Aug 17 2015

Marvel Legends (Ultron Wave): Giant Man and BAF Ultron by Hasbro

It’s been a long trip since starting this wave with Ant-Man many weeks ago, but now I’m finally up to the final boxed figure and, oh what the hell, we’ll check out the BAF today too just so that I can finally put this wave to bed. The final figure is Giant Man and he also gives us a right leg, the last piece needed to put together the BAF Ultron.

And look! It’s actually Hank Pym! Yes, while all the packages in this wave have Ant-Man stamped on the top and very ant-y illustrations on the side panels, only a select few (Wasp and Ant-Man) of these figures until now could really be considered Ant-Man related. Unless you want to argue that the three villains have all had run ins with The Avengers, and there’s your rather tenuous connection. And since I don’t think we’ll be seeing a Michael Douglas figure anytime soon, Giant Man here is as close as we’re likely to get to Pym for the time being. I find all this pretty ironic since you could practically build an entire wave of figures just out of Pym’s knack for changing costumes and identities.

Giant Man is a very simple figure, with his entire costume being achieved via a painted buck.. Normally, that would be fine, I actually really dig this costume, but unfortunately, the craftsmanship just isn’t here. The red plastic that they used for a good portion of this figure feels exceptionally gummy and it doesn’t seem to hold the black paint very well. There’s chipping to the black as well as some transfer from the black onto the red. What’s more, the lower boots are sculpted in black plastic and it bleeds through the red paint, which doesn’t match the rest of the figure well to begin with. You also get a cape hole in the back from whatever character this buck was originally used for. Besides looking a bit off, the figure feels rather cheap in hand, which is rather unusual for the Legends line.

The real shame here is that as rough as the body is, the head sculpt is quite good. The definition in the face sculpt is fantastic and the paint lines are all crisp and clean. I especially dig the soft plastic antenna. This head really needed a different body to attach to.

Articulation is standard stuff for this line. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, the elbows are double hinged and there are swivels in the biceps. THe legs are ball jointed at the hips, the knees are double hinged, the ankles have hinges and rockers, and there are swivels in both the thighs and at the tops of the boots. The torso features a swivel in the waist, an ab crunch hinge, and the neck is both ball jointed and hinged. While he can take and hold a lot of good poses, the elbow hinges are all rubbery, which is always disappointing.

I’ve got no problems with Hasbro painting costumes on bucks as opposed to throwing in a lot of new sculpting, but if you’re going to do it, you have to do it right. Giant Man, from the neck down, looks like a barely competant custom job and that’s too bad, because I was really looking forward to this guy, especially to use with my Universe scaled figures. But hey, at least he gave us a leg, so let’s put that sucker in and check out…

ULTRON! Yes, this is indeed Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Spader Ultron and if you’ve collected this entire wave than you have the head, torso, arms, and legs needed to assemble him. He’s a big guy, easily a head and shoulders above your average Legends figure. It wasn’t until seeing this figure (and the Hot Toys one) that I realized Ultron was so damn big and it certainly justifies his existence as a Build-A-Figure. I’ve only seen Age of Ultron a couple of times and I’m really anxious for it to hit Blu-Ray so I can start scrutinizing it a lot more for details such as this. It’s a busy movie and there’s a lot of stuff to see.

The sculpt here is pretty good with a lot of detail to the armor. Yeah, in some areas it doesn’t quite live up to all the fine points of the movie design, but for a Legends BAF it gets the job done and it looks really nice on the shelf. I do like that both of his hands are sculpted to look like they’re shooting beams out of his palms.

I also really dig the head sculpt. What the body lacks in some details, I think the figure makes up for in the portrait, which captures the movie look perfectly. The paint does feel a little flat in some areas. You get a base grey plastic with some silver sprayed over some areas and a little red here and there. A more deliberate deco would have helped a lot, but again, what we got is serviceable and when the light hits it just right the silver paint does look exceptionally nice. I certainly like what they did here a lot better than if they had just sprayed the whole thing silver, or used the crappy looking plastic that they did for the last Legends Ultron.

The articulation is overall pretty good. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double hinged elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels at the top of the thighs, double hinged knees, and hinged ankles with lateral rockers. Ultron can swivel at the waist and has an ab crunch hinge. The neck is ball jointed and hinged. The cut through the waist looks rather awkward when swiveling, but that can’t really be helped.

The movie version of Ultron is a design that really needs a higher end figure to do it justice, but I think what we got here is pretty damn good. I can’t say as there are any figures in this wave that I would have passed on if it weren’t for needing the BAF part. It was overall a solid assortment, which happily added quite a few villains to my shelves while also expanding my Marvel Cinematic Universe Collection by two. I’d say that Giant Man was the biggest let down here, and it’s possible that a lot of that has to do with the QC on my specific figure. Either way, with this wave down, I’ve still got a lot of figures to pick up to stay current, including The Hobgoblin Wave, which I initially passed on, The Hulkbuster and Rhino Waves, which are just starting to trickle out, and I’m still considering going back and finishing up that Amazing Spider-Man 2 Wave just so I can finish up that Ultimate Green Goblin. Phew! You’re killing me, Hasbro, but don’t stop!

