Tag Archives: vehicles

#1199: Mystery Machine (w/ Fred Jones)

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

MYSTERY MACHINE (W/ FRED JONES)

SCOOBY DOO (CHARACTER OPTIONS)

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In addition to being a comics geek and a sci-fi geek, I’m also quite a bit of an animation geek.  Obviously, I love the cartoons of the ‘90s, being the ones I grew up with and all, but access to the likes of Boomerang and Cartoon Network also afforded me an appreciation for a number of older cartoons.  Of course, it hardly takes an animation geek to be familiar with today’s subject of review.  Scooby Doo hit the airwaves in 1969 and there’s been at least one new iteration of it every decade since, keeping it pretty squarely in the public eye.  As I noted in my previous Scooby–based review, I actually don’t have a particularly large selection of Scooby Doo items in my collection, but as with just about everything there isn’t enough of in my collection, I’m working on it.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of the fixtures of the franchise, the Mystery Machine, along with perpetual driver of said machine, Fred Jones.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

mysterymachine5The Myster Machine was released as part of the latest iteration of Character Options’ Scooby Doo line, which hit last year.  While lots of places seemed to have the two-packs featuring the one member of the gang each packed with a ghost, the Mystery Machine seems to be a slightly rarer find (for me anyway).  The vehicle is 6 1/4 inches tall, 5 inches wide, and 9 1/4 inches long.  In terms of design, exactly what version of the Mystery Machine this is supposed to be is a little hard to place.  Near as I can tell, it’s not actually based on any specific design for the MM, but is instead a somewhat stylized take on the classic design.  I think a lot of this may be due to some mold re-use, as it appears this mold initially showed up as the “Goo’busters Mystery Machine,” which was a playset designed to go with a line of Superhero Squad/Galactic Heroes-style line of Scooby characters.  That would mysterymachine6explain the harsher stylization present here.  It doesn’t look awful, provided you aren’t looking for a really faithful recreation of the original vehicle.  The biggest complaint I have is that it’s rather difficult to get the full-sized figures into the front, since it wasn’t designed with them in mind.  Aside from that, it’s actually remarkably well-scaled, to the point that it was only after a considerable amount of digging around that I realized it was originally made for the smaller guys.  It’s worth noting that it’s clearly designed as a playset first and a functioning Mystery Machine second.  There aren’t any functioning doors (the figures are placed in the front through the hatch at the top), there’s no actual seating in the back, and the steering wheel doesn’t turn.  It does at the very least have actual moving wheels on the bottom.  From what I’ve read online, this mysterymachine3is a change from prior releases, so I guess they’re learning.  Yay!  The back of the van folds out into a…thing.  Not really sure what.  I guess it’s supposed to be a crime solving lab or something? The original release had some traps and stuff built in, but this one leaves those out, so we just end up with a lot of flat surfaces with printed on details.  It’s kind of cool, but a little confusing.  Also, the fold-out feature results in some rather ugly hinges running along the middle of the van, which is really unfortunate.  Could those not have been worked into the interior of the design?  The paint on the Mystery Machine is rather on the sloppy side, especially around the edges of the green sections.  Of course, actual paint is minimal; most of the details are decals.  By and large, this is a perfectly fine way of handling the details (since they’re mostly on large, flat surfaces anyway), but there are some peeling edges and, in the case of the flowers on the side, some issues with underlying paint showing through.  There’s a valiant effort to ignore a few of the sculpted elements to bring the design closer to the classic look, which works about as well as anything else on this thing.  For accessories, the Mystery Machine includes one main extra, and that’s….

THE FIGURE ITSELF

mysterymachine8….Fred Jones!  Fred (who, fun fact, was named after CBS executive Fred Silverman, who was a driving force for getting Scooby Doo, Where Are You? on the air) is the leader of Mystery Inc, the owner of the Mystery Machine in at least a few versions of the story, and above all, the guy usually seen driving the Mystery Machine, making him quite the sensible inclusion here.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation.  Fred is based on his slightly updated design from Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, where he was given a slightly more brawny physique and a more pronounced lantern jaw of justice.  I actually quite liked his redesign from that show, so I’m happy it’s the version they went with.  It’s transition into three-dimensions isn’t too terrible; he looks a little off from certain angles, but that’s the sort of thing you expect with action figures of two-dimensional designs.  The legs could stand to be a little longer, and the torso a little less tubular, and his chin should probably be a little less pronounced.  He sort of reminds me of the Kenner Batman: The Animated Series figures, being slightly off-model, but still pretty solid as an action figure.  The paint on Fred is a good deal cleaner than we saw on the Mystery Machine.  While he’s still not devoid of sloppiness, especially around his hairline, the overall appearance is a lot cleaner.  His eyes are also kinda goofy, thanks to no one really being very sure of how exactly this style of eye should be done in 3D.  He looks a bit surprised.  While my figure is pretty decent, I should note that I had to pick through four of this set, and finding a combo of good paint on both Fred and the Mystery Machine was pretty much impossible.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Fred’s my favorite character from Scooby Doo.  Prior to picking up this set, he made up half of my Scooby Doo collection (granted, it was a collection of TWO figures, but still).  So, when I spotted the two-packs last year, I immediately flipped through the rack to find the set Fred was in.  Imagine my dismay when I discovered they doubled up on Scooby instead of including him.  Now, all of my issues would have been resolved had there simply been a picture of the Mystery Machine and the included Fred figure somewhere on the packaging for the two-packs, but Character Options didn’t see fit to actually inform their customers what was actually out.  So, instead of tracking this set down early last year, I ended up stumbling upon it at the K-Mart near where my family vacations for Christmas.  It was even marked down to $15.  There’s a whole extra $10 they could have gotten out of me if I’d known this thing existed (to say nothing of me forking over the cash for the rest of the gang).   Ah well, I got my Fred figure, and that’s really what matters.  Ultimately, this is a more toy-etic set than I tend to go for in modern toys, but I can’t say I’m unhappy with the purchase.

