Tag Archives: Super Awesome Wife

#0572: Clone Sergeant

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

CLONE SERGEANT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

CloneSWB1

It’s been a whole seven months since I’ve looked at a Star Wars: The Black Series figure. That kind of surprised me. I double-checked a few times, but, yep, Darth Vader was the last one I looked at, back on October 6th of last year. It’s odd, because I was pretty sold on this line when it launched. However, the remnants of the first few series have hung around in my area, so finding the newer figures has been few and far between. Evidently, I was so desperate to get something from the line that I was willing to break my one rule going in: No prequel figures. Yeah, bad Ethan. Just go with it, okay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CloneSWB2The Clone Sergeant was released as part of the sixth series of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s figure #07, though it’s worth noting that the numbering restarted for 2014, so he’s a little higher in the actual numbering. The figure is roughly 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. He’s a Phase I-style Clone Trooper, which technically means he’s from Attack of the Clones, although, as I noted in my last Clone Sergeant review, I’m fairly certain the no Sergeants actually appear in that film, making this figure technically a Clone Wars figure. But I could be wrong. This being a Phase I Clone, it’s not really a surprise that the sculpt is identical to that of the Series 4 Clone Trooper, and will be the same as the soon-to-be-released Clone Lieutenant. In Hasbro’s defense, this is completely film accurate and totally to be expected. The additional Clone ranks are here to get more use out of the completely unique tooling of the first Clone. It’s worth noting that this sculpt is a really great piece of work. Everything is nice and clean, and there’s lots of symmetry. The armor is appropriately smooth and the underlying body suit has some wonderful texture work. There is one issue, and I’m not sure entirely how to classify it. Simply put, the figure has a rather obvious set of serial numbers etched into his left thigh. Well, I say etched, but they almost look as if someone chewed them in. It’s strange looking. Clearly, this isn’t meant to be part of the sculpt, but it’s there and it’s rather distracting. The paint is somewhat important on this figure, since it is the one thing that differentiates it from the normal Clone Trooper. It’s okay, but not great. The colors are well chosen, and everything is pretty much correctly placed, but the green areas in particular are rather rough around the edges, looking almost as if the green hasn’t been fully mixed together. It’s only really noticeable up close, but it certainly could be better. The Clone Sergeant is packed with two rifles: one large and one small. These are the same ones included with the normal Trooper, and they are nice translations of the film designs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s kind of Super Awesome Girlfriend’s fault. See, I was visiting her at school and we went to Toys R Us, because that’s what we do, and they had this figure there. I’ve been resisting the urge to buy a Black Series Clone Trooper for a while now, and so far I’ve managed to do pretty well. But she was standing there with me and she said three words that meant I couldn’t turn the figure down: “It has green!” Damn. So, I bought the Clone Sergeant. And now I totally have a prequel figure, even though I swore I wouldn’t buy any. To be fair, he’s a decent figure. Sure, the paint could be better, but that’s hardly a surprise when dealing with Hasbro. So, has this figure shattered the glass wall preventing me from buying prequel stuff? Will I be tracking down a Darth Maul on eBay? Nah, probably not. He’s cool and all, but I don’t see this being anything but a one off.

#0564: Return of the Jedi Digital Release Commemorative Set

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

BOBA FETT, BIKER SCOUT, WICKET W WARRICK, & LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: DIGITAL RELEASE COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION JediDigital1 Happy Star Wars Day everyb—oh, wait, sorry, I already did that last week. Well, hey, why not have this Star Wars-themed review anyway, just because? So, the Star Wars movies have finally been released digitally! Provided you don’t count the DVDs, Blu Rays, and Laserdiscs as “digital.” I guess you could say that they’ve finally been released in a fully digital format, or something like that. Of course, it’s still the same re-cuts of the original trilogy that they’ve been pushing for a while, so it’s not like there’s much new to celebrate. But Hasbro wanted to celebrate, so dammit they’re gonna celebrate. Being a toy company, they celebrated with the release of TOYS! Shocking, I know.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were released as part of the Return of the Jedi-themed boxed set, which was one of the six sets that make up the Star Wars: Digital Release Commemorative Collection. Try saying that name five times fast.