Aug 14 2015

Figma “Sword Art Online” Kirito by Max Factory

Where does the time go? It seems like Anime Import Week just started and here we are on the last day. Well, I started this week with a look at a Sword Art Online statue and now I’m dipping into that wonderful anime again to end the week with a look at Kirito from the Figma action figure line. This is Kirito from the first story arc and also my favorite look for the character.

We saw the standard Figma packaging yesterday with Muv Luv’s Yui Takamura and this is pretty much the same thing. It’s a great little package that doesn’t waste a lot of space. You get a sizeable window to see the figure inside and the side panel shows the figure, which is great if you’re like me and store these boxes lined up on a bookshelf. Of course, everything is collector friendly, and they even provide a custom Figma Ziploc baggie to keep your extra bits in if you aren’t going to save the box. In addition to the figure, the box contains a sprue with three extra pairs of hands, two additional portraits, two swords and scabbards, two connection pieces to attach the swords to the back, a figure stand, and a folded instruction sheet.

IT’S A BEATER!!! Yes, Kirito features his avatar’s trademark costume, which is nearly all black with some gray trim. He has his long duster, which is hinged at the back so the flaps can easily give way for those more extreme poses. It also allows the coat to be billowed out or worn closer to the legs. The straps all look good and the paint is sharp and even with no flubs that I can see. While the figure isn’t over encumbered with detail, it matches the character’s design perfectly.

There are three swappable portraits: A standard face, an angry attack face, and a slightly sad face. If you have any experience with a Figma or Figuart then changing the faces out should be readily familiar. You just remove the front of the hair piece, remove the face, slap the new one on and replace the hair. My only gripe here is I wish they would have included a more serious face instead of the sad face. But in the end, he’s probably going to spend most of his life on the shelf in mid attack, so I’ll probably go with the attack face most of the time anyway.

Naturally, Kirito comes with his two swords, Elucidator and Dark Repulser, and both swords come with a functional scabbard. There’s also two connection pieces to wear the sword on the back. One is designed to just hold Elucidator and it angles it off over his shoulder for easy access.

Despite being the weaker of the two swords, Elucidator is still my favorite. I just really dig the design where the blade meets the hilt and the darker coloring on the face of the blade. The blade features a stiff plastic blade, so no worries about warping, and it looks great in his hand. The super thin connection at the top of the hilt does worry me though. It doesn’t look like it would take much to snap it, and I’m not about to try the pose on the back of the package that has him holding it while it’s still in the scabbard.

The other connection piece allows Kirito to wear both swords crisscrossed on his back.

And while Elucidator is my clear favorite, I don’t want to take anything away from Dark Repulser, because it too is a beautiful piece of weaponry. The blue plastic they used for the blade gives it an almost ethereal glow and there’s some particularly nice detail work on the crossguard.

Kirito also comes with a couple of effect parts for the swords that fit over the blades and are supposed to make them look like they are in mid swing. Effect parts are usually hit or miss with me, but I have to say I think these are especially awful. They fit the blades well, but I don’t think they look all that great and they’re so damn heavy, it’s hard to keep Kirito’s arm raised with them attached. The one for Dark Repulser is the better of the two, just because it matches the color of the blade. Points for trying, but I can’t imagine these will ever come out of the package again.

The stand is exactly the same as the one included with every other Figma I’ve featured. It’s a simple clear base with a support arm that pegs into the base and into the back of the figure. There are three hinges, and overall it gets the job done, but the bases on these always looked and felt rather flimsy to me.

Kirito was one of those characters that I just had to have on my shelf, and I’ve got to say this is a fantastic figure. Part of the problem with getting into an anime series late is when I like it and I want to buy figures or statues, they’re only available at high prices through secondary sellers. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case here. Kirito set me back about $45, which isn’t a bad deal for a Figma these days. I’m pretty sure this is the re-issue figure as the original was going for quite a lot of money. As long as it’s an authentic product from Max Factory, I don’t care much about primary or secondary releases, I’m just glad to get him without having to spend a lot. Similarly, I recently picked up the re-release of Asuna, so you can expect a Feature on her to turn up here in the next couple of weeks.

Aug 13 2015

Figma “Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse” Yui Takamura by Max Factory

Anime Import Week is entering its final phase as I’m finishing it off with two Figmas from two anime series for which I have a lot of affection. Today’s, however, is one that inexplicably none of my anime-watching friends (OK, all three of them) have ever seen and that is the excellent Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. Previously, I’ve looked at three pieces of merch from this series in the form of Kotobukiya’s 1/8 Scale Statues of Yui Takamura, Inia Sestina, and Cryska Barchenowa. Today I’m checking out Figma’s version of Yui.