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#1174: Armored Personnel Carrier

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

ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER (W/ LT. GORMAN)

ALIENS MINIMATES

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Okay, I’m kicking off the second week of post-Christmas reviews the same way I kicked off the first: Aliens.  This time around, I’m turning my focus back to Aliens Minimates, because I just haven’t reviewed enough of either of those things in a while.  One of the advantages of the smaller scale of Minimates is the ability to produce vehicles and such to go with the figures.  Due to licensing restrictions, Marvel, DST’s flagship license, is strictly just the figures, but other lines are fair game, including Aliens.  That’s a definite plus, because the Alien-verse has some pretty awesome vehicle designs just begging for some cool toys.  One of my all-time favorite vehicles from the movies is the Armored Personnel Carrier, or APC for short.  I’ll be looking at the Minimate-ized version of that today!

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

apcmini3There are two versions of the APC currently available in the Aliens Minimates line. I’ll be looking at the regular version, which is the specialty release, but there’s also a battle-damaged version available at Toys R Us.  The APC measures 2 1/2 inches tall, 7 3/4 inches front to back, and 3 3/4 inches from side to side.  Both turrets rotate, as do all four wheels.  The top turret doesn’t slide up and down like it does in the movie, likely due to the size and price of this set, but it can be popped out and placed on the back, simulating its movement from the movie.  The door also opens.  It’s not as far as in the movie, but it’s enough that it’s a cool touch.  The apcmini7sculpt of the APC is pretty good.  It’s noticeably less deformed than some of the prior vehicles, which I’m quite pleased with.  Obviously, it’s downscaled ever so slightly, but not incredibly so; it’s quite a sizable vehicle.  The top of the Carrier is hinged, allowing access to the interior of the vehicle.  It’s at best an approximation of the actual interior seen in the film.  That being said, it’s totally acceptable, since the interiors we see on screen were a separate set that didn’t actually fit in the vehicle used for exteriors.  Any recreation by definition must make some concessions.  Gorman’s station is there, with a swivel chair and everything.  There are four more seats: the driver, right behind the driver, by the door, and apcmini4towards the back.  All four of them are removable, allowing for some extra space if need be.  There’s also a small weapons rack in the back of the vehicle, which can hold two pulse rifles and two flamethrowers.  It’s a little hard to get to (it can be removed with a bit of finagling), but still a nice little touch.  Paintwork on the APC is minimal, but well handled.  There are also a few small decals to help fill in a few more of the details.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

apcmini2Included with the APC is Lt. William Gorman.  Given that Gorman spends perhaps the most time in the APC of anyone in the movie, he’s a good choice.  This is Gorman’s second time as a Minimate, with the first being as part of the third TRU-exclusive series.  However, that figure was based on his briefly seen dress uniform, where as this one is based on his main fatigues look from the film.  He stands 2 1/2 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. Gorman uses the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for his hat and belt.  Both of these pieces are re-used, but they fit very well for the character.  The paintwork on Gorman is overall pretty solid; he’s on par with the rest of the line.  The face is the same one seen on the TRU version, which is good for consistency.  The patch on his shoulder still incorrectly reads “USMC” instead of “USCM,” but at this point, I guess they just want all the patches to match.  More power to them.  Gorman includes an extra head, sporting the bandage he’s got for the second half of the film, as well as a handgun, and a clear display stand.  I wouldn’t have minded getting the jacket he has when they first arrive on LV-426, but I can’t say I’m disappointed by the selection at all. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since Aliens Minimates were announced, this was an item I was looking forward to getting.  When they finally showed off the prototype, my excitement only increased, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting it since.  I ended up getting this set from my parents for Christmas.  I’m quite pleased with the final product, and it’s definitely become the centerpiece of my Aliens Minimates collection!

