Monthly Archives: November 2010

Nov 5 2010

Marvel Universe: Winter Soldier by Hasbro

I’ve been looking forward to getting this figure, because I’m a pretty big fan of Winter Soldiers’ backstory. For whatever reason I’ve always enjoyed seeing elements of The Cold War bleed into my comic book storylines. I also love the way twisted circumstances basically turned Bucky into Cap’s polar opposite. Anyway, with Winter Soldier’s specialty in weapons and his bionic arm, he’s a perfect recipe for a great action figure. Obviously, Hasbro recognized this too and they definitely delivered on the goods with this figure.

The artwork on the card is pretty good. He looks pissed off, but you would be too if you had been frozen, brainwashed and used as a tool by the filthy Commies. He’s also brandishing both of the weapons included with the figure, which is a cool touch. The bubble displays the figure and his weapons nicely.

Winter Soldier’s body sculpt consists of a fairly non-descript, dark blue jumpsuit with high collar and a tiny zipper sculpted into the front of the chest. He’s also got a thins trap running across his torso and a shoulder strap where his bionic arm is. The bionic arm is sculpted into segments, has a soft plastic cable running the length of it and a nice Red Star sculpted into the shoulder. I really like what Hasbro did with the head sculpt, with the hair molded as a separate piece. Winter Soldier has a cool gunbelt, holster and thigh strap, all made from one piece of soft plastic.

There isn’t a whole lot of paintwork on this figure, but what’s here is really good. The tarnished metal finish on the bionic arm looks really nice and the paintwork around his mask is executed with precision. I think the thing I find most impressive is the intricate little bit of paintwork applied to the zipper on his shirt.

Winter Soldier comes with a figure stand, profile card, Top Secret document and two weapons, a pistol and an assault rifle with an under-the-barrel grenade launcher. Both weapons are cast entirely in black, are nicely sculpted and basically look like what you might get with a modern GI JOE figure. He can hold both weapons really well, and the pistol fits into his hip holster.

The articulation on this figure comes up a little short compared to sum, but with 18 points, it’s still pretty good. You get a ball jointed neck. The arms have ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the wrists and biceps and hinged elbows. The legs have ball joints in the hips, double hinged knees and hinges and swivels in the ankles. He also has a ball joint in the torso. He’s missing the waist swivel that most of the male figures have and I would have liked a couple of swivels in the thighs. Still, his articulation is none too shabby.

I don’t know what the general popularity of Winter Soldier is, but if you’re a fan like me, I think you’ll really dig this figure. But even if you aren’t a fan, I think this guy would be a nice pick-up for GI JOE collectors. Either as a potential custom or just as he is, he would fit in pretty well with that whole universe.

Nov 4 2010

Marvel Universe: Thor (Modern Version) by Hasbro

I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of Thor. It may have to do with the old cartoon they used to run when I was a kid, with that corny opening theme song. I’m pretty sure it scarred me deep down inside. At the same time, I’ve enjoyed many of his comic appearances, and I am finally starting to look forward to the upcoming movie as we continue to strike our path toward the Avengers film. I’m not sure yet whether I’ll be picking up many of Thor’s movie figures, but I do know that I’m very happy to have this Thor figure that Hasbro released in the MU series.

Yep, same packaging. Even as someone who doesn’t care a whole lot about Thor, I gotta say I love the artwork. Thor’s a pretty meaty figure and between him and his cape he takes up most of the bubble. I love the way his hammer, Mjolnir, is so prominantly mounted right beside his head.

Thor is definitely up there as being of the most detailed and complex sculpts in the MU series thus far. Every tiny bit of this figure is brimming with loving attention to detail. His hauberk shows wrinkles, his chainmail is comprised of a sculpted checkered pattern. His soft plastic cape is actually fastened by two of the huge rivets on his chest, while brown belts and straps crisscross his boots, waist and chest. The headsculpt is pretty good, although his nose seems a little too flat and broad for a perfect likeness, but his long blonde hair is reproduced in soft plastic as are the feathered wings on his helmet.

As good as the sculpt is, there’s also a lot of paintwork to back it up. Thor’s hauberk and boots appear to be a gunmetal blue with some black mixed in. The chainmail is matte silver as are the rivets in his hauberk and his helm. It might have been cool to see a high gloss, metallic silver on these parts, but the more rustic matte silver has its own charms. His belts are brown and his cape is a deep maroon. There’s also very little slop or bleeding on the paintwork.