The packaging is pretty standard stuff, especially if you have a few Figmas in your collection. You get a window box that offers a good look at the figure and I love how the side panel of the box displays artwork of the figure for easy reference, because I tend to keep these lined up on a bookshelf. As far as packages go, it’s simple, attractive, functional, and collector friendly, so what more could you want?

Inside the box you get the figure, two additional portriats, two swords (one in scabbard and one out), a sprue of three additional pairs of hands, a figure stand, instruction sheet, and the ubiquitious Figma Ziploc bag for the extra parts.

Yui comes clad in her Type-00 Fortified Pilot Suit, which is recreated here in splendid detail. It’s a design that manages to preserve her shapely curves and yet adds on some more angular armor bits in strategic places, like her boots, wrists, and shoulders. Every part of the suit’s detail, including the panel lines, are part of the sculpt and the mustard, black, and purple paint is beautifully applied with just the right amount of sheen. The only quality issue I can see on my figure is a little nick to the paint on her left knee.This is easily my favorite, and arguably the most distinctive, TSF pilot suit in the series, and this figure nails the look perfectly.

Yui’s portraits include a somewhat passive face, a slightly sad face, and a shouty face, all of which include the sculpted chin and cheek guards from her suit. The hair is cast in a very soft plastic, which is very helpful since there’s a lot of it and some of it cascades down the front of her shoulders in two strands. It still makes it a little difficult to get a full range of motion out of her neck articulation, but I’d like to imagine the suit would have had some restrictive tendencies as well.

The hands include a pair of fists, a pair of relaxed hands, and two pairs designed for holding the sword, one rather tightly and another angling it.

Lastly, we have the two versions of the sword. The unsheathed version features a silver blade, although no painted hamon line, and a nicely detailed grim and tsuba. The version in the scabbard has the option to pull out the hilt piece if you want her holding both the loose sword and the scabbard, which is a great little touch. The scabbard doesn’t attach anywhere to the figure, but then I don’t remember her ever actually wearing it, so I’m going to say that’s accurate.

The figure stand is typical Figma fare. It’s functional, but I tend to find these stands to feel rather cheap, particularly in the base. I’ll also note here that the peg that secures into the back is not a good fit and I really have to twist it and apply a lot of force to get it in far enough to support the figure. In this regard, I tend to prefer the quality and design of Figuarts stands over these.

I’ve had my eye on this figure for a while now and only recently pulled the trigger because she turned up at a great price on Amazon, which put her at under $40. Yeah, I already have Koto’s superb statue of her, but she’s a great character with a great design, and ultimately I decided that I needed her in poseable figure form as well. I don’t believe that Inia ever got the Figma treatment, but Cryska did, and I’m certainly satisfied enough with this figure that I can easily see myself picking her up at some point down the line.

Aug 12 2015

Armor Girls Project: Mobile Suit Girl Wing Gundam (EW Version) by Bandai Tamashii Nations

“Mobile Suit Meets Girl!” That pithy little catch phrase on the package pretty much sums up the topic of today’s Feature. Armor Girl Project is what you get when you take a cute anime style gal and fit her with armor stylized after the iconic Mobile Suits of Gundam fame. Or in this case, it’s when you take a roughly Figuarts-style figure and bundle it with a dozen or so pieces of armor. It’s an interesting concept that I probably never would have experienced if I hadn’t stumbled upon an online retailer unloading a couple of these sets for half off. Bandai produced several of these sets and the one we’re looking at today is the Wing Gundam Endless Waltz Version.

I love the packaging because it’s so damn busy! I mean it’s a veritable visual explosion. The front shows a great picture of the figure all armored up and has a number of hexagonal windows giving you a peak at what’s inside. Flip the box over and you get a little taste of what you’re in for. Holy shit, I can’t wait!

Inside the box you get a multi-layered clear plastic tray with the figure surrounded by all those armor parts, weapons, extra hands, extra head, a base with a multi hinged stand, and a folded instruction sheet. Let’s start off with a look at the basic figure…

The figure definitely has a Figuarts feel to it only not quite as refined. She’s wearing what reminds me of a typical plugsuit-type outfit that a lot of these young gals piloting mechs seem to wear these days. The figure features some nice paintwork and detailing, and is quite solid with stiff joints and the ability to stand beautifully on her own. The head sculpt is typical cutesy fare with purple hair and a cowlick blowing up on the top of her head. While there are two heads included (one armored up and one regular), you can use either portrait with either head. I tend to go with the happier one for the base figure and keep the other portrait in the armored up head. The face and hair swap is handled much the same way as any Figuarts or Figma figure, although I’m not crazy about the way the head uses an angled peg to secure it as it leads to some floppy head syndrome.

