Tag Archives: Minimates

#0082: Power Man & Iron Fist

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

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.

#0081: Captain Pike & U.S.S. Enterprise

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CAPTAIN PIKE & U.S.S. ENTERPRISE

STAR TREK MINIMATES

It’s Day 3 of my post-Christmas Review.  For those of you that have been following the blog, it should be no surprise that amongst my assortment of gifts, there were Minimates.  Though in my own defense, there weren’t a whole lot, but there were a few.  It’s another Star Trek Minimates review, though I’ll be looking at one of Diamond’s vehicles for the first time.  On we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

First up, I’ll be looking at the Minimate included in the set, Captain Christopher Pike.  A little back-story for the uninitiated: Captain Pike was the captain of the Enterprise in the original pilot of the original Star Trek series.  He was replaced by William Shatner’s Captain Kirk in the series proper, when Pike’s actor Jeffery Hunter decided to drop out of the show.    Anyway, he’s a fairly popular character, so he’s no stranger to the toy-world.  This is actually his second venture into the world of Minimates, but since the first one was just mediocre, I was glad to see him get a second shot.  Pike is based on his main look from the episode in which he appears.  It’s the look that’s most often chosen, and it’s the one that most people know, so that’s alright I guess.  Pike’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has the typical 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has a sculpted hair piece, collar, and pants cuffs.  These are all well done and suit the character well enough.  I believe that they’re all reused pieces, but they work well enough, so no complaints there.  The rest of the work on the figure is done via paint, which is all applied cleanly and evenly.  The detail lines are all very sharp.  The Jeffery Hunter likeness isn’t spot on, perhaps a bit too old looking, but it’s serviceable.  Pike himself is pretty much an accessory to the Enterprise, but even still, he still includes his trusty phaser.  The phaser looks really cool, and is based on the uniquely designed one that Pike carries in his episode.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

Next is the true star of the series, the U.S.S Enterprise.  This in particular is the version from Pike’s episode, which has a few minor differences from the one used in the series proper.  Since I’m only a moderate Trek fan, I won’t attempt to list the differences, I’ll just say that they’re there.  The Enterprise is about 8 or 9 inches tall with stand, and roughly 4 without, and about 8 inches long.  It’s packaged in four pieces; Saucer, body and each nacelle.  The pieces snap together with a small bit of effort, and stay together well.  The saucer and the body each have a hinged top to allow a figure to be placed within them.  The sculpt of the Enterprise is fairly nice.  It’s done with a nice simplicity, and the proportions have been tweaked a bit so as to better fit the Minimate style.  As with most Minimates, a great deal of the Enterprise’s detail is supplied via paint detailing.  The paint is pretty good, though it’s not quite as clean as the paint on Pike, with a few noticeable scrapes and smudges.  Nothing that ruins the piece, mind you, but enough to be noticeable in comparison to some of the other stuff Diamond has done.  The top of the saucer opens to reveal a nice, miniatureized version of the bridge, depicted via s set of decals.  It would be nice if they were actually painted on the walls, but the decals look good enough.  The main focal point of the interior is the captain’s chair.  It’s a very nice approximation of the chair from the show, and it can rotate within the saucer.  It can also be removed and placed on an extra included stand, in case you want to just display the Captain sitting in his chair separate from the Enterprise itself.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was another Christmas gift from my increasingly awesome parents.  Pike is my favorite Trek captain, so I was glad to get him, and the Enterprise is actually a whole lot of fun.  If you’re just looking for a fun little toy Enterprise that doesn’t cost too much, picking up one of the many variations of this one that Diamond has released is very definitely the way to go!

#0076: Alicia Masters & Moloid

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

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.

#0071: Aquaman & Ocean Master

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AQUAMAN & OCEAN MASTER

DC MINIMATES

Just when you thought there couldn’t be more, it’s another Minimates review.  Okay, I know.  It’s hardly a surprise at this point.  I’m a creature of habit.

Anyway, this’ll be my second look at the tragically too short DC Minimates line.  Unlike other Minimates, the DC ones were handled by DC Direct.  They were actually pretty innovative, and were released during a time when the Marvel line had somewhat stagnated.  When DC Direct upped the game, Marvel caught up and quickly surpassed them.  DC, for a variety of reasons decided to get out of the Minimate game just before Minimates hit it big.  Oh well.  So, today I’ll be looking at one of DC’s most infamous heroes: Aquaman and his *second* greatest foe Ocean Master.  So, there…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 3rd series of DC Minimates.

