Tag Archives: Minimates

#0747: Star-Lord & Groot (& Rocket)

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

STAR-LORD & GROOT (& ROCKET)

MARVEL MINIMATES

StarLordGroot1

Okay, let’s do this animated thing one more time! With the unexpectedly huge success of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, it’s not exactly a big surprise that Disney fast tracked a cartoon series focusing on the team. It’s also not all that shocking that a few members of the show’s cast made their way into the new animated sub-set of Marvel Minimates. So, let’s have a look at Star-Lord and Groot (and Rocket Raccoon)!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys are another set from the first series of Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates. They’re based on their designs from the cartoon, which are, in turn, heavily influenced by the designs from the movie.

STAR-LORD

StarLordGroot2As the central figure of both the Guardians movie and the cartoon, it makes sense for Star-Lord to find himself in the first set of figures. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation. Star-Lord’s design on the show is more or less directly lifted from the movie, but, while almost all the movie merchandise (including the Minimate) was based on his long-jacketed look from the first few minutes of the film, the cartoon and its associated Minimate both depict him in the short-jacketed look he has for the majority of the film. So, it’s actually a new, valid variant of the character. Yay! Star-Lord gets add-ons for his hair/mask, coat, and wrist guard. The mask and wrist piece are both from the last Star-Lord, and the coat has been taken from Knight Rider’s Michael Knight. The coat and wrist thingy are fine, but the helmet still feels a bit too bulky. Maybe it would look better if the hair stood up a bit? The paint on Star-Lord is very nicely handled. The colors are nice and bold, and the line work is really clean. The finer details on the belt and boots are also pretty great, and the muscle detailing on the torso keeps him from being too boring. The mask is much better painted than the movie version, which ends up making it look quite a bit better. Under the mask is a fully detailed face, which fortunately didn’t suffer from the same paint mix-up as the movie version, so his eyebrows are the correct color. He’s definitely the animated Star-Lord, but he can pass for Chris Pratt in a pinch. Star-Lord is packed with a spare hairpiece (still re-used from Tomb Raider’s Roth, but it fits the animated design an bit better), one of his blasters, and a clear display stand. A second blaster would have been cool, but this is a pretty decent allotment overall!

GROOT (& ROCKET)

StarLordGroot3Star-Lord may be the central member of the team, but these two are definitely the fan favorites, so they definitely earned their slot here. Also, they were probably helped by the fact that they are identical to their movie counterparts tooling-wise. As with those figures, only one of these two, Groot, is actually a full-fleged figure. He’s got a specially sculpted head, hands, and feet, all re-used from the movie version, as well as a torso extender piece. The pieces were well done on the first Groot and they’re still well done here. I’m still not sold on the tabs on the back of Groot’s head to stand Rocket on, but they aren’t too noticeable, as long as you aren’t looking right at them. Groot’s paintwork is a lot more simplistic than his movie counterpart, which is much more in keeping with his animated design. He does a good job of capturing that look, though it’s nowhere near as interesting to look at. Still, his paint is nice and clean, so that’s good. Rocket is really just Groot’s accessory here. He’s the exact same unarticulated figure that was included with the movie Groot, with a very (and I mean veeeery) slight paint change. Instead of being yellow and black, he’s orange and black. That’s cool, I guess. The paint’s a little sloppier this time around, but not enormously so.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Now, this is the set I was looking forward to when the sets were first announced. The movie Star-Lord was easily the biggest disappointment of that series, so it’s great that we got another shot at him, especially with this look. Groot and Rocket may be somewhat redundant, but Groot’s the most stylized of the animated ‘mates, so at least he’s a little different.

#0746: Captain America & Hulk

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA & HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

CapHulk1

Yesterday, I looked at the first set of the new Walgreens exclusive Marvel Minimates, so why don’t I continue that trend today? The last two sets of animated-style ‘mates were both based on Ultimate Spider-Man. Today, I’ll be looking at the first set based on Avengers Assemble. My relationship with that show is…strained. I loved its predecessor Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which was canceled in favor of Assemble. That already put me off the show. What put me off more was the show’s first episode, which was…how do I put it? Horrendous. I tried to watch it on three separate occasions, and never could make it all the way through. So, I’ve not really caught the show. But now I have Minimates from it, so whatever. Let’s look at Captain America and the Hulk from that show.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America and the Hulk are part of the first series of Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates. As noted above, both are based on their designs from the currently running Avengers Assemble cartoon, specifically from the first season.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

CapHulk2It’s not the Avengers without Captain America, so…ummm, here he is? Cap’s design on the show is more or less the same as his early Ultimates appearance, which itself is just a minor tweak of the classic Cap design. The figure stands roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with add-on pieces for his mask and belt, as well as a hand with a plug to attach his shield. The mask first showed up on the First Appearance X-Men, and it’s a good match for Cap’s look on the show. The belt looks familiar, but I can’t see where I’ve seen it before. It’s just a fairly straightforward belt with pouches, and it’s well-sculpted at that. The paintwork on Cap is pretty great. Everything’s clean, and the colors are somewhat muted, but very nicely handled. The detail line work is quite sharp, and effectively balances the animated design with the modern Minimate aesthetic. Cap includes his Mighty Shield TM, an extra head with a more light expression, a hair piece (snagged from Marty McFly), and a clear display stand.