The figure definitely goes for a more cutesy look than overly sexualized. I realize the two things can be synonymous when it comes to Japanese figures, but not so much in this case. The figure includes some slots and sockets required to attach the armor pieces, but there’s nothing there that’s so unsightly that it wrecks the aesthetics should you want to display her on her own. But what’s the point of that, eh? Let’s get her armored up. We’ll start with the feet and work our way up…

The feet un-peg and are replaced with the booted mech-style feet. The lower leg armor consists of a front piece that pegs on, a back sleeve that slides onto the leg and a rather complex assembly that pegs on the back and wraps around. It includes three ball jointed armor plates, that I like to think are intended as some kind of air brakes for when she’s flying. These leg assemblies look amazingly complex on the figure and while the plates have a habit of popping off the ball joints from time to time, they are quite well engineered. Next comes the belt assembly…

This assembly pegs into the back of her waist and wraps around to the front. These plates are all either hinged or ball jointed to allow for a decent amount of articulation in the hips. It’s a solid fit and works really well. And that brings us to the arms…

These are the only pieces in the set that I have an issue with. You un-peg the hands and slide them on and they’re just supposed to stay in place based on a snug fit as you push them up the arm. They work OK, but they tend to slide down when I’m handling the figure and cause some other issues with the weapons, which I’ll get to in a bit. The blade pieces are removable and the longer blades angled back toward the elbows are hinged. I should point out that this figure comes with a lot more hands then I’m bothering with. I’m settling for a fist on her left arm and a weapon holding hand on her right. Next comes the chest harness and shoulders…

This assembly pegs into her back and connects around her front with a ball joint. The shoulders than hinge forward and rest in place. Because they levitate over the actual shoulders, they don’t inhibit arm movement at all, although I do find myself having to re-position them a lot when posing her. Now it’s time to swap heads…

The alternate head features the iconic forehead crest and additional side pieces to drive the Mobile Suit homage home. Again, I prefer to use the more somber face for the armored up version, but you can swap out either one that suits your fancy. I wish the eyes were facing forward, as both faces have them looking off to the side and it can make getting the desired look when posing them a bit awkward. With the armored head attached, we’re just about done. The only thing left to do is attach the wings…

The wing assembly pegs in like a backpack with a “T” shaped tab and a hole in the back to accommodate the arm for the stand, and here’s where the stand really comes into play because the wings can make her a little back heavy and difficult to stand. They’re also absolutely magnificent and with them finally attached I can’t help but be in awe of how beautiful this figure looks. The iconic white, red, blue, and yellow coloring is so crisp and gorgeous and it’s made all the more spectacular from knowing I built this up from the base figure. The impressive wing assembly features hinges to allow them to be angled back and each individual wing plate is also hinged so that you can spread them out into a formidable plumage of cutesy mechanized death. And speaking of death, let’s talk weapons…

The figure includes the Buster Rifle and Shield. The shield attaches via a swivel arm that tabs into the forearm armor and it works fairly well. This piece adds some more brilliant red to the already fabulous color scheme and there’s some crisp writing tampo’d onto it.

The Buster Rifle can be a bitch to get on. It attaches in two places, with the grip going into the figure’s hand and the stock tabbing into the top of the arm armor. I’ve found it best to un-peg the hand, wrap it around the grip, then re-peg it and tab the stock. The real pain is getting the hand to peg back in again, but once it’s in it stays put pretty well. Before wrapping it up, let’s take a look at the stand and one extra weapon accessory…

The base is a giant white hexagon with three sockets to accommodate stand arms, although the set only comes with one. It’s a clear plastic piece with hinges at the base, midway up and at the point where it pegs into the figure. The middle hinge can be a little weak, but the top and bottom are more than enough to support the figure when she’s all armored up. As for the extra weapon, it’s a Beam Saber, which is a fun accessory for the base figure to wield.

These sets generally run in the $50-60 range and while they’ve been out of production for a little bit, they still seem to be plentiful on various online retailers. I picked up mine on clearance for $25 and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve had this box lying around for months and it’s crazy to me that it took this long for me to sit down and put it together, especially when the end result is such an awe inspiring display piece. I mean, I look at this thing and all I can say is… Wow! The coloring is just so beautiful and the mix of curvy girl and angular armor works splendidly. I have one more of these sets to build, which is the Custom Angelic Version, and I’m going to try not to wait so long to get to it.

Aug 11 2015

S.H. Figuarts: Sailor Uranus by Bandai Tamashii Nations

Japanese Import Week continues and it’s time to put another notch in my tiara with Sailor Uranus. Yes, I have a tiara and yes, I put notches in it every time I get a new one of these gals! Uranus has been sitting on “To Do” stack for very long time now, so let’s go ahead and give her her due.