Thor comes with a figure stand, profile card and Top Secret document. He also comes with his trusty hammer, Mjolnir, of course. The sculpt on the hammer is every bit as good as the figure. The head of the hammer is pitted and worn and the handle is sculpted with braided straps, ending in a lanyard.

Articulation? Oh yeah. You get a ball jointed neck. The arms have ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists and hinged elbows. The legs have ball joints in the hips, swivels in the thighs, double hinged knees and hinges and swivels in the ankles. Thor also has a ball joint in the torso and a swivel in the waist. That’s a total of 21 points of articulation. Unfortunately, the figure is a bit top heavy and he has a habit of toppling over even when he’s plugged into his stand.

Hey, even if you’re like me and a little lukewarm on Thor, it’s still hard to deny this is a really great figure all around. Besides, which, he’s essential to building your Avengers team, so you might as well get him anyway. He’s not terribly uncommon on the pegs, at least not in my area where MU figures tend to be rare finds. In fact, he’s one of the very few MU figures that I was able to track down in a store when I was looking for him, rather than have to go the online ordering route.

Nov 4 2010

Marvel Universe: Juggernaut by Hasbro

Back when I was collecting Marvel Legends, Juggernaut was my absolute favorite figure. I really wish I still had him, if for no other reason because he now goes for a hefty sum on Ebay. I was mighty glad to be able to get him again, even in this diminished scale as part of Marvel Universe.

The card features some great artwork and as expected, Juggernaut really fills out the card’s deeper bubble. Juggs is appropriately large, easily measuring up to The Hulk and The Thing in terms of height and bulk.

My favorite thing about this sculpt is the way Hasbro molded Juggernaut’s face and helmet as two pieces. It adds great depth to the figure’s head and really makes him look like his helmet is removable even though it isn’t. The texturing, sculpted bolts, and paint job on the helmet also makes it look a lot like weathered, pitted old metal. Fantastic. His muscular is wonderfully sculpted and the straps on his arms and fists are nicely reproduced here as well. His bicep straps are actually separate pieces and even the treads on his boots are intricately sculpted.

Juggernaut is more or less a three colored figure. You have the brown outfit, his skintone and the maroon for his belt and boots. Most of the figure is molded in the appropriate colors, so there aren’t a lot of paint apps at work here, although the brown parts have a nice deeper shading.

Along with the figure stand, Juggernaut comes with his profile card and his Top Secret document. I don’t usually have a lot to say about the documents, but Juggernaut’s is hillariously a handwritten threatening letter to Osborne telling him to leave him alone. I just can’t help picturing Juggernaut hunched over a desk feverishly hammering out this letter. Great stuff. He actually has surprisingly good penmanship.

The articulation is on par with the rest of the MU lineup, although Juggernaut’s huge sculpted muscles make some of his joint movement more limited than usual. I’m not sure what type of joint is used on the neck, but his head can pretty much just turn. His arms have ball jointed shoulders, hinged elbows and swivels in the biceps and forearms. His legs have ball joints at the hips, swivels in the thighs, double hinged knees and swivels at the top of the boots. He also has a ball joint in the torso.
Basically, this is my definition of a “must have” figure. Sure, it helps that I love the X-Men and the Juggernaut character, but even still, it’s hard to find much not to like here. He’s a big, beautifully sculpted and hefty figure, and well worth the extra couple of bucks I had to pay to get him online.

Nov 4 2010

Marvel Universe: AIM Soldier by Hasbro

I know. With dozens of excellent Marvel Universe figures to choose from, why am I wasting a slot on mister canary pants, here? Well, truth be told, the MU themed week is going to have to outlive its originally intended week-long run, if I’m ever going to get to all the figures I want to look at, so don’t worry, he’s not taking anything away from any of the other figures. Besides, the Galactic Empire had its Stormtroopers, Cobra has its Vipers, and Marvel has its AIM soldiers. Although the Empire would take on any old Clone and I doubt Cobra’s hiring standards were all that rigid, but you had to be a PhD or at least have a Masters Degree to don the yellow jumpsuit of AIM and get a crack at taking down one of Marvel’s superheroes.

Same old packaging. The artwork here isn’t all that exciting, but the bubble shows off the figure and his weapons pretty well.