HULK

CapHulk3So, this marks the 32nd time Hulk has made it into Minimate form. For a guy who’s spent 50 years in nothing but a pair of tattered pants, that’s pretty impressive. This one doesn’t really break from the norm, what with wearing nothing but a pair of tattered pants. But this time he’s a darker shade of green. Hey, that’s new and different right? Eh, it’s different enough. He’s got 11 add-on parts. It’s pretty much the same assortment of parts we’ve gotten on most of the Hulks since they started using the bulked up parts for Hulk. They work well, so I can’t really complain. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hulk’s paint is about on par with Cap’s, though it’s not as colorful. It’s generally pretty clean. There’s a bit of slop at the edges of the pants, but nothing unreasonable. The green could stand to be a little lighter, but it doesn’t clash with the pants or anything. Hulk is packed with an extra, smiling head, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, yeah, I got this set at Walgreens, of all places. Imagine that. I can’t say I was really anxious to get this set, given that I already have these two several times before. But, I was buying the other sets from the series, and this one looked pretty sharp, so I figured why not? It’s a pretty decent little set, so I’m glad I picked it up.

#0745: Spider-Man 2099 & Agent Venom

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

SPIDER-MAN 2099 & AGENT VENOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

Venom&2099a

So, on top of this whole bit with doing Minimates based on the various Marvel animated shows, DST is taking Minimates to another new place: Walgreens! Yep, Walgreens, our resident “out of left field” action figure distributor has picked up yet another line to carry, Marvel Minimates. That makes me happy, because hey, more Minimates to buy, but also sad because now I have to buy more Minimates. Oh well. I’ll get over it. The first set of Walgreens exclusive Minimates continue the animated Marvel trend, and while they haven’t yet gotten us any new characters (series 2 will change that) we have managed to get one very needed update, which I’ll be taking a look at today. Let’s see how Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom turned out, shall we?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom were released in the first Walgreens-exclusive series of Marvel Minimates. Both figures are based upon the characters’ designs from Ultimate Spider-Man.

SPIDER-MAN 2099

Venom&2099cThis isn’t the first Spider-Man 2099 Minimate, but it is the first one in 11 years, so that’s pretty noteworthy. He definitely was high on a lot of lists for “most in need of an update.” And, 2099’s design in the cartoon is (mostly) the same as his comics design, so this one can work as either. The figure stands about 2 ¼ inches tall and has the standard 14 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s another “vanilla ‘mate,” so he’s just the base body. While that may work well for his regular time period counterpart, 2099 should really get a few extras. The last 2099 ‘mate was just the basic body too, and that was at least part of why so many people wanted an update. The animated 2099 ditches the cape of his comics counterpart, so its absence is excusable, and the arm spikes would have needed to be new pieces, so it’s possible they didn’t cost out, but he should have at least gotten a pair of clawed hands. Just to make him a little…different. On the plus side, the paintwork on this figure does its very best to make up for the lack of sculpted parts. The base blue is nice and dark, and the highlights add a nice bit of visual flare that was lacking from the previous 2099. Plus, the red details are also nice and sharp, and stand out nicely from the rest of the figure. Everything is really clean and very well handled, and he does a great job of balancing between animated and comic styles, so he’ll be right at home with either line. 2099 includes a web line (in blue) and a clear display stand.

AGENT VENOM

Venom&2099bIt hasn’t been nearly as long since Agent Venom’s last ‘mate (from the Venom Through the Ages set, for those curious), but he’s a popular enough character that it’s not much of a surprise to see him turn up again. Plus, given last year’s Marvel Legends exclusive, it would seem Walgreens is pretty fond of the guy. Agent Venom is built on the usual body, with add-ons for his chest piece, belt, boots, and gloves. The chest piece, boots and gloves are all the same pieces used on the previous Agent Venom. The belt was presumably deemed too textured for the animated design, so it was replaced with the belt from the Series 55 Classic Captain America. The pieces match up pretty well with the animated version of Flash Venom, so no issues there. This figure loses the extra mask piece and the leg holster of the last one; the mask was likely cut to streamline the design a bit, and the animated Agent Venom does not have the guns of his comics counterpart, and therefore doesn’t need the holster. The paintwork on Agent Venom is a bit different this time around. The animated design is just a bit different from the mainstream look, specifically on the mask. The eyes ditch the inverted Spider-Man design for something a bit more basic. It’s not as distinctive, but it’s accurate to the show. The figure has some pretty stylized shading, which is cleanly handled, and makes it more clear that this is an animated figure. Agent Venom’s one accessory is a clear display stand, which is a pretty big step down from the extra hairpiece and two weapons included with the boxed set version. I know the cartoon Agent Venom isn’t armed, but an extra unmasked head would have been nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Take a guess where I got this set. If you guessed Walgreens, you were correct. Good for you. 2099 was definitely the main draw for me. I have a bit of nostalgia for the original, but he was very, very dated, so an update is much appreciated. Yes, it would have been nice to get a few extra sculpted parts, but the paintwork does a lot to save this guy. Agent Venom isn’t really exciting to me, but I have the boxed set version. While that’s the superior of the two, this one isn’t bad at all, and I’m sure he’s awesome to someone who wasn’t able to get the last one.