AQUAMAN

First up, it’s the ever loveable Aquaman.  Yes, loveable.  Deal with it.  Aquaman is presented here in his classic orange and green look.  If you want to get technical, he’s got his look from the early issues of the Peter David series, since he doesn’t have the black shorts over his pants.  But most people probably wouldn’t notice the difference.  He’s on the usual Minimate body, which means he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has specially sculpted hair, gloves and feet.  The hair has a “heroic hair” thing going for it.  The gloves were used a few times over the course of the line, and are just basic flared gloves.  The feet are specially sculpted to feature fins at the back.  The rest of Aquaman’s details are handled via paint.  He’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, so the paint is only really used to provide detail lines.  Everything is pretty sharp.  The face has a nice stern regality, and the shirt has the appropriate scaled texture, which is nice and subtle.  Aquaman includes a trident, because that’s the accessory you give Aquaman.  I’m pretty sure that’s like in the DC license or something, because every damned Aquaman has one, and the character’s used one, like once.  But it’s there, so…

OCEAN MASTER

Next, it’s umm, well its Ocean Master.  “Who is Ocean Master?”  Yeah, legit question.  He’s Aquaman’s half-brother Orm, who wanted to be Master of the Ocean or something, so he fought Aquaman a lot.   He’s shown here with what I believe is his look from the 90s.  It’s not far off from his earlier look, but he’s gray instead of a mash of purples.  He’s on the usual body, and has the usual stuff.  He’s got a helmet, cape, belt and gauntlets.  All new pieces, and I don’t believe any of them were ever reused, which is bold, considering it’s Ocean Master.  The rest of the detail is handled with paint.  It’s all very sharply done, although the face is a bit odd.  Ocean Master includes his own trident, but it does make a little bit more sense here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like with the rest of the DC Minimates line, I eagerly picked this set up the day it was released.  It’s a pretty good example of the line’s strengths, in how it handled the heavy hitters, and it’s well done sculpted parts, but it also shows the lines faults, like releasing Ocean Master over a better known Aquaman villain such as Black Manta, or even Aquaman’s sidekick Aqualad.  I still really like this set and still wish there were more DC Minimates!

#0065: Venom Through the Ages Minimates

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VENOM, VENOM, VENOM & VENOM!

MARVEL MINIMATES

So, yeah, it’s…uhh…Venom.  And Venom.  And Venom and Venom.  That’s 4 Venoms.  What is it?  1995?  Anyway, it’s more Marvel Minimates.  This time around, it’s a boxed set commemorating all the different incarnations of Venom from over the years.  Because Venom’s such a diverse character.  Regardless, that’s the set I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were released last year, as the “Venom Through the Ages” boxed set.

VENOM UNLEASHED

First up, it’s the real star of the show.  This is the version of Venom that most people think of when they think of the character.  It’s the big, bulky, long-tongued, slobbering version of the character.  If you read my review of the recent TRU Venom, you’ve pretty much seen this figure before.  This one’s got most of the same pieces, only this time, cast in black instead of the dark blue from that figure.  To counteract this, they’ve done the muscle detailing in a light blue instead of black.  It’s all nice and cleanly done.  This one doesn’t have a Spider-Man under all the pieces, instead showing a crazed Eddie Brock.  He also includes a spare mask that is partly pulled back to reveal Eddies face, and an alternate hairpiece to show Eddie totally revealed.

VENOM – EDDIE BROCK

Next, it’s another version of Eddie Brock.  This time around, it’s based on his more svelte look from his earlier appearances.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, with all the usual articulation.  In place of regular hands, he’s got a pair of clawed hands, which have been used for Venom a few times before.  He’s also got a torso cover that’s been used a few times in the past for some of the more bulky characters.  It’s not my favorite piece, due to its blockage of the figures shoulders and neck articulation, and its overall odd shape, but it works okay, I guess.  Instead of a sculpted head, Venom’s face is all paint on this one.  It looks pretty accurate to the material, and fits the minimate aesthetic a bit better.  The rest of his detailing is similar, though not identical, to that on the Venom Unleashed figure.  Venom also includes an alternate Eddie brock head, this time with a more calm expression than the last one.

VENOM – ANN WEYING

Next, it’s Ann Weying, one of the attempts to make a “She-Venom” back in the 90s, when everything Venom sold millions.  She was Eddie Brock’s ex-wife, or something, and had the symbiote for a little while, during one of Eddie’s many breaks from the role.  Quality story telling there.  She’s on the typical Minimate body, though with the same clawed hands that the Eddie Venom used.  Like Eddie, she has a painted face instead of a sculpted one.  The only other sculpted piece she has is a tendril piece that goes over her neck.  She’s detailed similarly to the Eddie Venom, though a bit more simplistic, and of course, more feminine.  She includes an unmasked head with hair.