The sculpt is certainly faithful to the character design, but there just isn’t a lot to it. The most trademark aspect of the figure is his big helmeted flattop head, which, along with his screened visor makes him look like a beekeeper gone postal. What detail is here is mostly just wrinkles in his uniform. He has a black bandolier strap, which is a separate piece, complete with sculpted ammo pouches and a couple of canister grenades. The only other detail worth mentioning is the sculpted belt.

There aren’t a lot of paint apps here either. The figure is molded almost entirely in matte yellow. His boots and collar are black and he’s got a gold belt with grey panels and his screen visor is painted grey too. Some shading or wash would have helped make this guy a little more exciting.

The Soldier comes with a figure stand, profile card and the usual Top Secret document. He also has two weapons, a large bazooka-looking weapon and a pistol. Both pieces are molded in black plastic.

The AIM Soldier’s articulation is great, with a total of 20 points. He has a ball jointed neck. His arms have ball jointed shoulders, swivels in his biceps and wrists, and hinged elbows. His legs have ball jointed hips, swivels in the thighs, double hinged knees and his ankles are hinged and swivel. He also has a ball joint in his torso.

So yeah, in a Universe of amazing characters, the AIM Soldier here isn’t the most exciting guy around. I probably wouldn’t have picked him up if I hadn’t spent so much time beating the hell out of hundreds of these guys playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance on my Xbox. Say what you will, he fits the original design perfectly and is a good potential army builder if you want some thugs to battle against your heroes.

 

Nov 3 2010

Marvel Universe: Iron Patriot by Hasbro

Next up on the MU checklist is Iron Patriot, aka Norm Osborne. We’ve already looked at his Green Goblin personna, but this figure depicts the version of him from the Dark Reign story arc as he dons the Iron Patriot armor and takes on his new role as “hero.” As the name suggests, Iron Patriot is an amalgam of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor and Captain America’s personna. Whatever you think of the idea, aesthetically, this figure is amazing.

Same great packaging we’ve been getting for a while now. The artwork on the card really looks nice and the figure is displayed well in the bubble. I could have done without the crappy energy beam being so prominantly displayed, but more on that later.

The armor is sort of a cross between the classic and the new. It isn’t as angular as the modern Iron Man suit, but it does have some added plates on the shoulders and off the hips, as well as reinforcements on the thighs. At the same time, it retains a smidgen of the older, more organic looking armor, particularly in the biceps and abdomen and the calves. There are some nicely sculpted panel lines throughout the figure, and I really dig the design of the helmet. His left hand is open to show off the beam emitter in his palm, while his right is clenched into a fist.

The colors on this figure are absolutely striking. You get a red, silver and blue motif with a hint of metallic finish. I also love the star shaped Uni-Beam emitter on the chest. The only problem with Iron Patriot is the finish is prone to chip. I’ve got one tiny chip already starting on mine, although it doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse.

Hasbro cut back just a bit on the articulation because of the armor sculpt, but Iron Patriot is still sporting 20 points of articulation. Yeah, not too shabby. He has a ball jointed neck. His arms have ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists and hinged elbows. His legs have ball joints in the hips, swivels in the thighs, double hinges in the knees and swivels and hinges in the ankles. He also has a ball joint in the waist. The missing swivel in the waist isn’t all that problematic, since he can still swivel up at the chest.

Iron Patriot comes with a figure stand, profile card and Top Secret documents. He also comes with a clear yellow energy beam that clips onto his wrist. It’s the exact same piece that came with the Classic version of Iron Man, released in Marvel Universe a little while back. I’m not usually crazy about these added energy bits, and this one in particular just doesn’t work for me at all. There’s no real way to clip it on so that it looks like anything other than a piece of plastic clipped to his wrist.

Even if you have no knowledge or interest in the Dark Reign story, I’d still recommend this figure as a pick up. The blended homage to two superheroes works well and he’s all around one amazing looking figure. As an added incentive, Iron Patriot is one of the easier figures to come by on the pegs. And if for some reason you can’t find him at your local toy aisle, he can be had online for a fraction of what a lot of the other MU figures tend to go for through e-tailers.

Nov 2 2010

Marvel Universe: Captain America and Classic Captain America by Hasbro

Pretty soon Captain America will get his turn at the Hollywood spotlight and we can expect to see the pegs packed with all new Cap figures. Fortunately, fans don’t have to wait that long, because Hasbro has already delivered two amazing Captain America figures in their Marvel Universe lineup: There’s the modern era version and his classic counterpart. Oh, man, do I love these figures.