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#1006: Battle Tank

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

BATTLE TANK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

BattleTank1

Masters of the Universe was one of the pinnacles of ’80s toylines.  It had all the trappings: gimmicky figures, wacky action features, play sets, and, yes, lots of vehicles for the figures to make use of.  The vehicles were a success in the ’80s, so Mattel gave them another try with the 200x relaunch.  They weren’t quite as successful that time around, but they certainly tried.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of those vehicles, the somewhat mediocre Battle Tank.  Let’s have a look at that!

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

BattleTank3The BattleTank was one of the earliest vehicles in the 200x line, released during the line’s first year.  The vehicle measures 9 ¾ inches long and 6 ½ inches tall.  The Battle Tank is somewhat oddly named.  It looks more like some sort of ramming vehicle and less like what I would think of as a tank.  Of course, I suppose that a more conventional tank might look out of place in Masters of the Universe, so there’s that.  Still, I feel like there could have been a more exciting name for this thing.  As far as the actual sculpt goes, I suppose the tank’s not bad.  It’s a bit rudimentary and clunky, but it’s serviceable.  I think the biggest issue I have with it is how it interacts with the BattleTank2figures.  Their limited articulation means that any vehicle meant for them has to do the heavy lifting in terms of helping them sit.  The tank would be difficult for even a Marvel Legend to sit on comfortably.  The MotU figures look rather uncomfortable, and they all have to do this weird sort of lounging lean.  It’s not exactly an imposing look.  The tank has a pop-out feature, which launches the head forward and flips out two little wing things at the sides, which makes it somewhat cooler looking, but also makes it even less tank-like. There’s not really any paint on the tank, but there are a lot of decals which make up for it. They’re kind of basic, but they look okay.  They stay on pretty well, which is the important part with decals.  The Battle Tank was packed with a basic He-Man, who was the same as the standard Series 1 version, which I suppose isn’t a bad thing, but a unique figure might have been a little cooler.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been much into the MotU vehicles, so I never had any of them.  This one was part of the Goodwill find from a few weeks ago.  I found this last out of the bunch, and I honestly only got it because I felt bad leaving it there by itself.  Island of Misfit toys and all that.  I can’t say it was my favorite piece of the find, but it’s enjoyable enough, and certainly worth what I paid for it.  All in all, not bad.

 

#0947: Resistance X-Wing Fighter (w/ Poe Dameron)

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

RESISTANCE X-WING FIGHTER (W/ POE DAMERON)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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In the current climate of toymaking, where the costs of plastic are trending fairly consistently upward, pretty much every new mold produced needs to justify the cost of its production. In the years past, most items had large enough initial production runs to offset the tooling costs in pretty much one fell swoop. Sadly, as public interest has moved towards more technologically advanced entertainment, the market for toys has shrunk. Initial production runs are smaller, and so to make sure they tooling costs are covered, companies do their best to get multiple uses out of the same pieces, which tends to mean repaints. Today, I’ll be looking at one of these repaints: the Resistance X-Wing Fighter!

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

ResistanceXWing2The Resistance X-Wing Fighter was released as part of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens line, released right at the tail end of 2015. It was available exclusively at Walmart. The Resistance X-Wing uses the same mold as Poe’s X-Wing (reviewed here). Like that set, the vehicle requires a tiny bit of assembly when it’s first taken out of the box: the nose and wing cannons need to be attached and there are a few small decals meant to be applied to the interior of the cockpit. When assembled, the fighter is 15 ½ inches long and has a wingspan of 13 inches, just like Poe’s version. Poe’s X-Wing had a pretty nice sculpt, and it’s still nice here. It remains a little undersized, but, given the re-use, that’s not a shock. It’s also slightly less of an issue this time, since the included figure sits a little lower. The nose is still made from a softer rubber (which honesty didn’t bug me with Poe’s X-Wing, but it did turn a few people off). One noticeable change is the quality of the wing cannons. The actual sculpt hasn’t changed, but the manner in which they were packaged has, so they came out of the box far less warped than the prior set, which greatly improves the overall look of the vehicle. The paint is the most noticeable deviation from the prior X-Wing. In place of the dark grey and orange of Poe’s personalized vehicle, this one gets the off-white and blue palette of the basic Resistance fighter. It looks really clean, works very well on the fighter. The application is all pretty solid too, with no major slop or the like. BB-8 is still a little under painted on the body, but consistency I guess. The action features on this fighter are the same as those on Poe’s fighter. The wing feature seems a little tighter this time around, but the missile launcher appears to be identical.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ResistanceXWing4Included with the Resistance X-Wing Fighter is another figure of ace pilot Poe Dameron. He’s based on his look from the film’s opening, which is appropriate, since that’s when Poe is seen using this style of fighter. The figure uses the body of the Armor-Up Poe, along with the head of the single release pilot Poe. While it’s not a combination that really plays up the Oscar Isaac likeness, it’s not a terrible set of pieces. The body is solidly sculpted and has a lot of really cool detail work, so I don’t mind seeing it again. The head isn’t a bad sculpt, but it is a touch generic, especially with the opaqueness of the visor.  Still, it’s a decent representation of the helmet design from the movie, and the details are all pretty well realized. From the neck down, the paint is identical to the Armor-Up figure, which is fine, since that was pretty good. The head is slightly different, since it’s replicating Poe’s more unique helmet from the beginning. The paint is nice and sharp, so that’s good. The opaque visor is a little frustratingly cartoony, but that’s more the fault of the sculpt. Though he’s sort of an accessory himself, Poe does get one accessory: his blaster rifle. It’s the same piece seen with the Armor-Up Poe, but it’s another scene specific piece. I only wish there were somewhere for him to keep it while piloting so that it wasn’t rattling around in the cockpit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite loving the normal release X-Wing and loving the Resistance color scheme, I’ve passed this set up more than a few times in the last few months, due mostly to the $50 price tag. It’s not unreasonable, but it makes me need redundant pieces a bit less. Last week, I managed to find this set at a nearby Walmart on clearance. At 50% of its original value, the set felt way more worth it. If I’m honest, I think the main fighter is superior to the Poe version. The blaster issue has been fixed, and the tension on the wing feature works a bit better. The included Poe isn’t quite as fun as the other version, but his generic-ness makes him a pretty decent unnamed Resistance Pilot. Ultimately, I’m not sure this set is quite as necessary as the first, but for half its original price, it’s way worth picking up.