VENOM – FLASH THOMPSON

Lastly, it’s Flash Thompson’s Venom.  This one’s kind of the outlier of the set, being form the last few years.  He’s also the only one that’s not a variation on the same basic look.  And he’s heroic to boot.  Flash’s design is of course based on his look from his series that’s been running the last few years.  For him, the symbiote is used more as a tool, and not a controlling force.  It’s an interesting take, and that’s actually not sarcasm.  Anyway, he’s on the usual body, but he’s got a whole bunch of add-ons.  He’s got a mask, vest, gloves, a belt, a holster, and boots.  With the exception of the mask, which has been used several times before, all the pieces are new to this figure.  They all look accurate to the source material, which is good.  Flash has minimal detailing, but it’s all well done.  The eyes and logo stand out nicely, and there’s a nice pattern representing the texturing on his arms.  Flash also includes an assault rifle, a handgun, and a hair piece to display him unmasked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m honestly not the world’s biggest Venom fan, but my usual online store had this set marked down during their Black Friday Sale, so I picked it up.  Eddie and Ann aren’t gonna win any awards, but Unleashed and Flash are both really cool, so I’m glad to have picked it up.

#0064: Lara Croft

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

LARA CROFT – BATTLE DAMAGED

TOMB RAIDER MINIMATES

Another Minimate review!  It’s another previously un-reviewed line, this time based on the popular video game franchise Tomb Raider.  Diamond Select Toys picked up the license for the most recent game in the series, and have released a line of Minimates to coincide.  I’ll be looking at the Battle-Damaged variant of the main character, Lara Croft.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This version of Lara was released as part of the first series of Tomb Raider Minimates.  She was packed with the Armored Tomb Raider Scavenger, but I picked Lara up loose, all by herself, so I won’t be looking at that one.  Lara is based on her look from later in the game after she’s been raiding tombs, or whatever.  She’s got sculpted hair, belt and shoulder strap.  These pieces are all new to the figure, though, the hair’s been seen before on this site, in my review of Rescue & Robot Hulk.  I liked the piece there, and I like it here.  It’s a nice piece and I would be glad to see it used more often.  The belt’s got a holster for her pistol, and the shoulder strap’s got a clip for her machine gun.  The paint on this figure is nothing short of amazing.  She’s got scuffs and stains everywhere, and is all bandaged up.  There’s even mud in her hair.  Lara comes with a handgun, a climbing axe, a machine gun and a shotgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never actually played any of the Tomb Raider games, nor do I know all that much about the series (in case you couldn’t tell from my description of Lara’s activities as “raiding tombs or whatever”).  But, I was ordering a bunch of stuff from Luke’s Toy Store during their Black Friday sale, and I saw her loose for a good price, and thought it was a cool enough figure.

#0063: Captain Archer & Dolim

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

CAPTAIN ARCHER & DOLIM

STAR TREK LEGACY MINIMATES

So, yeah, it’s more Minimates today.  This time, they’re from a line I haven’t yet looked at, Star Trek.  Minimates actually owe a lot to Star Trek, as Trek was one of the earliest licenses, back when the figures were still 3 inch scale.  Sadly, Trek hasn’t seen a load of success in the Minimates world.  The 3 inch line only lasted a single series, and the first 2 inch line only went 5 series, barely making it past the classic Trek crew.  In the last year, Diamond attempted to relaunch the line again as Star Trek Legacy.  This time around, they focused on several of the Trek show simultaneously, releasing the captain from each series with one other character.  There were Toys R Us and Specialty assortments, with 4 two-packs each.  Today, I’ll be looking at Archer and Dolim from Star Trek: Enterprise.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the first specialty series of the Star Trek Legacy Minimates line.

CAPTAIN ARCHER

First up, it’s the captain, and de facto lead of the show, Captain Nathanial Archer.  He’s shown here in his basic look from the show, his blue jumpsuit.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He has sculpted hair and a belt.  These pieces both look to be new.  The belt is rather basic, and could conceivably work for many different purposes.  The hair piece looks fairly accurate to Archer’s hair from the show, but I’m not sure it’s spot on.  The paint detailing is all well done.  The face looks to be set a slight bit too high in the head, but it looks to be a pretty good interpretation of Scott Bakula.  If I had one complaint, it would be that he looks a bit stern for Archer, who tended to be more jovial.  Archer includes a communicator, a tri-corder, a phase pistol, and a clear display stand.