#0744: Spider-Man – Stealth Suit & Sandman

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

SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Sandman&Spidey1

After 63 series of Minimates based on Marvel characters from both the comics and the live action movies, DST has decided to mix things up a bit, introducing figures based on the current crop of Marvel cartoons. Generally speaking, that means a fair amount of repeats of the “heavy hitter” characters, but it also gives us a chance at some slightly more obscure characters and looks we might otherwise not get, which is always a plus. So, let’s take a look at my first set from this new breed of ‘mates, Spider-Man in his Stealth Suit and Sandman!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair was released as part of the 20th Toys R Us Exclusive series of the main Marvel Minimates line. All the sets in this particular series are based on the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, and that includes these two.

SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT

Sandman&Spidey3Here’s the required Spider-Man. Oh boy. As noted in the name, this figure gives us Spidey in his SHIELD-issued stealth suit from the cartoon. Essentially, it’s just a clear Spider-Man Minimate. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard Minimate body, with no add-on pieces, which is pretty much par for the course with Spidey. My figure has a slight misshaping on the front of the head, which is a little bit noticeable, but not the worst thing ever. The paintwork on the figure is pretty straight-forward. He’s molded in clear plastic. All the detail lines are done in white, and the logo and eyes are done in grey. The line work is nice and clean, and matches up nicely with the standard Spidey from this wave. Spider-Man was packed with a strand of web, an extra torso showing his costume de-cloaking (which is a pretty fun piece) and a clear display stand.

SANDMAN

Sandman&Spidey2Sandman is definitely the main draw of this set. It’s not the first time we’ve gotten Flint Marko in Minimate form (we’ve actually had five before this one), but it’s the first time we’ve gotten him in something other than the striped shirt. The costume he’s wearing here is, obviously, his design from Ultimate Spider-Man, but it’s also a pretty close match for Flint’s Jack Kirby-designed costume from his time with the Frightful Four. This is actually the first time this design’s ever made it into toy-form, so that’s pretty sweet! Sandman has three add-on pieces for his collar, shoulder pads, and belt, as well as non-standard pieces for his arms and feet. The shoulder pads were last used on Series 60’s Avalanche, the belt is a fairly standard issue piece, the arms are the same as those on the last three Sandmen, and the feet were used on the GotG Groot ‘mate. The collar appears to be a new piece, but I’m not 100% sure on that. The end result is a decent match for the show/comic design, and looks pretty sharp in general. Sandman’s paint application is pretty darn great. The design of the costume has been handled very sharply, with some great geometric work, and the texturing on the sand parts is well-handled. His face is a little more simplistic than some recent ‘mates, due to his animated origins, but he shouldn’t stick out too much from regular Marvel Minimates. Sandman includes a spare set of normal arms and hands and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, remember Force Friday? Where I went to Toys R Us at midnight in order to get the new Star Wars toys? Well, if there was one plus to that trip, it was that I found this set, so that’s cool. I never got into Ultimate Spider-Man, but I’m a sucker for classic Kirby designs, so I’m happy to have this version of Sandman, and thrilled that he’s so well-done to boot. Spidey’s not much more than package filler for me, but he’s not a bad ‘mate, and he’s certainly different from the Spider-Men we’ve gotten before.

#0743: Falcon as Captain America & Red Onslaught

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

FALCON as CAPTAIN AMERICA & RED ONSLAUGHT

MARVEL MINIMATES

Falcap&Redons1

Change is an interesting thing in comics. While big sweeping changes to the established rules are a near constant, it is, at its heart, a very status quo based medium. No matter how great the change, things will always even out in enough time. In the last decade Marvel and DC have both become very entrenched in doing their best to convince everyone that this change will be the one that sticks, before inevitably resetting everything back to where it was. Ultimately, Bruce Wayne will always be Batman again, Tony Stark will always be Iron Man again, Bruce Banner will always be the Hulk again, and Steve Rogers will always be Captain America again. But, it’s certainly okay to let others who take up those identities have their time to shine, especially if they’re a good fit, such as Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, as the newest Captain America. I’ll be looking at the first official figure of him in the role today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cap and Red Onslaught were released as part of Series 62 of Marvel Minimates. The whole series was based around the Axis cross-over event from last year. Yay.