BOBA FETT

JediDigital2Everyone’s most favoritest bounty hunter, Boba Fett! Making figures of this dude is like printing money (it ruins the economy?), so it’s no surprise that Hasbro managed to find him a spot in one of the sets. Boba stands roughly 3 ¾ inches in height and features … 5 points of articulation. Yeah, this is one of Hasbro’s articulation-lite sets. Structurally, Fett is the same as the single release Boba from last year’s Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends and his two-pack release in the Mission Series. It’s not a bad sculpt; the proportions are all pretty good and there’s plenty of texturing and detailing. It would kind of be nice if his right arm was either fully pre-posed so that he could hold his blaster properly or not pre-posed at all; as it stands, he looks like he’s been caught mid-arm lift or something. That aside, the sculpt is generally pretty strong, and one can hardly blame the re-use here. Fett has what is probably the most complex paintjob of the set, and it’s all petty cleanly applied, which is good. It’s worth noting that he’s actually features his color scheme from Empire, not from Jedi. I guess they wanted him to fit with the other bounty hunters from the Empire set. Fett includes a blaster which can be held in either hand, albeit rather awkwardly.

BIKER SCOUT

JediDigital3The Biker Scouts were one of two additions to the Star Wars universe brought on by Jedi’s Endor battle. I’ll get to the other shortly. Height and articulation is pretty much identical to that of Boba Fett, so it’s consistent, I guess. The sculpt is a re-use of the Mission Series two-pack version of the character. It’s actually a pretty strong sculpt. The proportions are all about what they should be, and, best of all, he doesn’t have the weird arm pose thing that Boba’s got going on. Really, this figure feels really similar to the vintage Biker Scout. He’s got a greater level of detail and texture work, but they do give off a the same kind of vibe. The paintwork is fairly straightforward on this guy. He’s molded in all white, with black and a little bit of grey paint. Most of It’s pretty clean, although there are a few spots of bleed over. The Biker Scout includes a small pistol, which he can hold in either hand, or stow in his leg holster, should you so choose.

WICKET W WARRICK JediDigital5

Here’s the other addition from the Endor battle. Yes, Ewoks, those divisive little so-and-sos. Wicket was kind of the central Ewok, being the one that rescues Leia and all, so he earned his spot in this set. It’s worth noting that he’s given the last name “Warrick,” after his actor Warwick Davis, who played him in the movie. That’s a nice touch. Wicket is about 2 inches tall, with only 4 points of articulation instead of the 5 the others have. Wicket’s sculpt was previously used as part of the same Mission Series two-pack as the Biker Scout at which we just looked. It’s a pretty great sculpt. There’s a lot of texture, and it’s a pretty straight re-creation of the movie character. The head covering is a separate piece, which, although it’s not removable, does help to add some depth to the sculpt. Wicket has a paintjob to match the sculpt. It’s not as detailed as some of the larger Star Wars figures, but there’s still some decent work, and everything is clean and well applied. Wicket is armed with a spear which is taller than he is. Talk about compensating.

LUKE SKYWALKER

JediDigital4Last up, there’s this other guy. He’s sort of important to the movie, I guess. It’s not like he’s the main hero or anything. *ahem* Anyway, Luke is about 3 ¾ inches tall and he has those magical 5 points of articulation. Luke is based on his look from the end of Jedi, which, to be fair, is only slightly different from his look in the rest of Jedi. This whole sculpt has been seen before as part of the Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends line. Right up front, this is probably the strongest sculpt in the set. It has some great proportions, great texturing, and great detailing. The pose they’ve chosen is just far enough away from standing straight up and down that it’s still interesting, but not so much that he looks weird. In addition, he’s the only figure in the set with any sort of likeness work on the head. It’s not a perfect match, but there’s definitely some Mark Hamill in that sculpt. He goes lighter on the paint, being mostly molded in black, but the work on the face is cleaner than a lot of Hasbro faces, and the other painted areas manage to not suck, which is always good. Luke includes his lightsaber from the film, and just about the only downside of the figure is that he can’t hold his saber in both hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These four were bought for me by my always incredibly supportive Super Awesome Girlfriend. We stopped at a Toys R Us while I was down visiting her a few weeks ago, and I saw this set. I found a few other things I wanted, so I wasn’t sure I would get this one. Super Awesome Girlfriend was having none of that, and insisted on buying it for me. This is a set made up completely of re-issues, however, since I didn’t have any of the originals, that doesn’t bug me too much. Luke and Wicket are the strongest figures in the set and the Biker Scout is a pretty great figure too. Boba isn’t as good as the others, but he’s not terrible, and he’s Boba Fett, so… you have to like him, I guess. You could do a lot worse with $20 than get this set.

