Tag Archives: Mega Man

#3767: Elec Man

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

ELEC MAN

MEGA MAN (JADA)

Okay, things have gotten too comfortable and predictable around here, so I’m throwing caution to the wind and going nuts, and…well, I mean I’m still reviewing action figures, so I guess it’s not that much of a change-up.  But it’s a Mega Man review, you guys.  Or a Megaman review.  They’re both confusingly accurate.  Whatever the case, I’ve only done one of those before, so I guess I’m gonna do another one.  So, let’s break out one the original six Robot Masters, Elec Man!  He’s electric.  Boogie-woogie-woogie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elec Man is part of the second series of Jada’s Mega Man line.  He’s one of the two Robot Masters included (the other being Cut Man), bringing our total count up to four out of six.  Elec Man’s based on his look from the first game, albeit a more “evergreen” take on the design, as was the case with Mega Man.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Both his scaling and articulation are very similar to the standard Mega Man I looked at last year, and that’s a good thing in both cases, because that was a really nice figure.  He’s quite easy to pose and generally pretty stable on his feet.  Elec Man’s sculpt appears to be totally unique, and like Mega Man’s, it’s very clean and slick.  Some of the detail seems a little bit sharper, and there’s just generally more going on with his design, so it gives him a better starting point, I suppose.  Elec Man’s paint work is a little more basic than Mega Man’s was, not getting the same degree of accent work.  He gets the base colors, and the application’s overall not too bad, but there’s a little bit of slop on the logo.  Of course, given the price point, it’s still really not bad.  I also appreciate that the wrist pegs aren’t painted this time, so there’s less flaky paint.  Elec Man is packed with two different heads (one with a slight smirk, the other appearing to be mid cackle), two pairs of hands (fists and a pointing/thumbs-up combo), and an electricity effect piece.  It’s a nice little spread of extras, and while it’s a little lighter than what Mega Man got, he’s also a slightly more complex figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t really have much specific attachment to this character, per se, so I didn’t have any sort of undying need to own this figure.  That said, I’m patiently waiting for Guts Man and Proto Man, the main figures I really want from this line, and my Mega Man sure looked lonely on the shelf.  Elec Man was one of the vinyl figures I had back in the day, and was also one of the only ones that didn’t fall apart, so I do at least have a familiarity with him.  He’s got a strong design, and seeing him in person, I caved.  I don’t need him, but he’s still very fun, and this is a great line of figures that I’m very carefully trying to avoid going all-in for.

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.

#3574: Mega Man

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

MEGA MAN

MEGA MAN (JADA)

Fun FiQ Fact #0053:  Mega Man is known as “Rockman” in Japan in reference to the musical genre rock & roll, something hammered home by his sister robot being named “Roll.”  His original name gained further relevance given the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” nature of the games.

Mega Man is one of my earliest video game experiences.  As a kid, I didn’t do much with video games, but I did dabble with PC gaming to a minor extent.  Amongst those games was one of the DOS Mega Man games.  Admittedly, the gameplay kind of confused me and I didn’t make it far, but it did instill in me an attachment to the title character.  And for me, you know that’s always gonna lead to action figures.  Just my luck, Jada has continued their surprisingly solid jump into the action figure game with a line of Mega Man figures, and I’m looking at the Blue Bomber himself today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mega Man is part of the first series of Jada’s Mega Man line, alongside Fire Man and Ice Man.  He’s based on the classic Mega Man design, which is really hard to beat, when you get down to it.  The figure stands just shy of 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Jada continues to impress on the articulation front; there’s a really nice range of motion on most of the figure’s joints, and his poseability is fantastic given his design and scale.  Of particular note, the elbows and knees both get further than 90 degree bends, even with only a single joint, as well as rather sizable gloves and boots.  His sculpt is all-new, and works well around the articulation.  He offers up something of an evergreen version of Mega Man’s classic design.  It translates well to three dimensions, and it’s a rather cleanly rendered sculpt.  There are some spots where it’s a little on the softer side, but it works okay for his design.  There are two different heads, one with a slight grin, the other gritting his teeth.  They’re internally consistent, so it’s clearly the same guy between the two.  Mega Man’s color work is seemingly pretty basic, but actually has a good deal of subtlety to it.  Of note, the darker blue sections get a faint airbrushing to give them a slight accenting.  He’s even got the red detailing on the bottoms of his feet, which is an awesome touch.  Mega Man is packed with two pairs of hands (fists and a open gesture combo), a buster cannon that can be swapped out for either of his forearms, a blast effect, and an articulated display stand for the effect.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been after a solid Mega Man figure for a while.  There’s no shortage of options, but none of them quite hit the spot for me.  After enjoying Jada’s Universal Monsters line so immensely, I was excited to see what they would do.  They did not disappoint.  Now, can I please get a Protoman?

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.

#0611: Mega Man

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

MEGA MAN

SUPER SMASH BROTHERS AMIIBO

MegaMan1

I am not the foremost expert on video games. However, I’ve got a decent knowledge of some of the higher profile stuff, and I do have my personal favorites, both in terms of games and the characters within them. Over the winter, my brother and I got pretty invested in the most recent iteration of Super Smash Brothers. One of the new things that Nintendo has added to the game are Amiibo, which are these little figurines of the characters which can be used in conjunction with the game, allowing you to name and train NPC versions of the characters they represent, as well as unlock a few additional things within Smash and other games. Unfortunately, it seems like Nintendo’s kinda terrible at this whole collectibles thing, so a lot of the characters I’d like to own are ridiculously hard to find. That kind of ruins the whole thing for everybody. Anyway, I actually managed to find one of the characters I wanted, thanks to a rerelease. So, let’s take a look at Mega Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MegaMan3Mega Man was part of either the second or third round of Super Smash Brothers Amiibo (EDIT: He’s from the third round!). I know he definitely wasn’t amongst the initial assortment of characters. The “figure” is about 3 ½ inches tall, with the base adding about ½ an inch to the height. Amiibo aren’t designed as actual action figures, and as such, Mega Man doesn’t have any articulation. Sort of a bummer, but it’s not like it’s unexpected. Mega Man’s sculpt is pretty great. It’s sufficiently accurate to the design of the character. It’s specifically based on Mega Man’s appearance in the latest Super Smash Brothers game, with a few little details lifted straight from the game. Of course, his design hasn’t changed that much from prior appearances, so this could certainly stand in for an earlier Mega Man if MegaMan2that’s what you want. He’s sculpted in a fairly in-character pose, with his legs in a wide stance and his buster cannon held high. It’s a good pose, though it might be nice if the cannon was a little further away from his face, just so it didn’t block him. Mega Man’s paintwork isn’t the greatest thing of all time, but it’s better than what lots of other companies are putting out there right now. Some areas, especially the shorts, exhibit a little bit of bleed over, but nothing too bad. I really like the decision to use metallic paint for the darker blue portions; it has a really nice sheen to it, and it makes the figure really pop. Mega Man doesn’t include any physical accessories, but he does have the interface with Smash, which works pretty well. Also, when scanned in for the first time, each Amiibo gets you a small portion of a classic game. In Mega Man’s case, it was the first few minutes of Metroid, which was pretty fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed out on Mega Man in his initial release, which bummed me out a bit. However, I ended up coming across one at a Toys R Us while I was out with the rest of my family. He’s my first Amiibo, and overall I like him. He works well with Smash, and I like the basic sculpt and layout of the piece. That being said, if you’re just looking for a Mega Man figure, this one might not be the one for you. It’s really more of a display piece and less of a toy.