FALCON as CAPTAIN AMERICA

Falcap&RedOns6Steve Rogers may have tons of Minimates under his belt, but this is only the third time Sam Wilson has made into ‘mate form. Here’s to lots more! As Captain America, Sam’s only actually had one look, so that’s the one DST’s gone with here. It’s actually a good merging of the Captain America and Falcon looks, and a pretty strong design all around, so I can’t really complain. Cap is built on the usual Minimate body, so he’s about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation. He’s got 5 add-on pieces, used for his hair/goggles, harness, wings, and belt. These are all new pieces to this figure. They’re decently sculpted and accurate to the source material. The left wing has a peg to attach the shield, which is nice, but without an extra piece, it means that he’s permanently left with that pesky peg. Paint wise, Cap’s kind of a mix of good and bad. The colors are nice and bold, and the detail work is pretty sharp for the most part. However, the base color work is all over the place. Literally. He’s got a lot of slop and bleed over, especially on the mask piece. The overall figure looks alright, but that slop sure is annoying. Cap is packed with a spare hairpiece, his mighty shield, a pair of wristbands for a sans wings look, an extra wristband for use with the shield, a flight stand, and a clear display stand. That’s actually a pretty great assortment.

RED ONSLAUGHT

Falcap&RedOns3Red Onslaught. Oh, Red Onslaught. Let’s combine one of the most menacing Marvel villains with a literal walking Mega-Event. Brilliant. But hey, sales is sales. Plus, it means DST gets to reuse all those fancy parts they sculpted for the Series 50 Onslaught, so that’s a win for them. The figure makes use of 11 sculpted add-ons, all reused from the aforementioned Series 50 version. The parts are nicely sculpted, sharp looking, and they do a good job of bulking him up. Paint is where this guy really deviates from the series 50 counterpart. Where the 50 version was done up in metallic colors, this one is all flat colors, which make for a sufficiently different look. He’s also got the expected Red Skull detailing for the head, which is easily the best Red Skull we’ve gotten so far. The paintwork on the armor is good, but the real Falcap&RedOns4cool part here is what’s under the armor. He’s got a fully detailed Red Skull look underneath, which is certainly a cool touch. To aid with the alternate look, the figure has a black trench coat and a pair of black hands and feet, as well as an extra head and helmet to complete the Onslaught look, a cosmic cube holding hand, a bandaged stump (for Skull’s Uncanny Avengers look), and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I had no interest in Axis or any of its fallout, and as such wasn’t super excited by the prospect of a whole series of ‘mates based on the story. That said, I really like Falcon and the concept of him taking over Cap’s role is cool. The design translates very well to ‘mate form, even with its paint flaws. I was not initially enamored by having to buy Red Onslaught, but the extra Red Skull parts make the figure really worthwhile, especially since it’s the best ‘mate of the character so far. This is a really fantastic set, and I’m glad to have picked it up.

#0739: NBX Minimates

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

JACK SKELLINGTON, OOGIE BOOGIE, SALLY, DR. FINKLESTIEN, & THE MAYOR

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS MINIMATES

NBX1

Hey! It’s Halloween! And, uhh, well these things are Halloween-y, right? Sure, Nightmare Before Christmas is ostensibly a Christmas movie (as the title notes) and is set after Halloween. But the main characters are residents of Halloweentown, are they not? So…yeah.

I’ve seen NBX a few times over the years, and I enjoy it, but I’ve never really gotten into any of the toys. So, what got me to break? If you guessed Minimates, you guessed correctly. Nightmare Before Christmas is an interesting choice for Minimates. Typically, Minimates try to stick to properties where most of the characters can be built on the base body and preserve the “aesthetic” of the brand. NBX has more than a few very unique character designs, so it’s definitely one of the more different lines of ‘mates out there. The first series of ‘mates are hitting most places now, so I’ll be looking at the five basic figures from the line today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These five figures are available blindbagged, both from specialty stores and Hot Topic, as well as in two-packs through Toys R Us. My set are the specialty blindbag versions, but I believe these five are pretty much the same in all the releases.