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#0873: Superboy “VTOL” Cycle

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

SUPERBOY “VTOL” CYCLE

SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL (KENNER)

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While they’ve all but disappeared from the market nowadays, there was a time when goofy made up vehicles were the norm for action figure lines. Kenner in particular was pretty big on them, especially ones that they made up. Yesterday, I looked at one of the figures from their Superman: Man of Steel line, and you might think that someone like Superman wouldn’t have any need for vehicles, but you’d be wrong. The Man of Steel line had three different vehicles, including today’s focus, the Superboy “VTOL” Cycle.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

SuperVTOL3The VTOL Cycle was released as the first (and smallest) vehicle in the Superman: Man of Steel line. The cycle is about 3 ½ inches in height and 9 inches in length. It’s not based on any design from the comics, since Superboy’s never been one to need flying transportation, so it’s a totally original creation from Kenner. Despite re-use of vehicle molds being somewhat common from Kenner in th 90s, the VTOL Cycle has its own mold. Generally speaking, it’s really just a fairly generic pseudo-Sci-fi motorcycle. There aren’t any super in depth details, and the sculpt is slightly on the soft side, but it certainly doesn’t look out of place with the rest of the line. The vehicle has been designed with the Superboy figure in mind, so it fits him pretty well (if not perfectly). There’s a seatbelt piece with a cool Superman logo at the front, which keeps him properly seated. The cycle boasts that it “converts to pursuit jump jet” on the SuperVTOL2front of the box; essentially, the back wheel splits in two and each half can be folded out to create a turbine on either side. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s vaguely cool. There’s also a “kickstand” piece, which is useful for keeping the vehicle standing. The Cycle is done up in colors that vaguely match up with Superboy, but are not so specific so as to prevent the cycle from being used with another figure. The paint has a few spots of bleed over here and there, but generally looks fairly decent. There was also an included Superman logo decal, meant to be placed on the front of the Cycle, but I actually forgot to put it in place.  The VTOL Cycle includes a “claw snare” launcher, which can be mounted on either side of the back wheel, as well as an oxygen mask piece, which is meant to be used with the Superboy figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in yesterday’s Superboy review, I got the VTOL Cycle in a lot with the Superboy figure from a vender at this past Farpoint. I never had this vehicle growing up, but I saw it on the back of various different packages over the years, so I was always curious. Truth be told, it’s not the most thrilling vehicle Kenner ever put out, but it’s nifty enough that the purchase feels warranted. Plus, it makes a pretty neat accent piece for the Superboy figure (of which I now have two)!

#0868: Space Marine Power Loader

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

SPACE MARINE POWER LOADER

ALIENS (KENNER)