Modern Cap is simply fantastic. The sculpt is just about dead on perfect. The head is complete with sculpted A and his ears exposed through the hood. The chest of his uniform is nicely  textured and Cap even has little pouches on his gauntlets and laced boots. His belt looks to be a separate piece but its sculpted in place with ammo pouches and a canteen. No doubt about it, plenty of love went into the details of this sculpt.

The paintwork on my figure is nearly immaculate. What a profound difference from the shoddy paint on yesterday’s Ms. Marvel figure. The star on his chest and the A on his hood are both razor sharp, as are the red and white stripes on his stomach. Both his legs and his boots feature some extra brush work to add some depth to the paint. Particularly impressive is the sharp paintwork on the shield, which is also just about perfect. Even his boot laces are painted.

The shield can be clipped onto Cap’s arm and it also has two elastic straps so it can be worn on his back.

Classic Cap reuses some parts, but there’s plenty new here to show Hasbro went the extra mile. Obviously, the head sculpt is completely new, with the hood enclosing the ears and featuring the tiny wings on the sides. The torso is mostly the same, although the star on the chest is bigger and his belt is completely resculpted. The legs and arms are mostly the same, but with brand new sculpts for the gauntlets and boots.

The coloring on Classic Cap is a more washed out than the modern version and the reds are closer to maroon. The shield is the old style “heater” type with a peaked top and the paint apps are razor sharp. In fact, the only issue with the paint on this figure is a little bit of bleeding around the edges of his mask.
In addition to his shield, Classic Cap came with a figure stand, which the Modern Cap lacked. Both figures came with the usual Top Secret portfolio with collector card and papers.

Both figures have a slick 22 points of articulation. Their necks are ball jointed. The arms have ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and forearms and hinged elbows. The torso features a swivel and a ball joint. The legs have ball joints in the hips, double hinged knees and swivels at the boots along with hinges and swivels in the ankles.

As excited I am to pick up the new movie figure that Hasbro will no doubt be releasing, these two figures are really all the Captain America I need. They’re both homeruns, whether you prefer the classic or the modern or just have to have both. Either way, these are two really exceptional figures in the MU lineup.

Nov 1 2010

Marvel Universe: Ms. Marvel by Hasbro

I really wanted to get the classic version of Ms. Marvel, but so far, she’s slipped my grasp and so I had to settle for this more contemporary version, at least for the time being. I’ve never considered her one of my A-lister characters in the Marvel Universe, [does anyone? -FF] but then I’ll take any chance to up my ranks of female superheroes in plastic form. Unfortunately, as it turns out I have more than a few issues with this figure, some of which are in the design, some are quailty control, and I guess some are just a matter of personal taste.

Overall, I think the sculpt is fine. This figure captures Ms. Marvel’s contemporary character design very well and she comes off as a pretty sexy for a smaller scale figure. Granted, there isn’t a lot of sculpted detail to the body to set her apart, but I like the fact that the belt is a separate piece and just dangles around her waist like Toybiz’s old Rogue figure. The head sculpt is fine, but I’m not crazy about the windblown hair. It doesn’t really inhibit her neck articulation, but I would have liked something a little more passive.

The paint apps on this figure are not up to the usual standards for the line, which is problematic, because this figure relies more on paint than any sculpted details. Particularly offensive is all the slop around the lines between her boots and thighs, as well as some flesh tone splatter around her black boots. The figure looks like it’s a hand painted custom, and not a very good one at that. It’s a shame because the paint apps on her face are actually quite good.

Ms. Marvel’s articulation is good, but Hasbro tuned it down a couple of notches from what we’re used to seeing from the males in this line, and that’s pretty frustrating. You get a ball jointed neck, the arms have ball joints in the shoulders, hinged elbows and swivel wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double hinged knees and hinges and swivels in the ankles. The torso swivels and has a banded joint. Most conspicuous is the absense of any kind of swivel joints in her biceps.

The figure comes with two accessories, both are clear yellow plastic energy bursts that fit onto her hands. They don’t do a lot for me, but at least you have the option to toss them aside with no harm to the figure. She also comes with the standard Top Secret envelope of papers and… yeah, no figure stand.

If I was a huge fan of the character, this figure woudn’t have satisfied me at all. As it stands, I only have a passing familiarity with her, so I’m only mildly purturbed that the figure didn’t turn out better. Don’t get me wrong, she’s got a lot of good points, and by no means is she a total bust, but a little extra care could have made her a lot better and the quality comes up short when compared with other figures in the MU lineup.