JACK SKELLINGTON

NBX2Jack’s kind of a given here, what with being the star of the film and all. This is actually his second time as a Minimate, after having shown up as a promo-mate last year. This one’s pretty much the same as that one, though there are a few minor differences. The figure stands a little over 2 ½ inches tall and he has the standard 14 points of articulation. While he’s mostly built on the standard Minimates body, his main torso piece is actually taller and thinner than the average ‘mate’s, which better captures Jack’s skeletal nature from the film. It’s a piece that DST has used a few times before, and it works pretty decently here. The rest of the main body pieces are just the standard parts. Some people have expressed some dismay at the normal head being used in place of something more spherical, but I think this works pretty well. He’s also got some new add-on pieces for his tie and the tails of his coat, both of which are pretty great. The paintwork is what really makes this guy. He’s obviously monochromatic, which is certainly different, but he’s got some great detailing for the pinstripes on his suit and his face represents the character very nicely. Jack’s one accessory is a clear display stand.

OOGIE BOOGIE

NBX3Oogie’s kind of a late player in the film, but he’s certainly an important one. His figure goes the furthest away from the standard body. He gets an all-new head and lower arms (but no hands, so that loses him two points of articulation, pelvis, and legs (without knees, so that’s another two points gone), as well as an add-on piece for his upper torso. The pieces are decent enough, though they lack any sort of the burlap texturing that Oogie had in the film, so he’s a little bland, and honestly looks a little like a plucked chicken. But, it’s not like he doesn’t look like the character. Paint-wise, he’s really just one consistent beige color, with black detailing for the face. Once again, some texturing would have been cool, but the face at least looks pretty decent. Like Jack, all he includes is a clear display stand.

SALLY

NBX4Sally here fulfils the patchwork creature slot of the classic horror tropes, but subverts the usual traits of such a character by actually having a personality and managing to be the only real character in the film to ever think anything through. She ends up sticking mostly to the basic body, though she does get an all new torso piece, as well as add-ons for her shoulders, skirt, and hair. All of these pieces are pretty well sculpted, especially the dress, which has some great stitching texturing. The paintwork on Sally accents the sculpt very nicely, and continues the great patchwork texturing to her arms and legs, as well as capturing her face pretty well. She also has the notoriety of being the most colorful figure of the bunch, which makes her pop pretty nicely. Once again, the only accessory here is a clear display stand, but that’s pretty reasonable.

DR. FINKLESTIEN

NBX6This guy is the reason I didn’t watch this movie for years after it was released.  Seriously, this dude gave me nightmares. He freaked me out so much. I was four, so I think I have an excuse. He starts off with the standard ‘mate body, but gets his own unique head, complete with sculpted glasses and a flip up cranium, revealing his brain, just like in the movie. He also gets a pair of fairly standard flared gloves, as well as a piece for the bottom section of his coat. The coat is sculpted so that he’s permanently stuck sitting (so no Dr. Horrible quick customs from this one…), but given the whole wheelchair bit, that seems reasonable. Speaking of the wheel chair, that thing is definitely the main focus of this guy, because it’s pretty darn awesome. It’s very nicely detailed and suits him very nicely. The wheels don’t move, which is a bummer, but it’s still a cool piece. Paint-wise, he’s pretty straightforward, being mostly off-white, but what’s there is clean and accurate to the film.

THE MAYOR

NBX5He’s definitely the most minor character of the five looked at here, but the Mayor is definitely a present fixture in the film. He’s essentially walking exposition, which is nice in a movie like NBX, which could be a little confusing otherwise. Though he may not look it, he’s actually mostly made from the standard ‘mate parts. He has the “kimono” sleeves from the Marvel line’s Mariko, as well as the shortened kid legs we’ve seen a few times. Other than that, the hat and coat are add-ons, and pretty decent ones at that. The open sides on the coat are a little weird, but they aren’t that bad. The Mayor’s paint is pretty good overall, though there’s a bit of slop here and there. The best part is definitely the head, which accurately represents the Mayor’s two-faced look. The Mayor is the only figure in the set to get more than just the display stand, also getting his signature megaphone, which looks pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These are blind bagged figures, but I didn’t feel like going through that again. So, I said screw it and paid a little extra to buy an already opened set from Luke’s Toy Store. I’m glad I decided to get them because this is actually a pretty fun set of figures. I’ll certainly be tracking down a few more.

#0725: Bruce Banner & War Machine

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

BRUCE BANNER & WAR MACHINE

MARVEL MINIMATES

Banner&WM1

Age of Ultron had quite a few characters in it, just about all of whom deserved to be represented in toy form. Of course, getting all of those characters actually released in said form is kind of a different story. Diamond Select toys has by far made the best stab at it, giving us figures of almost every character, including today’s entries, Bruce Banner and War Machine.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Banner and War Machine are the TRU exclusive set from the second series of AoU-inspired Marvel Minimates. They don’t have quite the clever pairing of yesterday’s Hulkbuster and Hulk, but it’s not a huge stretch to consider this the “pals of Tony” set.