PowerLoaderK1

Hey guys! Do you know what my favorite movie is? You should, because I talk about it like an excessive amount. But maybe you’re new here, or bad at paying attention, so I’ll remind you that it’s Aliens, aka the greatest film of all time! The movie has gotten quite a few action figures in the last few years, but it’s very first action figure line came from Kenner in the early 90s, and it was the result of a failed Saturday morning cartoon adaptation. I’ve looked at a fair number of the figures, but there were also a number of vehicles in the line. Most were made up, but they did get make the Power Loader, allowing kids of the ‘90s to proudly say “Get away from her you…female dog.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PowerLoaderK2The Power Loader was released just after the first assortment of items from Kenner’s Aliens line, alongside the first version of the Alien Queen. The base Power Loader body stands about 7 inches tall (the “alienator” missile launcher adds another inch or so, depending on its orientation) and its articulated at the shoulders and has an opening cockpit, and there is also movement on the two side guns on the arms and the base of the missile launcher. The claws can also move, but they are worked into a spring-action feature, and therefore cannot hold a pose on their own. The Kenner line can be best described as “inspired by Aliens,” more so than being a straight recreation of the movie’s designs. While it certainly fares a bit better than a lot of items in the line in terms of film accuracy, there’s no denying that this Power Loader is an entirely different beast than the film version. The basic shape is more or less the same, especially when the missile launcher is in its away position; this thing will definitely pass the squint test. The claws are the first real change, being a more conventional Sci-fi claw design than the more forklift styled claw from the movie. The legs have also been changed from more typical human-style legs to a treaded design that looks fairly similar to the Robot from Lost in Space, presumably to allow the torso and legs to be one solid piece. There are also the added guns, one on each arm, which make the Power Loader more of an offensive machine (one has to wonder if Kenner was aware that these weapons and such resulted in the Power Loader’s name becoming something of an artifact). From there, most of the changes are small and aesthetic, in order to make the overall design a bit more streamlined and in keeping with the more simplistic nature of the whole Kenner line. The end result is PowerLoaderK4actually not a bad looking toy, and certainly one that bridges the gap between toyline and movie quite well. A fair number of these changes have been made in order to better facilitate placing the Kenner Ripley figure in the loader. She doesn’t fit perfectly, due to her rather limited articulation, but she manages to look decent enough. For the most part, this thing’s just molded in bright yellow, with minimal paint for the elbow joints and the treads on the feet. The yellow is a bit on the warm side, but not terrible, and what paint there is has been handled cleanly. The rest of the details are handled via a sheet of decals included in the package, which add a ton of cool little details. Aside from the missile for the “alienator” the Power Loader has no real accessories, but being a glorified accessory itself, that’s not really a problem.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Kenner Power Loader is an item I’ve wanted for quite some time. When I saw it on the back of my first Ripley’s card, I was immediately impressed. Unfortunately for me, it’s not quite as easy to find as the figures, so I was never able to find one. At Farpoint this year, I found it at the table of one of the dealers (the same guy who has been selling me a steady supply of other 90s toylines at the last several cons I’ve attended). It ended up being the most I’ve spent on a single item from the Kenner line, but certainly not outside my price range. This toy definitely she’s its age, and one can hardly compare it to NECA’s recent masterpiece, but this is a really fun take on one of the film’s most memorable moments, and it looks awesome with the rest of my Kenner figures.

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#0847: Rey’s Speeder

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

REY’S SPEEDER (w/ REY)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

ReySpeeder1

Remember a few days ago when I was talking about how I was still making my way through all the Star Wars stuff I bought over the holidays? Well, how about a little more of that? Before seeing The Force Awakens, I mostly stuck with the relatively inexpensive small-scale figures, on the off chance the movie wasn’t as awesome as I’d hoped. Once I had seen the film and knew just how cool it was, I went back and got a few of the larger items, specifically the vehicles. One of the cooler new vehicle designs was Rey’s speeder, seen during her opening scenes on Jakku. Hasbro put out a version of the vehicle in their 3 ¾ inch line, packed alongside its owner, Rey.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReySpeeder2The included Rey figure is based on her appearance while riding around on her speeder, when she has her head covered up (presumably to protect her face from the sand being flung at it at high speeds). The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and (technically) has 5 points of articulation. I say technically because, while there’s definitely a neck joint under that head gear, there’s no way it’s getting any sort of motion. Also, the lack of any sort of knee joints (such as the ones sported by the Elite Speeder Bike’s Trooper figure) really hurts this figure’s ability to sit properly on her speeder. Structurally, you might think that this figure shared parts with the single release figure, however, there are no shared parts between the two. A few pieces (especially the legs) are quite close, but all of them are just slightly different. It’s odd, because a bit of re-use would seem perfectly excusable here. The new sculpt is decent enough. The arms seem a bit skinny and noodle-like, but ReySpeeder4aside from that, the proportions feel pretty balanced and she looks about right. The head/wrap looks really nice; it appears to be the same piece that was included with the small-scale The Black Series Rey. Regardless, it’s a really nice sculpt, with lots of cool texture work. The paintwork here is pretty standard for the rest of the basic figures; it’s not perfect, but it’s serviceable. Rey is packed with her staff, which is the same as the one included with the regular figure (albeit a bit more warped).