After featuring six figures in this series, the packaging should be readily familiar. It’s a colorful and elegantly compact window box that shows off the figure and features a lot of photos of her in action. Most of the copy on the box is in Japanese, but there’s just enough English to keep us western collectors from being too confused. As always, the box is collector friendly and it helps to have somewhere to put all the extra little bits and bobs. I should note that like Neptune, I have very little familiarity with this character as I never had access to the later episodes of the anime when Uranus finally made her appearance. What little I do know comes from reading about the series. One of these days I’ll have to finish it.

Despite knowing so little about the character, I have to say that next to Sailor Mercury, Uranus may be my favorite figure in this series so far. No, it’s not that her outfit is dramatically different from the other gals, but rather it’s probably that blonde pixie cut that’s scratching my itch… metaphorically speaking of course.

The outfit consists of the same pleated skirt and giant bows, front and back. Most of these gals have unique footwear and in this case, Uranus is sporting a pair of very 80’s looking high-heeled boots. You get the same pearlescent white paint for most of the outfit and a very deep metallic blue (possibly purple?) for her skirt, boots, collar, and butt bow. The bow on her front is painted yellow. As always, the paint is pretty much flawless.

Besides a crazy amount of articulation, Uranus comes with the usual bevy of extra bits, including a few that are intended for another figure, which I’ll get to later. For starters, you get three additional faces. There’s the stock face is smiling ever so slightly, two slightly purturbed faces, one with the eyes looking off to the side, and one angry shouty, URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!” face.

Hands! It wouldn’t be a Figuart without tons and tons of hands. In addition to the usual culprets, Uranus also comes with a right hand designed for holding her Space Sword.

Bandai started something new with the release of Neptune, which is continued here and that’s the inclusion of a set of arms that are sculpted together, in this case crossed in front of her. These are attached by popping the regular arms off at the sleeve and replacing them with these. It’s a neat idea and the pose looks great, but dammit if those tiny little white sleeves don’t try to pop off and get lost almost every time.

Last, but not least, Uranus comes with her Space Sword, which is an awesomely garish sword that looks like something you might win with enough tickets at Chuck E Cheese. I freaking love it and she looks great holding it, especially when she’s unleashing, “SPACE SWORD BLASTER!”

As for those extra bits? Uranus comes with a love-struck face and set of hands designed for Sailor Moon. Yes, this will come in handy when I finally get Tuxedo Mask!

Even after seven figures, I still get a kick out of opening these gals and playing around with them, although it’s also nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tuxedo Mask is out now and I still have to double back and pick up Sailor Venus. Pluto is the one hold out that Bandai has been teasing us with forever and it seems like she’s finally going to be released some time later this year, and that’s where i can finally get off. Nope, no Chibi Moon for me. Super Sailor Moon? Hmmm…. maaaaaybe, but that’s only if my willpower gives in.

Aug 10 2015

Sword Art Online: Leafa 1/8 Scale Statue by Griffon

It’s import week and that means that today kicks off a whole week of goodies from the land of the Rising Sun. This is where I make a concerted effort to clear out some of the figures and statues on my new receivings pile, all with the common theme of being anime related. Today also counts as a couple of firsts for me, as I’m opening up my first statue from Griffon and also my very first piece of merch from Sword Art Online! It’s Leafa!

The box is right about what I expect from a Japanese statue package. It’s colorful, it features a lot of shots of the piece, some artwork and some windows to let the light in. None of the pictures on the box really do the statue justice, and I have to say if it was an enclosed box they probably would have scared me off. Inside the box, the statue is wrapped in plastic and encased between two clear plastic trays. Pretty standard stuff. The statue comes separate from the base, but all you have to do is peg her feet into it and put the sword in her hand and she’s all ready to go.

My anime viewing habits are pretty erratic these days, but it seems like at least once every couple of months, I’ll latch onto a new series and binge it and I did just that with SAO quite a few months back and only now started re-watching it again. Leafa comes from the second story arc of SAO, where Kirito must venture back into the Virtual MMO world to save Asuna from captivity with the help of his sister, aka Leafa.

Leafa comes in her familar green and white outfit with her dress billowing out around her. She cuts a nice figure as she stands with heels together, left hand poised by her scabbard and her sword held out to her right side. Her face is angled downward and she’s peering up out of the corner of her eyes. As this is my first Griffon statue, I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t anticipating anything on the level of Kotobukiya or MegaHouse, but I have to say I’m very satisfied with the quality here, especially considering the price, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Almost every detail on the statue is part of the sculpt, rather than just paint. This includes the cut outs in her stockings, the white trim on her dress, and even the striping on her half coat. Everything about her outfit is made to look layered. I’m not just talking about things like the sculpted belt, but the half coat is actually sculpted from a separate piece of plastic and laid onto the figure. It really shows that they went the extra mile and it brings a lot of credibility to the sculpt and makes for a very interesting looking piece.