BRUCE BANNER

Banner&WM3This isn’t the first Bruce Banner Minimate, or even the first MCU Banner Minimate, but it is the first Mark Ruffalo Bruce Banner ‘mate. Banner was actually supposed to get a ‘mate from the first Avengers, but the army builder case which was meant to include him was scratched before it was even solicited. But here he is now! Yay for him! Banner represents his look from the lab scenes in AoU. It’s a look that falls back in line with the more classic depictions of Bruce from the comics, which isn’t really a look he’s had in the movies. It’s certainly more befitting of Bruce’s scientific nature. The figure stands about 2 ½ inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation. Banner has two main add-on pieces: his hair and his lab coat. Both are re-used. The hair dates back to El Indigo from the Fistful of Dollars set, and the jacket first appeared on Ghostbusters 2’s Janosz. The hair is passable; it’s not a perfect match, but it’s not horribly off either. The coat is really just a basic coat, so no issues there. Banner’s paintwork is all pretty nicely handled. The checkering on the shirt under his coat is very well-done, and adds a nice bit of pop to the figure. It makes me wish he had a set arms with sleeves to match, but, alas, he’ll always be stuck with the lab coat. The face is a good Ruffalo likeness, which is always a plus. Banner includes the standard clear display stand, as well as an extra angry head. The extra head is a fantastic addition, and I love the bright green eyes.

WAR MACHINE

Banner&WM2War Machine has a somewhat minor role in AoU, but he does play into the big climactic fight and he was part of the Avengers roster in the final shot, so his inclusion is certainly warranted. In AoU, War Machine is wearing the his Iron Patriot armor from Iron Man 3, but done up in his more traditional War Machine colors. Since it’s the same armor, it’s an easy repaint for all the toy companies that made IM3 stuff, which is why he’s shown up in several of the AoU tie-in lines. Structurally, this figure’s the same as Series 49’s Iron Patriot ‘mate. He’s got add-ons for the helmet, torso piece, waist, upper arms, boots, and gloves. I thought the armor looked just a bit pudgy on that figure, and I still feel that’s the case here, but it’s not horrible. His paint is more or less identical to Series 49’s War Machine 2.0. Since it’s the same basic design and the same sculpted parts, that’s kind of expected, though. There are a few differences: the Air Force linsignias from the gloves of the 49 version are no longer there, his facial expression has been changed, and the overall finish of the figure is much shinier. The loss of the insignias is a bummer, but not a big deal. The face looks a bit more like Cheadle, but I can’t say I’m a fan of his dopey expression. War Machine includes the usual clear display stand, as well as a flight stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this TRU exclusive at TRU. What a novel concept, right? I actually picked him up while out on this big video game shopping trip we did for my brother’s birthday, which was kind of cool. Banner’s a fun addition to the line, and I’m glad he finally made it out. War Machine feels a little unnecessary, and not quite as good as his Series 49 counterpart, but he’s a good figure for those that missed out on the first version, I suppose. Not the most thrilling set of all time, but a pretty solid one.

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#0724: Hulkbuster Iron Man & Rampaging Hulk

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

HULKBUSTER IRON MAN & RAMPAGING HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

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Keeping the discussion about character pairings going, if Hulk and Klaue are a rather unlikely duo, then today’s pairing, Hulkbuster Iron Man and “Rampaging” Hulk, are kind of the flip side of the coin. Seriously, I can’t think of a more perfect pairing than these two, so kudos to DST for making such a thing happen. Now, let’s see how the figures actually turned out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two are the third set of figures from Marvel Minimates Series 63. They’re also available as part of the second TRU assortment of AoU Minimates, but mine in particular are from the specialty release.

HULKBUSTER IRON MAN

Hulkbuster&Hulk3An Avengers series is kind of a hard sell without an Iron Man, so here one is. At least it’s a unique, story important variant, though. Plus it’s widely different from the Mark 43 variant of the preceding series. No minor paint difference variant here! *glares at Boarders Exclusive sunglasses wearing Mark 4* This figure marks the third time the Hulkbuster has graced the line, though it’s the first time it’s made it into a regular release series. He is, of course, based on “Veronica’s” one scene wonder appearance from AoU, which is kind of an amalgam of all the various Hulkbuster looks from over the years, with a dash of the movie armor style thrown in. Hulkbuster has got to be one of the most heavily sculpted figures of late, with a whopping 10 add-on pieces. These include a torso/helmet, bicep covers, hands, thigh covers, boots, and a torso extender. With the exception of the torso extender, all of these pieces are new to this figure. The pieces are loaded with detail, and do a pretty great job of translating the movie’s design to the Minimate aesthetic. Unsurprisingly, the parts restrict the articulation, but that kind of goes hand in hand with such a bulky look. The torso/helmet is the star piece here; its very nicely sculpted, and the helmet is on a hinge, so it can swing up to reveal the Hulkbuster&Hulk4underlying smaller IM helmet. On the flip side, the thigh pieces are probably the weakest parts. They’re decently detailed, but they just kind of float around on the thighs. Hulkbuster’s paintwork is pretty great overall. The outer armor has pretty straightforward work. It’s a little messy around some of the edges, but looks pretty good overall. Under the armor, the arms and legs are solid silver and gold, respectively. The torso and head, however, are fully detailed, incredibly well I might add, depicting the Mark 43 under the Hulkbuster armor. The Mark 43 ‘mate was a touch on the bulky side, so the slightly sleeker pieces offered here are much appreciated. Hulkbuster Iron Man’s only accessory is a clear display stand, but the large quantity of new parts on the actual figure more than make for that.