#0525: Stormtrooper

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

STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: REBELS

StormtrooperRebels1

While Star Wars toys expand to the new exciting world of the 6 inch scale with Star Wars: The Black Series, the main 3 ¾ inch scale line of figures seem to be returning to their roots, more or less. Slightly simpler sculpts, less articulation, and just a general retro feel. What’s interesting is that this approach is actually being used on the more current material, specifically the characters from Star Wars: Rebels, the current SW cartoon. Hasbro’s offering several of the show’s regular characters, as well as a few Star Wars mainstays who have also appeared. So far, the only figure I’ve picked up is the basic Stormtrooper. Let’s see how he turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

StormtrooperRebels2The Stormtrooper was released in the Star Wars: Rebels line two different ways: by himself, or packed with Garazeb Zeb Orrelios, one of the show’s original characters. Since I haven’t yet seen the show, I went for the solo version of the trooper. The Stormtrooper is about 3 ¾ inches tall, with 5, count ‘em 5, points of articulation. Given the limited articulation, the figure is really only good for one position. In this case, it’s just a basic standing pose. It’s very reminiscent of the vintage Star Wars figures in that respect. The Stormtrooper is based on his design from Star Wars: Rebels, which is, of course, just a slightly tweaked version of the traditional Stormtrooper. Most of the changes are on the helmet, which has been made a little more elongated and streamlined. In addition, the figure has a lankier animation-styled body. It’s a nice twist on a well-established design. The sculpt itself isn’t bad. It’s certainly simpler than a lot of figures, but the details are all properly placed and all the detail lines are nice and fairly sharp. The figure’s paintwork is kind of basic, though it does have some work I wasn’t expecting. The helmet gets the best detailing, with a whole three colors and some actual detail work beyond basic color placement. Everything there is clean and even, and the details are sharp, so that’s good. The rest of the body’s alright, but far from perfect. The legs have some really uneven coverage at the hips, and the arms have the same issue at the shoulders. Speaking of shoulders, the shoulders on the torso miss out on the proper black paint entirely; they just got left white. Given that the sculpt pretty clearly differentiates between the armor and the body, it’s pretty noticeable. The neck has paint on it, so it’s not like the torso just didn’t get paint. The Stormtrooper includes a standard blaster rifle. Since the figure’s limited to just a straight standing pose, the blaster has to be held in either one hand or the other (though, according to Super Awesome Girlfriend, the left hand is “wrong.” She’s such a handist.)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I can’t really say why, but the Rebels Stormtrooper has just called to me ever since it was released. Of course, I was only able to find it in the two-pack with Garazeb, who I didn’t really feel the need to own, so I just put off buying the trooper. While stopping at a Toys R Us with Super Awesome Girlfriend (on the same trip where I found Gypsy and Romeo Blue) I saw that they had one individual Stormtrooper left. I decided against getting it, seeing as I was already buying two other figures. However, Super Awesome Girlfriend, being the horrible influence that she is, decided that I should have the figure anyway and bought it for me. This figure certainly isn’t on the same level as something like the Black Series version, but he just really resonates with me. I think it’s at least partly connected with the fact that the vintage Stormtrooper was the only version I owned growing up, and this figure definitely hits a lot of the same points. In many ways, this feels like a straight update on that figure. And I’m really okay with that.