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

ReySpeeder3Rey’s speeder is certainly an intriguing design. It was dubbed the “popsicle speeder” by a number of fans, which I guess I can see, but I don’t mind it. Tim referred to it as an engine with a seat, which I think is quite apt. The speeder is 8 ½ inches long, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches tall. The two flaps on the back are articulated, but aside from that, it’s mostly just a hunk of plastic. Not that there’s a problem with that, though. The general structure of the speeder looks to be a pretty good match for what we saw on film (it’s perhaps a smidge too thin, but that’s really minor). The detail work is generally pretty nice, and everything looks to be about where it should be. The cargo net is a separate piece, however, the actual cargo beneath it is molded to the side of the speeder. Unfortunately, there are four rather obtrusive screws on the right side of the speeder, as well as a somewhat obvious button for the action feature on the left side, poking through the net. The button pops up the top of the speeder, revealing a missile launching cannon. You remember that from the movie, right? No? Okay, yeah, I think Hasbro may have added that. The paint on the speeder is a bit on the basic side; mostly it just uses straight colors. However, there are a few spots that actually look sufficiently worn, which is nice to see. There is, however, a fair bit of slop, especially around the edges of the machinery in the cargo net, which is less nice to see.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the whole Christmas holiday and seeing The Force Awakens twice in the space of a week, I was really eager to pick up a few more of the toys from the movie. Rey’s speeder ended up being one of the few items I was able to find at the rather picked-through Walmart nearby where I was staying. While this particular Rey has become a little less necessary now that I have the Black Series version, she’s not a terrible figure in her own right, and it’s nice to have a figure purely dedicated to this look. The speeder’s not perfect, but it’s certainly fun enough, and it’s a nice complement to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter.

#0844: Elite Speeder Bike

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

ELITE SPEEDER BIKE (w/ FIRST ORDER STORM TROOPER)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

FOSpeeder1

Geez, it’s February, and I’m still making my way through the stuff I bought over the holidays. It’s in part due to the fact that a sizeable chunk of stuff from that time was all Star Wars-related, and I try my best not to review too much similar stuff at once. Anyway, Star Wars has always valued vehicles of many differing sizes and functions. Some of my personal favorites are the speeder bikes introduced in Return of the Jedi. While they haven’t seen an official First Order update in the movies just yet, Hasbro took their own stab at creating an updated look, dubbed the Elite Speeder Bike.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FOSpeeder2The included figure doesn’t get a name more specific than “First Order Stormtrooper,” but this guy is definitely different from a standard Trooper. He’s not Biker Scout different, but he’s still different. This trooper stands just shy of 4 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. Yes, you read that right, he has a whole 9(!) points of articulation, thanks to his fully articulated knees. Seems even Hasbro knew that this guy needed to be able to properly sit. Sculpturally, this figure looks to use a slightly modified version of the basic body used for the Stormtrooper Commando included with the Assault Walker, with a new set of legs, of course. It’s just a basic Stormtrooper design, and it’s as good a translation as all the other releases. The paint is the main difference; he’s done up in all black, which is mostly just molded plastic, with one tiny bit of silver and then the red stipes on his upper torso, which call back to the TIE Fighter’s detailing. It’s a cool, unique look, even if it’s not very technically complicated. The Trooper includes a small blaster pistol, which can be stowed on the figure’s right thigh.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

FOSpeeder3The updated speeder bike is the real meat of this set. It’s a basic Class I vehicle, which means it’s among the smallest vehicle selection (in fact, it’s the smallest vehicle currently available). The bike is just shy of 8 inches in length and stands a little over an inch tall. It has posable foot pedals, handlebars and tail flaps, as well as an opening engine compartment. The bike uses the Movie Heroes version of the speeder bike as a starting point, which is as good as any, I suppose. It has a new set of handles, new fins on the back, and a new front half. The general design of the bike has been tweaked to make it a bit more flat and wing-like. The overall design isn’t bad, but I’m not sure I like it as much as the original speeder, and I’m also not sure it necessarily fits with the other First Order vehicles, though it’s hard to say. It’s certainly not a bad design. The color scheme of the bike has been done to match with the TIE Fighter (and, in turn, the included Stormtrooper). The paint application is nice and sharp, and the color scheme adds a lot of fun to the design. The bike has not extras other than the included Trooper. A flight stand would have been much appreciated, especially since the bike still has the spot in the back where said stand would attach.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up this set from a Walgreens near where my family vacations over the holidays. I had seen the set a few times, and, after a bit of pestering from Super Awesome Girlfriend and my brother, I decided to finally pick it up. It’s hard to say that this set offers the same amount of value as the equally-priced Assault Walker, but it’s still pretty fun, and the included Trooper is definitely one of the cooler ones!