RAMPAGING HULK

Hulkbuster&Hulk2Hey, remember the Hulk Minimate I looked at yesterday? Yeah, this one is really similar to that one. However, instead of just being a basic, run of the mill Hulk from the movie, this one is specifically based on the scene where Scarlet Witch messes with Banner’s head and causes him to transform into a more unsettled Hulk. He then does the rampaging bit, necessitating the use of the Hulkbuster armor. So, it’s a pretty good choice to go alongside the Hulkbuster Minimate, I suppose. He uses the same parts loadout as the regular version, which is at the very least consistent. These parts worked well there, and they work well here. The paint is where the differences occur. The basic detail lines and such are mostly the same, though the face has been tweaked to make him a little more rampage-y. Rather than the simple teeth-baring grimace of the regular Hulk, this guy’s got a full-on screaming look. The other main change is the color scheme. Hulk is noticeably much paler than his usual self. In fact, he was originally supposed to be grey Hulk during the rampage sequence, but it was changed at the last minute. It appears this figure is based on the original scheme, though perhaps with more of green tinge than an all-out Grey Hulk would have. He’s also got red around his eyes, indicating the Witch’s influence over him, which a subtle but nice touch. For some reason, his pants are also a different shade. I don’t think they were different in the movie, so it seems like an odd choice on DST’s part. Rampaging Hulk matches his regular-colored counterpart in the accessories department, only including a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the more balanced Hulk and Klaue set, this one feels much more weighted to one of the two figures. Hulkbuster Iron Man is this set’s clear star. He’s fantastically sculpted, and his paint is pretty great too. Add in the new, streamlined torso and head for the Mark 43, and he comes out a serious winner. Rampaging Hulk is well done from a technical standpoint, but a bit drab and unexciting. Being in the same series as the regular version doesn’t do him a whole lot of favors. He’s also hindered by the decision to negate the change in his coloring for the final film. I feel like this look would have been better served as an extra head for the main Hulk, so as to free up a slot for someone else from the movie.

#0723: Hulk & Ulysses Klaue

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

HULK & ULYSSES KLAUE

MARVEL MINIMATES

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So, when you’re doing a line that revolves around packing figures in even numbers, you will inevitably run into a bit of a “pair the spares” sort of moment, where you have an even number of characters, but there are just two that have next to nothing to do with each other. Yesterday’s Vision and Hydra Soldier certainly pushed the boundaries, but hey, Vision’s an Avenger, he’s bound to fight Hydra sometime, right? Today’s pair, Hulk and Klaue have absolutely no scenes together. In fact, Banner is very pointedly left back at the Quinjet when the rest of the team goes in to deal with Klaue. I’m not even sure the two have ever met in the comics. Their connection here is “was in Age of Ultron.” Which is more than some pairings, I suppose.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two are from Series 63 of Marvel Minimates, which is the second series to be based on this summer’s Age of Ultron.

HULK

Hulk&Klaue2Hulk is certainly no stranger to Minimates. Heck, this is the fourth version just of the MCU version of the character. This one gets the more dignified stretchy pants from AoU, which is a nice step up from the torn up pants he’s been stuck with in every movie before this. Nice of someone to buy him some stretchy pants! Hulk is a big guy, and as such, he gets all the “big guy” parts in DST’s catalogue: torso cover, bulked up upper arms and legs, a waist piece, larger hands and feet, and a torso extender. They’re just as good here as they have been on all the other figures to use these parts. He also has another piece for his hair. It’s the same piece that was used on both Zombie Hulk and Defenders Hulk, as well as a few others, and it’s a pretty good piece for Hulk. Hulk’s paint is quite well handled. The detail lines are nice and sharp and sum up his look from the movie very well, and his colors seem like a pretty good match. Accessories-wise, Hulk is rather light, featuring just a clear display stand.