The portrait is soft and simple, as is often the case with these statues, but the paintwork on her eyes is exceptional, her pointy elf ears are on full display, and the tiny little choker collar is a great detail. The sculpted hair is also particularly well executed as it swirls behind her in a ponytail.

The sword is composed of a nice, stiff piece of plastic with a shiny silver blade. The hamon line is even visibly painted on if you look close enough. Some might argue about the lack of wings on Leafa’s back, but in a standing pose like this, they wouldn’t have been visible anyway, so I’m fine with their omission. As great as the sculpt is, the overall quality of the paint has the chops to back it up. I really love the soft shade of green they used for her outfit and when blended with the white, brown and yellow it makes for a warm and pleasing floral motif that perfectly suits the character design.

If I had one complaint, it would be the base. It’s a simple black disc with a beveled edge, and that’s fine, but it’s hollow underneath, which makes it feel rather flimsy. Granted, it looks good and it’s only something one would notice by picking it up and handling it, but it feels like a statue of this quality could have used a sturdier base to rest on.

I have no idea what the original retail on this piece was, but just from poking around Griffon’s stuff seems to be anywhere from $75 to $100 (although their recent Sinon statue is going for around $150!), which sounds about right for a statue of this size and quality. I had it on my Amazon wish list for a while and one day happened to notice it dropped to $15! Normally, I would have written it off as a bootleg, because god knows I’ve been burned before with Amazon and bootleg statues, but in this case I knew the seller and they had a good rep. Besides, at fifteen bucks, I figured what did I have to lose and the answer was nothing. It’s since bumped up quite a bit, but is still available for under $50 and at that price I still would have been quite satisfied.

Aug 7 2015

Marvel Legends (Ultron Wave): Grim Reaper by Hasbro

So, because I’m doing a whole theme week thang next week, I decided to bump Marvel Monday up to today. I’ve just got too many Marvel figures lying on my stack and waiting to be looked at that I can’t afford to lose a week. I’ve only got two figures left in this wave before I get to the Ultron BAF and today is all about Eric Williams, aka Grim Reaper!

There’s the obligatory packaged shot and since I have nothing new to say about it, I’ll take the time here to point out that Grim Reaper is another one of those Legends figures that Hasbro has also recently produced in the Universe/Infinite 3 3/4″ scale. Considering that both releases are the same version of the character, I’ll likely be referencing that other figure at least a couple of times. I’ll also point out that I was very happy to see this guy get released in the Legends scale and I really dig how he was handled as a semi-regular baddie in the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon.

Grim Reaper’s costume is comprised mostly from a painted buck and there isn’t a whole lot of paint. You get a very dark blue body, which is missing some of the paint highlights that the smaller version had. The skull and crossbones is printed on his chest and despite a little chip on one of my bones, it looks fine. He has a silver wrist bracer painted on his left arm and the trademark scythe grafted onto his right arm by The Tinkerer.

If you read my look at the smaller version, you may remember my biggest gripe there was the lack of a swivel in the scythe and I’m happy to report that this Legends figure has it. It’s also worth pointing out that the design of the scythe is a little different here. It’s missing the sharp point and looks more utilitarian. You also get a cape that pegs into the back of the figure and is a lot less obtrusive than the wide, billowing plastic garment that came with the smaller version.

The current Legends line have given us some pretty epic maniacal villian portraits. We saw a good one last week with Tiger Shark and who can forget the mug on Constrictor? Well, Grim Reaper follows along in those footsteps with a head sculpt that just oozes personality and batshit craziness. I thought the Universe version was great, but this one definitely ups the ante. I get the feeling that the sculptor really has some fun with these and it is most definitely appreciated.

Articulation here is what I’ve come to expect from the Legends line. The arms feature rotating hinges at the shoulders, double hinges in the elbows and swivels in the biceps. The scythe has the aforementioned swivel at the base and the left hand has a rotating hinge. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, with swivels at the thighs and tops of the boots. The ankles are hinged and have lateral rockers. You also get a swivel at the waist, an ab crunch hinge in the torso and the neck is both ball jointed and hinged. While he’s a lot of fun to play around with, Grim Reaper does suffer from some pretty soft hinges the elbows.

Hasbro has been pretty good about getting us a fair number of villains in their modern Legends line and I say keep them coming! Afterall, what good are superheroes without costumed bastards to fight? And that philosophy makes Grim Reaper a fine pick up for my collection. And yeah, it doesn’t hurt that doing so furnished my BAF Ultron with his left leg. That’s five down and Only one more figure in this wave to go! When Marvel Monday returns the week after next, I’ll check out Giant Man!

Aug 6 2015

Transformers Thursday to Return in Two Weeks…

Yes, in case you haven’t noticed, Transformers Thursday was a no show today. I’m actually out of new TF figures to look at and rather than dig through some totes to find an old figure to feature, I thought I’d keep working through my overflowing pile of new acquisitions. Fair is fair, since Transformers have had several multi-part Features over the last three weeks.