#0809: First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter

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

FIRST ORDER SPECIAL FORCES TIE FIGHTER (w/ FIRST ORDER TIE FIGHTER PILOT)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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It’s day 8 of the Post-Christmas gift reviews. I’ll be continuing off of yesterday’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens-themed review, by taking a look at another of the franchise’s thrilling space ships. I can’t very well let the Resistance have all the fun, so let’s have a look at the First Order’s own TIE Fighter.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TIEFighterFO2Since their inception, the TIE fighters have had their own specific branch of Troopers assigned to them, unsurprisingly titled “TIE Fighter Pilots.” Who could have seen that one coming? Pretty much everybody, that’s who. The TIE Pilot is a little on the short side (a common trait for TIE Pilot figures) coming in at a little under 3 ¾ inches tall.  He’s got the standard 5 points of articulation as well, in case you were wondering. The TIE Fighter Pilot appears to have an all-new sculpt, or at least a heavily tweaked version of the single-carded figure’s body sculpt. The TIE Fighter Pilot’s design hasn’t changed drastically since the Original Trilogy, but they appear to be a bit more armored and overall more streamlined than their predecessors. The sculpt is pretty decent overall, with lots of nice small detail work. The figure sports a removable helmet, which is a little bit on the bulky side and is a little soft on details, but is otherwise a pretty well executed piece. Underneath the helmet is a somewhat generic head, which works. Mine has this weird formation running down his forehead, but looking at pictures of other figures online, this appears to just be a malformation of the sculpt. So, I guess my TIE Fighter Pilot’s just got an awesome face scar that no one else’s has! Paint on the TIE Pilot is rather minimal. He’s mostly just molded in black, but he does have a few extra details here and there, such as the First Order insignia on his shoulders. His face also has a bit of paintwork, which actually looks a bit better than some of the other figures in the line. In addition to the removable helmet, the Tie Fighter Pilot also includes a small blaster pistol.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

TIEFighterFO4The main focus here, is, of course, the First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter. Which is quite a long name, isn’t it? Like Poe’s X-Wing, the TIE Fighter requires a bit of assembly when removed from the box. The lower cannons need to be popped into place (which is just the slightest bit unnerving), as do the wings. Once put together, the TIE Fighter stands 11 ½ inches tall, 10 inches wide, and is 9 inches deep. It has an opening cockpit hatch, as well as a rotating cannon on the bottom. Over the course of the Original Trilogy, the design of the TIE Fighter slowly evolved. By the time of The Force Awakens, it has gone back to something not too far removed from the design in A New Hope. According to J.J. Abrams, there was originally a far more advanced TIE Fighter design, but it was ultimately decided to go with a slightly more retro look, to make the connection between the two more clear. The sculpt of the TIE Fighter is actually quite impressive, especially when compared to the X-Wing. It’s still a little under-scaled for the 3 ¾ inch figures, but the generally larger size of the cockpit means that getting the pilot in place is a fair bit easier here than it was with the X-Wing. Of course, the TIE Fighter in the film was built for two. This fighter has two seats, but they aren’t quite oriented like they are in the film, in part due to the size of the fighter and also due to the slightly limited articulation of the figures. Getting two figures in place is definitely tricky; Stormtroopers are too large to fit, so you’ll need to actually have one of the single carded TIE Pilots to make it work. The sculpted details on this are quite nicely handled. They’re still a bit simplified compared to the actual movie design, but all the important details are there and the ship as a whole looks pretty sharp. Also, small bonus: the top of the hatch has a spot to stow the pilot’s blaster, which is pretty cool.  The TIE Fighter is, fortunately, not plagued by as many construction issues as the X-Wing, but you will want to keep an eye on the wings. One of mine is TIEFighterFO3just the slightest bit warped. It’s really not noticeable unless you’re looking for it, but it’s annoying nonetheless. Like Poe’s X-Wing, paint is a key piece in why this is a “special forces” TIE Fighter. It’s denoted by the red stripe, on the fighter’s left side. The red is pretty consistent, though there are a few missed spots at some of the connecting points. The rest of the ship is more or less molded in the proper varieties of grey, so very little paint is used. I like this, because it makes for a sharper overall design. The TIE Fighter has two spring loaded feature. The first is a missile launching feature, activated by a button at the bottom, just below the cannon. The two missiles at the front launch, though the mechanism doesn’t appear to be as strong as the one on the X-Wing. The second feature is the wing-launching feature, which replicates what happens to the TIE Fighters when they’re shot in a space battle. There’s a button at the base of each wing, which pops them off. It’s a fair feature, but it does mean the wings will occasionally just pop off on their own.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The TIE Fighter was another Christmas gift from my parents, just like the X-Wing. I really like this one a lot, and it’s better put together than the X-Wing. Of course, it’s not the X-Wing, which is a slight strike against it, but it is still fun. And when I opened this one, my brother may or may not have picked it up and chased me around the house while I played with my X-Wing.

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#0808: Poe’s X-Wing Fighter

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

POE’S X-WING FIGHTER (w/ POE DAMERON)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

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For day 7 of the Post-Christmas gift reviews, I’ll be venturing back into that galaxy far, far away. However, this time I’ll actually be looking at something from the new movie.