#0509: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FUNKO POP! TELEVISION

MalPop1

For years, cult favorite show Firefly went pretty much untouched by the toy-world. There were a few figures from the movie, Serenity, but that was it. No one seemed to be able to get the license. Enter Funko, masters of possessing the licenses to literally everything ever (seriously, they must know where all of the bodies are buried), who picked up the Firefly license and quickly pumped out an assortment of merchandise in all of their various styles, including their ever-popular Pop! Vinyl line. Today, I’ll be looking at that line’s take on Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MalPop2Mal is the 135th figure in the Funko Pop! Television line. The figure is about 3 ½ inches in height, with the standard one point of articulation at the neck. It’s not a lot, but that one point of movement does add a fair bit to what can be done with the figure. Mal is based on his standard coated look from the show, though it’s worth noting that he’s sporting a pair of gloves, which he only wore from time to time on the show. I think this might be meant to more represent his look in the pilot episode. Regardless of exactly where it’s from, it works as a decent summation of the character. The look has, of course, been reworked into the Pop! style, so he’s got the usual big square head, circle eyes, and no mouth. While some Pop!s are pretty good at conveying an actor’s likeness in these limited features, this one’s a little more on the generic side. It could still certainly be Mal/Fillion, but it doesn’t jump out immediately. Fortunately, the rest of the figure does a pretty great job of conveying the character. All the details of the clothing are nice and sharp, which is good to see. Furthermore, the figure moves away from the usual Pop! semi-crouch pose, instead opting for a much more character-appropriate look. It really sells this as Mal, and it’s refreshing to see Funko moving away from the more generic poses they were doing for so long. The weakest point of any Funko figure is typically the paintwork, and Mal is no exception. That said, the work here isn’t terrible. There’s a few missed spots and some occasional bleed over, but most things are pretty clean.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mal here was a Valentine’s Day gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend. I know, it’s not the usual Doctor Who! She actually wanted to get me Wash, who’s my favorite character, but she was unable to find him. Mal’s definitely a good second choice, and this figure’s certainly a lot of fun!

#0508: Cyberman

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

CYBERMAN

DOCTOR WHO (3.75)

Cyberman1

Hey look! Another Doctor Who review. It hasn’t been that long since the last one, and here’s another one. Well, most of my Doctor Who stuff has been the 5-ich scale stuff, which is the scale that Underground Toys really stuck with for a while (and still hasn’t completely let go of, either). But, nowadays, the line’s made a transition to a smaller 3 ¾ inch scale. A while back, I picked up the Tenth Doctor from that line, and he was getting a little lonely by himself. So, how about a Cyberman? Yeah, let’s have a look at that one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyberman2The Cyberman was released in the first series of the 3 ¾ inch Doctor Who line. He’s about 3 ¾ inches tall (surprising no one) and he has 13 points of articulation. That’s a bit of a step down from the Cyberman’s larger counterpart, but it’s in line with the rest of the 3 ¾ inch Who stuff. I just wish he had some waist articulation. The figure is based on the second Cyberman design from the new Who series, which premiered in Matt Smith’s last season on the show. This is the first time this design has shown up in the toyline. While it’s not quite as strong as the previous Cyberman design, it’s not bad. And, as the new standard look, it’s gonna show up some time. The sculpt does a pretty good job of replicating the show design. The details are all nice and sharp, and everything looks appropriately machined. The only nit with the sculpt is that the head is just a little bit too large, and by extension, slightly less detailed than the rest of the sculpt. Paintwork on the Cyberman is simply superb. It starts out with just a simple base level of silver paint, which is covered with a wash to bring out the details of the sculpt and then a fair bit of dry brushing to give the armor the appropriate worn-in look. The Cyberman’s loan accessory here is a DW logo base, which is the same as the one included with Ten, but in a dark blue. Which actually makes a lot more sense, color-wise.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Three guesses as to who got this figure for me. Yep, this one’s from my Super Awesome Girlfriend. It was the last day of Farpoint, and I was rather sick and sleeping on the Con Suite (which I was totally supposed to be running). In came Super Awesome Girlfriend, who brought me two of my favorite things: Food and Action Figures! Remember how I said that Ten was lonely? Well, Super Awesome Girlfriend agreed! Ultimately, the Cyberman’s not quite as good as Ten, or even as good as the larger version, but it’s a neat little figure.

#0492: Ewoks and catapult

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

CHUBBRAY, STEMZEE, & CATAPULT

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION

Ah, yes, Ewoks. The very first thing to split Star Wars fans. No one is simply okay with the Ewoks. You love them or you hate them. And you certainly can’t ever, under any circumstances see the other side’s point of view. They’re wrong and that’s just how it is. They must accept it.

I fall into the camp that likes the Ewoks. I was probably 3 or 4 when I saw Return of the Jedi for the first time, so I never had a problem with the Carebears from Hell. Thing is, I never actually had any of the Ewok action figures for some reason, even though Jedi was my favorite of the movies growing up and I had just about every other Endor themed figure. But, things change, so here I am reviewing some Ewoks. Yay!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The two Ewoks and their catapult were released as part of Hasbro’s second go at the Vintage Collection line. The set was released exclusively through K-Mart stores and it was done in packaging that replicates the vintage line. So, no window boxes for these guys! I just had to trust that I was getting figures and not like, two rocks or something. (Incidentally, there are totally two rocks in this box! Also figures, but that’s not the point!)