It will also be on hiatus next week as I’m doing an entire week of imports to get that part of my pile cleaned up. A whole week of Figuarts and Figmas and anime statues… oh, my! But fear not, Transformers Thursday will be back to regular business on the 20th.

Aug 6 2015

Mortal Kombat X: Raiden by Mezco

Last week I was delighted to pick up two of Mezco’s new MK X figures, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and I vowed that the third figure in the wave wouldn’t be far behind. Rather then try to hunt him in the stores, I worked up a little Amazon Prime magic and had him delivered to my doorstep.

We just saw this packaging last week, so I won’t dwell on it much. It’s kind of distinctive and it mimics a little bit of what Jazwares tried to do with the presentation of their MK figures, what with the stylized bubble and die-cut card. In the end, it’s just something for me to rip open to get at my figure, so it works just fine by me.

Scorpion and Sub-Zero both featured impressive paintwork and sculpts and I’m happy to say that Raiden is right up there with them. It’s even possible that, because of the brighter and more ornate nature of his design, this figure shows the work Mezco is putting into these even better. The sculpted scroll-work in Raiden’s tabard, for example, is superbly executed and follows up with some gorgeous gold paintwork. You get similar decos on the arm bracers and grieves. Even the detail on the scalloped knee guards and the rope belt is impressive. Hell, every single buckle on the straps that hold on his leg armor is stylized, sculpted, and carefully painted. This is great stuff! The white blue and gold deco also offers a nice contrast to the somewhat darker and grittier costumes of Sub-Zero and Scorpion.

The head sculpt is rather simple, but it’s a good sculpt and the paintwork is very clean. The head looks a tad small, but I think that’s an illusion created by the wide shoulders of the tabard and not an issue with the actual proportions. Raiden’s iconic wide-brimmed straw hat is removable, although I can’t imagine ever displaying him without it. It fits onto his head very well and will stay put through normal posing. If things get crazy, though, it’ll fall off.

The articulation here is identical to what we saw in Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Raiden’s arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. His legs are ball jointed at the hips and feature rotating hinges in the knees and ankles. There are swivels placed at the tops of the thighs and the ankles have lateral rockers. There are also ball joints in the waist and neck. The jointing is all solid and he is loads of fun to play around with.

Accessories include an extra pair of relaxed hands and a third pair of lightning effect hands. The effect hands are actually all cast in clear blue plastic, which is at odds with the back of the package that showed them partially painted. I think I actually prefer what we got a little more.

You also get a crackling ball of energy, which could probably just as easily be shared with Sub-Zero as an ice projectile as the plastic used looks rather similar. Raiden doesn’t come with any proper weapons, but he is the God of Thunder and Lightning, so he really doesn’t need any.

Raiden set me back $20, which is right about what I expect to pay for a 6-inch figure these days. Although I’ll toss out there that the sculpt and paintwork on these figures has been better quality than what a lot of the other companies are putting out in this scale and I’ve had no issues with quality control on any of the the three figures in this batch. Series 2 is due out sometime in November and will include Kitana, Quan Chi, and Kotal Khan, a character who I assume is original to MK X because I’ve never heard of him. Damn, I should probably pick up that game to hold me over until the new figures come out!

Aug 5 2015

Captain America The Winter Soldier: Stealth STRIKE Suit Captain America 1:6 Scale Figure by Hot Toys

I’m way behind on my Hot Toys Features, mainly because I need to work myself up to tackling these figures on account of me still being in awe of them. Yeah even with about 20 of these beauties on my shelf they still tend to intimidate me. Anyway, today’s figure has been kicking around FigureFan Central for a while, patiently waiting his turn, so it’s long past time I gave Cap his due.

This is my third Hot Toys figure from the Winter Soldier film and I really love what they did with these package designs. Sure, it’s the same old shoebox style box with an illustrated cardboard insert over the tray, but it’s the deco that sells me on these. It’s very in line with the cool art direction seen in the credits. The front of the box features Cap in a typically heroic pose. But who am I kidding? Cap is one of my life long heroes and he would probably still look heroic to me eating a hot dog and dribbling mustard down his shirt. The back of the box features the names of some of the people who worked on the figure and all the boxes from the Winter Soldier figures look uniform when lined up on the shelf. As always, everything is collector friendly.

I’ve made it no secret that I adore this movie and that I love this particular costume design. It’s a wonderful nod to the outfit worn in the comics when Cap simply went by Steve Rogers, or just Captain, and I loved that he wore this specific costume when he was basically working as SHIELD’s lapdog, but questioning whether what he was doing was right. Up until now I’ve successfully avoided double-dipping on any one character when it comes to Hot Toys, but this was one I couldn’t resist. And oh man, did Hot Toys do a beautiful job with this costume!