Back when Kenner had just gotten the Star Wars license, and they were deciding on scale, George Lucas was adamant that the figures be small enough that in-scale ships were still a possibility, which led to the decision to use the 3 ¾ inch scale, and ultimately had an undying impact on the action figure industry as a whole. See, the ships were a key piece of the story, since you can’t very have those titular “Star Wars” without them. One of the more distinctive ships was the X-Wing fighter, the main ship of all our favorite Rebel pilots. The X-Wings have made a triumphant return in The Force Awakens, and a triumphant return to the toy aisles with today’s focus, Poe’s X-Wing Fighter.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PoeXwing2Seeing as the name of this set is “Poe’s X-Wing Fighter,” it’s not really a huge shock that the included pilot is Poe Dameron. The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and has the same 5 points of articulation as all the other 3 ¾ inch Force Awakens figures. Poe’s body looks to be the same one that was used on the single release Poe, though I don’t actually have one to compare. It’s a decent enough sculpt. The jumpsuit has a reasonable amount of texturing and there’s some nice layering to the sculpt. The vest seems a little soft in some areas, but not terribly so. The head sculpt is shared with the “Armor Up” version of the character. I liked it well enough when I reviewed that figure, and I like it well enough here. It’s not a perfect match for Oscar Isaac, but it isn’t terrible either. At the very least, it’s got a slightly better paint job (though the skin tone is definitely too pale). The rest of the paint is passable, but nothing tremendous. There’s a fair bit of bleed over in several areas, and the edges of the vest are fairly fuzzy. Poe includes a helmet and a small blaster. The helmet is actually really cool, if perhaps slightly oversized, and the gun looks to be the same piece included with Goss Toowers.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

Let’s be honest here, nobody was really buying this set for the figure, were they? No, the selling point is the awesome X-Wing fighter he’s meant to fly! Out of the box, there’s a tiny bit of required assembly. The cannons and the nose of the fighter are packed separately from the main vehicle, so they have to be attached, and there are also a few small decals to be placed inside the cockpit. Once assembled, the main body of the vehicle is 15 ½ inches  in length and it has a 13 inch wingspan. The X-Wing has 2 points of “articulation” for the cockpit and the landing gear. The cockpit could stand to open just a bit more, but other than that, the basic movement is pretty smooth. The X-Wing fighters in The Force Awakens got an all-new design (officially dubbed the T-70), inspired by Ralph McQuarrie’s original concept drawings from the first movie. It’s a slightly more svelte, less cobbled together look than the prior T-65. The toy gets a new sculpt designed to replicate the design from the film. Some changes have definitely been made for the sake of a slightly easier to produce toy. Chief among them is the decision to scale the whole thing down just a bit. It’s really not that evident, except for poor Poe having to do some serious slouching to fit in the cockpit with the top shut. In addition, some of the more intricate details of the craft have been made less intricate, which gives the whole thing a slightly more simplified look. Given that this ship is designed to go with the 5 POA 3 ¾ inch figures, these changes are reasonable, and make it so the ship fits in with the rest of those offerings.

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The ship has a non-removable BB-8 built in, much like the R2-D2s built into the X-Wing toys of old. I was happy to see he got a fully detailed sculpt, which matches up pretty well to the single release figure. The construction of the X-Wing isn’t without its issues, though. The most glaring ones are pretty much all related to the parts that were separate in the box. The first, and by far the most minor issue for me, is the softer rubber material used for the nose. This is clearly a safety standards thing, so I can understand why it was done. It really doesn’t look that bad, and my only real concern is how it will hold up over time. The big issue is the level of warping present on the wing cannons. They come like that out of the box, and look a bit on the silly side. Fortunately, there are a few fixes that can be applied, or, if you don’t want to fix them yourself, you can just shoot Hasbro an email and they’ll send you a replacement set for free. Other than that, all the other nits are fairly minor. There are a few exposed screws, but they’re all in fairly out of the way places. The general construction of this ship really isn’t horrible. Paint is something of a key piece on this one, since it’s the color scheme that denotes the fighter as Poe’s. The grey/orange scheme is pretty striking here, and it works nicely with the mold. The actual paint is fairly basic, with just solid color work. There are some areas with some slightly uneven coverage, but the overall look is quite good. BB-8’s head gets some nice work, but his body is left completely unpainted, which is just a tad jarring. The X-Wing has two action features. The main one is the wing feature. When BB-8 is pressed, the wings pop open into the signature X formation. When the button behind him is pushed, they go back to their normal positioning. The mechanism isn’t particularly strong, so the wings won’t stay open if you set the ship down, which is a tiny bit of a letdown (and it also made taking pictures rather hard). The other feature is a more simple missile launching one. Pressing a button on the underside of the fighter launches the included missile. It’s actually surprisingly powerful, so try not to shoot your eye out.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Poe’s X-Wing Fighter was another Christmas gift from my incredibly supportive parents. It’s not a perfect item. I can make a list of the issues, I can say it’s a step back after the more advanced X-Wings we’ve gotten in the past. It’s under-sized, and the cannons are warped, and maybe the paint could be better. But when I opened this thing up and put it together? Pure joy. I think it might just be my favorite item I received for Christmas. Seriously, I was so excited that I may or may not have run through the house with it making flying sounds…

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