DOLIM

Next, it’s Dolim.  He’s one of the great…umm…wait…no, he’s, hmmm.  Yeah, I don’t actually know who Dolim is.  According to the box, he’s “A reptilian commander in the Xindi alliance…”  So, there’s that I guess.  I honestly wasn’t watching Enterprise when this guy showed up, so I know nothing about him.  Nor do I have any kind of attachment to him, but he was in the box with Archer, so here he is.  He’s on the usual Minimate body, so he’s got the 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  In place of the basic head and hands, Dolim has uniquely sculpted pieces.  He also has a sculpted robe thingy, which covers most of the body.  The paint is up to the usual standards of a Minimate, though there’s a bit of slop on the robe.  Dolim’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, another controversial opinion of mine:  I actually don’t mind Star Trek: Enterprise.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was my favorite Trek after the original.  I’ve never been able to get into DS9 or Voyager, and Next Gen was just too stretched out for me, and I tend to like Scott Bakula’s work.  Anyway, I was rather excited to see Captain Archer get a release in the line, even if I did have to buy a villain I didn’t really want.   I kind of wish Archer had come with his pet beagle, but I guess this is Archer after Scotty lost it in a transporter accident.  That would explain the stern expression…

#0059: Rescue & Robot Hulk

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RESCUE ARMOR IRON MAN & ROBOT HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today marks the final entry from the most recent Toys R Us exclusive series of Diamond’s quite expansive Marvel Minimates line.  For the last review, I’ll be looking at not quite Iron Man, and not quite the Hulk.  So, maybe it’s not quite a review…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

RESCUE ARMOR IRON MAN

First up, it’s Iron Man…according to the box anyway.  In actuality, it’s Pepper, Tony’s on-again-off-again-love-interest.  She recently (okay, in the last five years or so) got her own suit of armor and took up heroing under the name “Rescue.”  I guess Toys R Us wasn’t interested in a figure just called Rescue, but add Iron Man to the end, and their on board!  That ends up being a little awkward for Pepper, who really doesn’t qualify as Iron MAN, but if anyone can bend gender stereotypes, it’s Pepper Potts!  The figue is built on the basic Minimate body, with a few sculpted add-ons, so she’s got 12 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  She’s got sculpted boots and gloves, as well as a slip over mask.  All these pieces have been used before, but are put to a good effect.  The paint on Rescue is quite well done, with no noticeable slop, smudges or fuzziness, and lots of fine detail work.  The metallic red and silver are also nice and consistent.  Rescue includes a blast off stand, a clear display stand and a spare hair piece to display Pepper unmasked.  That last accessory is great because, Pepper’s unmasked face is one of the highlights of the figure.

ROBOT HULK

Next, it’s Robot Hulk, the robot approximation of Hulk.  Yeah, it’s a complicated concept.  He’s based on…the minds of toy makers everywhere.  Robo Hulk is based on the basic Minimate body with sculpted parts, so he’s got 12 points of articulation and stands a little over 2 ½ inches tall.  He’s got sculpted hair, torso cover, hands, thigh covers and feet.  All but the hair were previously used on the Marvel vs Capcom Sentinel, and the hair is taken from one of the recent Colossuses.  The reuse is warranted and gives him a nice angular, robotic look.  The paint work is all nice and sharp.  Like yesterday’s Venom, Robot Hulk also has a whole nother Minimate underneath all of his sculpted parts.  This time around, it depicts a terminator like rob-suit, piloted by long-time Hulk and Iron Man foe the Gremlin.  It’s a great touch and really adds a lot to the figure.  Robot Hulk is topped off by a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with the rest of this series, the two were ordered from TRU’s online store, with a shocking amount of ease.  Rescue gives us a great comic styled Pepper, which has been a long time coming.  Robot Hulk is kind of filler, but he’s really cool filler, and his importance is helped by the little image of Gremlin piloting, kind of making this a new character.