CHUBBRAY

According to Wookiepedia (which I totally had to use to figure which of these two was which), Chubbray is “an Ewok who participated in the Battle of Endor alongside the ewok Stemzee.” Which I actually could have figured out on my own, just from this set. Hilariously, the entry on Stemzee reads: “Stemzee was an Ewok who participated in the Battle of Endor alongside ewok Chubbray.” That’s sort of the equivalent of two words using each other in their definitions. I’m honestly shocked that there’s not even some sort of EU stuff for them. I mean, there’s a freaking entry for Ice Cream Maker Guy! Obviously, these two have gone over looked for far too long. So, I’ll just have to give them some backstory myself.

“Chubbray is the greatest Ewok warrior of all time. The Chubster (as he is known to his friends) is a total mechanical genius (especially impressive in a society still based around trees and rope technology.) He is a revolutionary, responsible for leading the cavalry charge against the tyrannical Empire. In Ewok language, Chubbray is synonymous with death, because that’s what Chubbray rains down upon his enemies. Also, he makes a killer martini.”

See? That wasn’t so hard! Chubbray is about 2 ¾ inches in height and he features 14 points of articulation. While that’s certainly more articulation than most previous Ewoks, the lack of elbows and knees do make the figure a little stiff. I don’t have an expert on the previous Ewok figures, so I don’t know if any pieces are shared here. Regardless, the sculpt is nicely done. It looks like the creatures from the movie, and there’s some very nice detail work on the fur and the head covering. About the only downside of the sculpt is that the joints are really visible. Chubbray’s paintwork is generally pretty clean, though, to be fair, it’s not the most complex paintjob of all time. Still, it’s all well applied and all the colors are well chosen. Chubbray includes a spear, which is probably just a normal spear, but I’m going to pretend it’s some sort of an energy spear that’s powered by some minutely scaled generator that Chubbray built himself. I mean, the greatest Ewok warrior that ever lived has to have a top-notch weapon, right?

STEMZEE

“Stemzee was the best friend of Ewok hero Chubbray from childhood. When Chubbray led the Ewoks against the Empire, Stemzee stood by his side the whole time. Stemzee proved himself quite the formidable warrior. After the battle, Stemzee professed his long-standing love for Chubbray, and the two settled down in a house built from the skulls of the freshly killed Empire forces. Stemzee drinks a killer martini.”

Aw, wasn’t that one kinda sweet? They’re so happy together! Stemzee is roughly 3 inches tall and features 20 points of articulation. Check out those elbow joints! Those are certainly a nice thing. Stemzee’s sculpt seems to be a more advanced one than Chubbray’s, which leads me to think that these two use bodies from previously released Ewoks. It’s a pretty good sculpt, with lots of fine detail work and such, and the articulation is even pretty smoothly worked in, which is good. Stemzee features a slightly more complex paintjob than Chubbray, and he’s a better figure for it. The colors look nice and everything is applied rather cleanly. Stemzee includes a spear, which is different from the one included with Chubbray.

CATAPULT

“The Catapult is the unsung hero of the Battle of Endor. It’s life began when it was built by brilliant Ewok warrior, Chubbray the Great, who was having something of an off day. The Catapult, known as ‘Leslie’ to its closest friends, fought bravely throughout the battle, and was personally responsible for saving an entire platoon of Ewok soldiers. Leslie was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice while facing off against one of those chicken-walker-thingies. It was given an honorary medal of…honor, and another catapult was constructed in its honor. There was a lot of honor. It may or may not have been killed by a killer martini. Evidence was inconclusive.”