ULYSSES KLAUE

Hulk&Klaue3The Marvel villain Klaw has gotten a handful of figures in the last few years, but this is the first time we’ve gotten a figure of his pre-sound-monster form, Ulysses Klaue. I do believe this is the first time we’ve gotten a figure of Andy Serkis the actual person, as well. Pretty nifty, right? Klaue makes use of three add-on pieces, for his hair, belt, and wrist band. The hair is a re-use of Pvt. Lerner from Platoon, which, while not a perfect match, is close enough to work. The armband is one of Street Fighter vs Tekken’s Heihachi’s. Again, not a perfect match, but close enough to work. The belt looks to be a new piece, and it’s quite nicely done, with some nice texturing and such. Klaue’s paintwork is, simply put, Hulk&Klaue4fantastic. Easily some of the best Minimate paint I’ve seen in some time. Everything is really clean, the detail lines are nice and sharp, and there’s plenty of cool detail work, especially on the tattoos. The likeness is pretty spot-on to Serkis, which is quite impressive. Klaue is packed with a knife, a handgun, and a clear display stand. The gun and knife have a little difficulty staying in their appropriate spots on the belt, but they’re both pretty cool additions.

THE ME HALF IF THE EQUATION

These two were another purchase from my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix. Unlike yesterday’s set, where the clear star was Vision, I feel like this set is much more balanced. Hulk is a great improvement to his first Avengers figure, and he nicely rounds out the AoU Avengers line-up. Klaue is a surprisingly enjoyable figure. On the surface, he’s just a drab civilian, but there’s actually a lot of cool little details that make this guy a real stand-out.

 

#0722: Vision & Hydra Soldier

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

VISION & HYDRA SOLDIER

MARVEL MINIMATES

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In my recent Age of Ultron boxed set review, I noted the difficulty of getting a complete line-up of the Avengers from the film. While Hasbro’s only managed to get the main team from the first film in one cohesive scale, Marvel Minimates actually offers the whole team from the second film, add-ons and all. I’ve already looked at the twins, so the one major missing link is the team’s resident synthezoid, the Vision, aka the absolute coolest character in the movie. That’s indisputable fact!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Vision was packed alongside a generic Hydra Soldier as a part of Series 63 of Marvel Minimates, which is the second AoU-based series. This is the more common of the two Vision packs; the variant set has a phasing version.

VISION

Vision&Hydra2Vision makes his MCU debut here, though this is fourth time he’s made his way into the Minimates style. He’s based on his main, final battle look from the film, which itself is pretty decent adaptation of his classic comics look, with a bit of his Now! look thrown in. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he’s got 14 points of articulation. Vision makes use of a single add-on piece for his cape. It was first used on the DC Minimates Superman. It’s really just a fairly standard cape, which works well enough for Vision’s design. It lacks the more intricate shoulder piece of the film design, but at the smaller scale, it’s not really noticeable. The rest of Vision’s detail work is handled via paint. He has a bunch of detail work, on just about every surface, which is pretty cool. The likeness bears more than a passing resemblance to Paul Bettany, which is always good. The rest of the details translate his film costume pretty nicely. The colors are a bit more drab than I’d like, but they aren’t as off as most of the other Vision merchandise, which is a plus. The cape being clear is still a little odd, if I’m honest, but the intricate detailing on the back does a lot to make up for it. For accessories, Vision is pretty basic. He’s got a flying stand and a more basic display stand. Some extra phasing parts might have been cool, but the variant figure has that pretty well covered a guess.

HYDRA SOLDIER

Vision&Hydra3This definitely isn’t the first MCU Hydra Soldier we’ve gotten, but it is the first one to be from the modern day, so that’s cool. This figure is a general representation of the Hydra Soldiers the Avengers fought during the opening sequence of the film. It’s not the most visually distinct look, but it’s what they looked like in the movie. The Hydra Soldier has add-ons for his helmet, jacket/hood, and the pouches on his legs. The helmet is a re-use from Series 51’s Heavy SHIELD Agent; it’s a good match for the look from the film, so it works. The pouches on the legs look familiar, but I can’t place exactly where I’ve seen them before. They’re well-sculpted regardless. The jacket piece looks to be new to this figure; it’s a pretty straightforward winter coat, and it fits well on the figure. It’s a little light on details, but otherwise decent. The paintwork on this guy is actually pretty great. The camo has some decent coverage, which is always nice to see. The rest of the paintwork is also pretty clean, and he’s even got a fully detailed shirt underneath of the coat, should you chose to display him without it. The face isn’t based on anyone in particular, but it’s a good generic face. The Hydra Agent is packed with a decent allotment of accessories. He has a traditional machine gun, a more science-y gun, a baseball cap for additional customizability, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up from my local comic book store. As one of the few versions of AoU Vision available, I was pretty eager to get the set for him. Vision’s definitely a strong ‘mate, and a worthy addition to the Avengers line-up. He’s definitely the main draw here. The Hydra Agent isn’t the most exciting army builder, but the ‘mate is decently put together, and there are worse things than having a fairly straightforward soldier. All-in-all, this is a pretty fun set of ‘mates.

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