’s not just a good Storm figure, but a good action figure in general.

#0068: Wolverine

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

WOLVERINE

MARVEL SELECT

It’s honestly surprising how few Wolverine figures I’ve reviewed so far, given how many I own.  Anyway, this is another Marvel Select review, based on the aforementioned Wolverine.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wolverine was released a few years ago as part of the Marvel Select line.  Like all the others in the line, he’s not part of a “series”, but rather, he was released on his own.  Wolverine is based on his look from his early appearances in X-Men in the late 70s.  Specifically, he looks to be based on Dave Cockrum’s interpretation of the character.  He stands about 6 ½ inches tall, giving him the proper stature of an early Wolverine, and he has 17 points of articulation.  The sculpt is handled well.  He’s a tad bit skinny, but not too bad.  The head in particular is great, because it’s spot on to Cockrum’s take on the character.  I also like that the claws are handled better than on most Wolverine figures, and have a nice unique look to them.  The paint is done well, particularly the yellow parts, because yellow can look hideous in some cases, but they’ve added a nice wash to it to bring out the sculpt.  Wolverine is topped off with a display stand, depicting a chunk of scenery from what appears to be Weapon X, which is appropriate to the character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this guy from my comic book store’s annual end of the year sale.  I’m not the biggest fan of Wolverine, but I love the early Claremont/Cockrum run on X-Men, so I was super excited to get a Wolverine based on that time period.  He’s definitely one of the best Wolverine’s out there, and my favorite in my collection.