#0058: Nova & Alien Symbiote Venom

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NOVA & ALIEN SYMBIOTE VENOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, it’s another entry from the Marvel Minimates line.  Like the last two reviews, this set comes from the most recent Toys R Us Exclusive series.  This time around, it’s the latest incarnation of the character Marvel really wants to take off Nova, and villainous Spider-Man knock-off Venom.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

NOVA

First up, it’s everyone’s favorite Galactic Law enforcer!  No, it’s not Ryan Reynolds, it’s actually Nova, specifically of the All New variety.  It’s Sam Alexander, the most recent incarnation of Nova.  He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He’s got a sculpted helmet, shoulder pads, and gloves.  The shoulder pads are reused from Wolverine, but the helmet and gloves are new pieces.  They look to be accurate to the source material, which is good.  The paint isn’t terrible, though there is some noticeable slop and a few fuzzy lines.  It’s not terrible, but it keeps the figure from being “great”.   Nova also includes an extra golden helmet to replace his regular one, an extra head w/ hair to make the figure into Sam’s dad, a clear blue blast off base, and the usual clear display stand.

VENOM

Next, it’s everyone’s favorite Topher Grace role!  …okay, not really…look, it’s Venom, okay?  Happy?  Venom is based on the look that Venom’s pretty consistently had since his introduction.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.  The characters size has varied over the years, and this figure’s meant to show him all ‘roided out like he was towards the end of the 90s.  The figure’s built on the basic Minimate body, with some sculpted parts which bring his articulation to 12 points and his height to a little over 2 ½ inches.  Venom’s got a sculpted mask, torso cover, pelvis cover, thigh covers, feet, upper arm covers and clawed hands.  The bulked up pieces have been used on several of the larger Marvel characters before, and the Venom specific parts have been used before in the Venom: Through the Ages set.  Venom is usually depicted in black and white, but for this figure, Diamond’s replaced the usual black with a dark, semi-metallic blue.  It’s not a huge difference, but it makes the figure different from previous releases I guess.  The paint is pretty good overall, with less of the slop that’s present on Nova.  As a cool bonus, if you remove all the added on parts, and give him the included normal hands and feet, you can assemble a black-costume Spider-Man.   Venom also includes a tendril that can be swapped out for one of his hands, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the rest of this series, I got these two from TRU’s online store, with no real issues for a change.  This set is a perfectly fine addition to my collection, even if it isn’t necessarily.  The ability to use Venom as a Symbiote Spider-Man adds a whole lot to the set, as I think it might be my favorite take on that particular version of the character yet.

#0057: Hawkeye & Black Widow

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HAWKEYE & BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, it’s another entry from the Marvel Minimates line.  The two are once again from the recently acquired Toys R Us Exclusive series.  This time around, its Hawkeye and Black Widow, two characters who received a lot of notoriety from last year’s film The Avengers.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

HAWKEYE

First up, it’s nobody’s favorite Avenger, Hawkeye (okay, that’s not true.  He’s actually one of my favorites)!  Hawkeye is depicted here in his most recent costume, prominently featured in his current solo series.  I follows the tradition of changing a character’s look to be more in line with their movie look of which Marvel’s grown so fond.  It’s not a terrible look, and it translated well, so no complaints here.  Hawkeye’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s got a fair deal of sculpted bits, including:  hair, gloves, utility harness with a quiver, a belt, and leg bands.  The hair, belt, leg bands and harness are reused from previous figures, but they are chosen well, so no issues there.  The quiver and gloves appear to be new.  The quiver looks appropriate to the character, and the gloves are a might in the bulky side, but not too bad.  The paint on the figure is a bit hit and miss, the face looks perfect for the version of the character they’re going for, and the change in finish to designate the boots looks cool, but places like the edges of his sleeves are rather fuzzy.  It’s not enough to ruin the figure, but it’s annoying.  Hawkeye is topped off by a bow, three arrows, and the now standard clear display stand.  These pieces are all reused, but if it works, it works.

BLACK WIDOW

Second, it’s the best former Soviet spy turned kick-ass Avenger Marvel’s got: Black Widow!  Widow’s rocked the black skintight catsuit quite a few times over the years, but this figure is based on the look she has currently in particular.  It’s a look that’s lasted for so many years for a good reason, so its use here sees no complaining from me.  Like Hawkeye, she’s on the typical Minimate body, so she has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  She features sculpted hair, wrist bands, and leg holsters.  The pieces are all reused, but they all work appropriately for the desired look.  The paint on Widow is a bit better than Hawkeye, though there is a tiny bit of slop on her neckline.  Widow includes two silver handguns and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the rest of this series, these two were gotten off of TRU’s website, with no real issues this time around.  I’m really glad because these two are definitely the set from the series I was looking forward to the most.  These two definitely didn’t disappoint.  Widow is a grate update to her traditional look, and while Hawkeye’s not my favorite of his looks, the Minimate is really well done.