Oh no! We killed off Leslie the Catapult! The tragedy! So, the catapult isn’t really a figure, but it is the centerpiece of the set, so it gets its own section. It’s about 3 inches tall, 4 inches long, and 2 inches wide. It doesn’t actually have any articulation to speak of, but you can wind the winch up to pull the arm back for a throwing action. It doesn’t work fantastically, but it’s okay. The sculpt of the catapult is rather nicely detailed, and it actually does look a little like it was constructed out of something that at least resembles wood. It’s like imitation wood. There’s also some nice work on the ties and such, which helps to further illustrate the “built from trees thing.” The paintwork on the catapult is pretty decently handled, with lots of nice accent work to bring out the details of the sculpt. The catapult includes two large rocks, each with a small hole on the bottom so they can be placed on the catapult’s arm.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was picked up while I was killing some time at a K-Mart with my Super Awesome Girlfriend (it was the same trip which got me the FOOT NINJA!!!!). We were wandering through and I noticed this set in the clearance section for about $10. With a little encouraging from SAGF, I figured “why not?” and went for it. I can kinda see why the set might get clearanced. It’s not the most thrilling set, and I can imagine the whole “not being able to see what you’re getting” thing probably turned some people off. Still, I kinda feel bad for the poor set. It’s really not a bad set, and at clearance prices it’s a fantastic way to get a couple of Ewoks. Plus, there’s a really cool catapult!

#0482: Star-Lord

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

STAR-LORD

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VINYL FIGURES

Guardians of the Galaxy was a very good movie, which is a very good thing. Essentially, it’s given Marvel the confidence to make just about any damn thing they want to. It’s also provided various companies a lot of merchandising opportunities. Funko has jumped in on the fun, offering not just their usual Pop! figures, but also a line of blind boxed vinyl bobble-heads. Let’s have a look at one of the line’s offerings of Legendary Outlaw Star-Lord.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Star-Lord is part of the first, and so far only, assortment of Guardians of the Galaxy Vinyl Figures. He’s one of the two versions of Star-Lord released in the line. This is the basic standing one, as opposed to the more wildly posed one. He’s about 3 inches tall and he has no articulation, though he does have a bobbly head. Like just about every other Star-Lord figure out there, he’s based on the character’s long-coated appearance in the film’s opening scenes. The sculpt is simplistic, but very bold and very sharp. It’s a pretty great translation of the movie design, and it looks very nice. It doesn’t have the more ornate texture work of other figures, but it’s very eye-catching and it really has a nice stylistic touch to it. Paint is an area with which Funko sometimes has some trouble, but that’s not the case here. Everything is nice and clean, and the colors are pretty good matches. I’m still a little thrown by the silver on the helmet, but that’s actually just the inaccurate Hasbro color scheme messing with me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Star-Lord hails from the same Hot Topic trip with Super Awesome Girlfriend that got me the various Sci Fi Vinyl Figures. Star-Lord was one of two of the blind boxes that were still left, which worked out pretty well I suppose. Star-Lord’s a solid figure to be sure, and just another great addition to all the GotG stuff.

#0470: Rocketeer

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

ROCKETEER

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

Movie-making is a pretty competitive business. Even if a movie does manage do get made, getting it viewed by an audience can be a different story. Many movies never really see the audience they deserve and will forever be woefully underrated. One of my favorite underrated movies is The Rocketeer. The Rocketeer was a movie ahead of its time. It’s a pulp-style super hero movie that would be readily at home with the current brand of Marvel Studios movies. Sadly, in the 1990, it wasn’t what audiences were looking for, and it’s at best a cult favorite. Toys for the movie have been scarce over the years, but Funko picked up the license a few years ago and they’ve been using it all over the place.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rocketeer was released as part of the first assortment of Science Fiction Vinyl Figures from Funko. He doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the more iconic sci-fi characters in the assortment, but I’m hardly going to complain about that. The Rocketeer is one of the rarest figures in the series, at a ratio of 1:72. Seems like this guy’s only going to be seen by the most dedicated of Rocketeer fans. The figure is about 2 ¾ inches tall and features no articulation. He has a totally unique sculpt and it’s probably the best in the series. It’s cleanly sculpted, there’s lots of great detail work, and everything is very well defined. The character’s design has been tweaked to fit the overall style of the line, but like Robby, he hasn’t had to be changed too much. The figure is posed in the most extreme of the poses we’ve seen on the figures reviewed here. It’s the character’s signature pose, seen right before the movie’s climactic battle as he stands in front of the American flag. It’s a perfect pose for the character and it’s been translated really well. Rocketeer’s paint is pretty good; nothing fantastic, but solid work. All of the colors are on the mark and everything cleanly applied with no real slop or bleed over. The lack of any real issues is actually really good for Funko, who can sometimes have some issues with quality control on their stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rocketeer was gotten at the same time as Tron, while I was out shopping with Super Awesome Girlfriend. Seeing as the other three figures I got were common figures, I figure I didn’t have much of a chance at getting this guy. However, Super Awesome Girlfriend insisted on picking out the two I was going to buy, and the Rocketeer was one of them (she’s just the best). To say I was thrilled is an understatement. The Rocketeer is a fantastic figure, marred only by the fact that he’s so freaking rare.