As we’ll see in a little bit, this release is not heavy in extras or accessories, but that’s alright by me because they went all out on the costume. The material is a lush dark blue with a sight sheen to it in the right light and features some amazingly intricate stitching all over the place, but particularly in the abdomin and upper legs. The metallic silver star and striping across the chest contrasts beautifully with the darker material and he has some red stripes running down his sides from his underarms all the way down into his boots. You get a tiny SHIELD emblem on his right sleeve, his name badge on his left sleeve and a stylized American flag on his left shoulder. The costume fits the figure beautifully and the tailoring is top notch.

Extra bits on the costume include a shoulder rig for his shield and a leather belt with pouches and a silver belt buckle. He also has sculpted plastic guards for his knees. His hands feature sculpted finger-less gloves and his boots have sculpted belts and buckles running up to the tops. The only downside of the costume is that it is rather restrictive in the upper body, even more so than most Hot Toys figures. I’m sure if I carefully worked on it, I could get more articulation out of it, but I’m not willing to risk pulling any stitching in the top. From the waist down things are a lot more forgiving due to the slightly baggier military style cut of the trousers.

The figure includes only the masked portrait, with an unmasked available if you bought the two pack with civilian Steve Rogers. This is my second Cap from Hot Toys, with the other being from his first movie, and I’d say this one shows some marked improvement over what was already a pretty fantastic sculpt. There’s a little more definition in the facial features on this one, particularly around the mouth, but otherwise I think HT took the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” route and that’s fine by me. Of course, this version of the helmet and mask is more detailed than the “First Avenger” version and that allowed HT to strut their stuff a little more with the sculpt. There’s some great texturing under the eye-holes and there’s just the right amount of weathering on the helmet itself and the chinstrap.

Obviously, Captain America comes with his shield and in this case it’s the more muted blue and silver one designed to be a little less apparent on his “stealth missions.” The paint looks great and since it isn’t plated, it shouldn’t have the flaking problem that eventually struck a lot of our “First Avenger” Cap shields. It’s made from diecast metal and the reverse of the shield is almost identical to the previous releases, which means it looks totally authentic, but this time the straps are a little more forgiving. In fact, I find that I don’t even have to pop the hand off to get it onto his arm, which makes things a lot easier. You also get a hook, which allows you to easily hang the shield on his back. Since I have my other Cap holding his shield, I’ll likely display this one wearing it on his back.

It wouldn’t be a Hot Toys figure without a ton of hands and that’s certainly the case here. You get a total of five pairs, all with the same sculpted, fingerless gloves. Theese include: Fists, relaxed hands, grabby hands, and splayed finger hands. You also get a pointing right hand. A pair of extra wrist posts are also included just in case you snap one… or two.

The accessories are rounded out by a rather useless magnetic cuff, the one used in the elevator scene, and a little stick that lets you make adjustments to the costume. I can’t really think of anything else he needed to come with, other than maybe the thumb drive with Zola’s algorithm. The extra unmasked head would have been a nice bonus, but I can understand them withholding that to sell the two-pack.

STRIKE Cap is an excellent figure and easily lives up to my high expectations. And speaking of high… he retails at about $220, which is really starting to push the limit for me. The craftsmanship is certainly there, but he’s mighty light on the accessories when compared to figures like Falcon and Winter Soldier, which retailed for only about $10 more. I get that there’s a thing called inflation, but I find that my comfort zone for these figures is around $200, give or take ten bucks, and we seem to be getting further away from that. Price aside, if I had one other gripe about this figure it would actually be the crazy delays that it took to get to me. Despite pre-ordering him from Sideshow the day he went up for sale I was a little pissed to see online retailers getting him in stock weeks before mine even shipped from the source. Considering that there was no Sideshow exclusive for this figure, that Sideshow pre-order actually worked to my detriment, apart from getting some reward points. But not to end this Feature on a down note, I absolutely love the way this figure turned out and he looks damn great on what is now my Winter Soldier shelf, alongside Falcon and Bucky. I passed on the vintage suited Cap in this series, mainly because I’m content to let my “First Avenger” version fill that role. Now I just have to get off my ass and write up the Feature for Rocket and Groot.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Monthly Archives: August 2015

Marvel Legends (Ultron Wave): Giant Man and BAF Ultron by Hasbro

Figma “Sword Art Online” Kirito by Max Factory

Figma “Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse” Yui Takamura by Max Factory

Armor Girls Project: Mobile Suit Girl Wing Gundam (EW Version) by Bandai Tamashii Nations

S.H. Figuarts: Sailor Uranus by Bandai Tamashii Nations

Sword Art Online: Leafa 1/8 Scale Statue by Griffon

Marvel Legends (Ultron Wave): Grim Reaper by Hasbro

Transformers Thursday to Return in Two Weeks…

Mortal Kombat X: Raiden by Mezco

Captain America The Winter Soldier: Stealth STRIKE Suit Captain America 1:6 Scale Figure by Hot Toys

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