#0469: Tron

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

TRON

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

Tron is one of those movies that’s really innovative and that everyone remembers the name of, but that lots of people haven’t seen or don’t really remember. It’s got its loyal fans (and there are a fair number of them), but it’s not really held in the same esteem of many other landmark films. I myself didn’t actually see the movie until just before the release of its sequel Tron Legacy. But, I can appreciate the importance of the movie, and I like the designs. So hey, toys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tron was released as part of the first assortment of the Science Fiction Vinyl Figures from Funko. Tron is another of the more common 1:12 ratio figures . He’s roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he features no articulation. Tron is probably one of the figures that is the most drastically changed, design-wise. His proportions are the most exaggerated and his texturing and such is rather simplified. While I felt this detracted from E.T., it works pretty well for Tron. He really works in this style. The armor details are nice and sharp, and everything is pretty clean. The arms are separate pieces, but the cuts are well hidden by the shoulder armor. Tron is posed as though he’s getting ready to throw his disc, a good choice for the character. It separates him from the more statically posed Robby and E.T. fairly well. The figure’s paint work is very well done, easily the best of the figures I got. For the most part, he’s just done in a flat blue, with white detail work. The detail work is nice and sharp and is a very good replica of the design from the movie. The sculpt of his face is blank, leaving the paint to fill it in. It doesn’t really have any resemblance to Bruce Boxlightner, but it seems to fit with the rest of the “human” faces from the line. At the very least, the blank white eyes are a lot less creepy here than they are on E.T.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting Robby and E.T., I decided to go back and get a few more of the blind boxes. This time around, I let Super Awesome Girlfriend do the picking, and it seems to have worked out in my favor. Tron is one of the cooler designed figures from this series, and he really translates well to the style.

#0467: Robby the Robot

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

ROBBY THE ROBOT

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

So, we jump from one robot to the next. I’ve looked at a modern day robot with Pacific Rim’s Tacit Ronin, an 80s robot with Transformers Hero Mashers’ Soundwave, and now I’ll be looking at one of the classiest robots there is, Robby the Robot.  Robby is, in my opinion, one of the coolest robot designs of all time, and he’s far out placed the movie he originally appeared in, Forbidden Planet. Robby’s had his fair share of merchandise over the years, so it’s no surprise that Funko, masters of securing the toy rights to everything (I half expect them to have the toy rights this blog…) are currently producing their own assortment of various Robby stuff. Funko’s big on offering lots of diverse characters as part of one big assortment, which is the idea behind their Science Fiction Vinyl Figures line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robby here is part of the first assortment of Science Fiction Vinyl Figures. The figures are blind boxed and offered in differing ratios. Robby is one of the more common figures, at a ratio of 1:12. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall. He has no articulation, but that’s pretty common for a line of small vinyl figures.  The figure depicts Robby in the style of the line. His design means that he’s less stylistically changed than some of the other figures in the line. Generally, his proportions are tweaked a little bit. The hands and feet are larger and a little blockier, and the details within his head dome are simplified a little bit. The sculpt is very well done; it’s simple, but the details that are there are really made to count. The design’s been tweaked, but it’s still very clearly Robby. He’s sculpted in a fairly straight forward standing up, arms outstretched pose which is picture perfect for Robby. Robby’s paint is simple, but well done.; it’s nice and clean. I do wish the body color were a little darker, but what’s there isn’t bad. It just results in the figure’s colors melding a little bit. Robby includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Robby from Hot Topic while I was out shopping with Super Awesome Girlfriend. As is the case with most blind boxed figures, he was gotten at random. I picked up two figures from the line and Robby just so happened to be one of the first two I grabbed. Robby’s one of my favorite robot designs and one of my favorite movie characters in general, so I was thrilled to have gotten him. I don’t know that I’d be up for every character in the Funko’s vinyl style, but it works really well for Robby.