May 19 2016

Mortal Kombat X: Quan Chi by Mezco

I’m serving up a double helping of Mortal Kombat this week just because these figures have been hanging around in a box waiting to be opened since the beginning of the year. I’m on a mission to clear out that now inaccurately named “Recent Acquisitions Box” on the floor of my closet before it starts spilling out all over the place. Mezco has since announced that the 6-inch Mortal Kombat X series has been discontinued, so let’s finish it off today and open up Quan Chi!

I’ve already said all there is to say about the packaging in yesterday’s Feature. It’s not collector friendly, but it is attractive and serviceable and offers a great look at the figure inside. Quan Chi is an interesting character as he was first introduced to the video games in one of the less-than-stellar spin-offs, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero and debuted as a playable fighter in Mortal Kombat 4. But for his actual first appearance, you’d have to go back to the 1996 Mortal Kombat animated series.

Quan Chi is a cool enough looking character, but he doesn’t have quite the wow factor for me as Kotal Khan nor does he have that familiar nostalgia of the other figures. Still, there’s an awful lot to love here. His armor, for example, sports some bitchin’ skull knee pads and a blindfolded skull motif on his chest set atop criss-crossing leather straps. It looks like a cross between Daedric armor and bondage gear. Mezco put a lot of nice detail into his boots, as well as layering the “skirt” and hip armor over sculpted cloth pants.

On the back, the motif doesn’t get any cheerier. That fixture on his back once again evokes a call back to the Daedric armor from Elder Scrolls and check out the armor on the back of his arms designed to look like skeletal arms. I dig that a lot. He even has a little leather piece on the back of his belt with a sculpted fur border, which seems to serve no purpose apart from maybe offering lumbar support. All of this black and brown contrasts nicely with his pale white skin and the blood red tattoos that cover his arms. Oh yeah, there’s a peg hole in his back, but I’ll come back to that in a bit.

The portrait is decent enough. I like the sculpt, especially the scowl on his face. The eyes could be a little straighter, but they’re not too bad. The black outlines of his eyes run up across the top of his head and he has more of those great blood red tats up on his bald head as well. His impressive shoulder armor features some nice contours and the blades that protrude up from each side of his head look especially wicked. I’d hate to forget those were there and have to scratch my ear.

Articulation holds no surprises, it’s exactly what we saw yesterday with Kotal Khan, which means rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. There are ball joints in the hips, another in the waist, and one more in the neck. The high collar on those shoulders restricts the head movement a little, but not too badly. For accessories, Quan Chi comes with a total of three pairs of hands. You get regular grasping hands on the figure straight out of the package, as well as a pair of fists and a pair of hands for holding his weapon.

He also comes with some translucent green skeleton parts, which include a skull and a pair of crossed arms that peg into that hole in his back. I guess I’m not familiar enough with the character to understand what these are supposed to be, but they do look pretty cool.

Quan Chi also comes with a rather prehistoric looking sword. I don’t really associate the character with this type of blade, but then I hardly ever play as him so that’s probably my bad. I do seem to remember him wielding some kind of chain weapon. Either way, it’s a nicely executed accessory and he can hold it in either hand.

Quan Chi is probably my least favorite figure in this line, but that in itself is saying something because he’s still plenty cool and very well executed. It also has more to do with my personal preferences over character design than what Mezco did with it, because they certainly did do a fine job. And that, my friends, wraps up Mezco’s 6-inch Mortal Kombat line. With six excellent figures and a slew of variants, this was a solid line and one that I really wish Mezco had continued for at least one more wave. I really wanted Mileena. Cancelling the line was bad enough, but then coming back and announcing that they were starting it all over again in the 3 3/4-inch scale, that was the cruelest of Fatalities and I’m not going to start over until I’m sure they’re not going to do the same figures and then cancel it again. Instead, I’ll treasure what we got here and just appreciate all the love that Mezco poured into these wonderful figures.

May 18 2016

Mortal Kombat X: Kotal Khan by Mezco

Hoo boy! It’s been a long time since I last opened any of Mezco’s 6-inch MKX figures. In fact, the last one would have been Kitana way back in January. I love these figures, but to be honest when Mezco announced that the first two assortments (six figures total, not counting a bewildering myriad of variants) were going to be it, I let bitterness and frustration get the better of me. Well, I’m better now and the last two of these figures are still sitting in my hopper waiting to be unleashed, so today I’m going to open up Kotal Khan and tomorrow Quan Chi.

The packaging here really strikes a balance between no-frills and stylish design. The hourglass card hosts the key-hole shaped bubble with the MK emblem embossed right into the plastic. A simple insert calls out the series and the name of character. The package is designed so that it can stand on a shelf or hang from a peg and either way it shows off the figure beautifully. The fact that his sword is individually bagged to prevent paint rubbing shows some careful thought and I really appreciate that! The back panel has a small blurb about the character and a list of his accessories. Bonus aggravations points, Mezco, for calling out Mileena on the back of the package when she never got a figure in the line. Boo!

Damn, just check him out! Unlike the previous figures in this line, Kotal Khan is a new character introduced in MKX and heavily inspired by Mayan mythology. He also proves two things: One, the MK series can still produce some killer character designs, and two, if you give that design to Mezco, they can turn it into high plastic art. The attention to detail in this sculpt is just top notch and I don’t quite know where to begin. Kotal shows a lot of skin and besides his musculature there are faint patterns sculpted directly into his body, which give him a lot of character. The armor consists of an intricate collar and shoulders, as well as a loin cloth decorated with a grizzly split skull and his collection of jaw bones. Oh, like you don’t collect jaw bones too! His wrist bracers are sculpted wrappings with segmented plates on the outside of his forearms. His feet have sculpted wraps with what looks to be a feather fringe on the tops.

The portrait features a grim and detailed visage. The helmet conveys a subtle eagle homage with the open beak framing the face and and feathers protruding out the back. The paintwork on display here is simply fantastic, not only in its precision, but also how it manages to convey a dull and antiqued look. The gray and gold deco of the armor looks ancient and worn and the bones have a rotted brown finish. But what impresses me the most about the coloring on this figure is the blue-green skin has a chalky, almost marbled finish to it, which is just beautiful. It almost looks like the figure was carved out of jade. Damn, it’s cool!

The articulation in this line has been pretty solid and that trend continues here with Kotal Khan. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. The hips are ball jointed and there are ball joints in the waist and neck. The joints are nice and strong and I didn’t have any issues with fused or painted over hinges.

Accessories include two sets of hands and two weapons. The figure comes with a pair of clutching hands already attached, with the extra pair being the ones used to hold the weapons. The first weapon is his Tecpatl, a sizable sacrificial flint knife. This is the weapon he uses to perform his “Blood Offering” move in the game, where he basically carves up his own chest and sacrifices some health in order to do more damage. Bad ass!

As great as the Tecpatl is, his other weapon, the Macuahuitl, is the real showpiece here. I’ve always been fascinated with these swords. They’re basically planks of wood with sharp pieces of flint studding the edges to make a blade. It’s an ingenious design for a culture that didn’t have the ability to forge metal swords. This version is pretty damn big and features a red “blade” with sculpted decorations and a sculpted wrapped hilt. Not only is this weapon beautifully sculpted, but the edges are actually pretty sharp!

Even if I wasn’t a Mortal Kombat fan, I’d be happy to put this guy on my shelf… he’s gorgeous! I was originally going to blow out the last two figures in this line in one quick Feature, but once I opened them, I knew that these guys deserved their own attention. While Kotal Khan doesn’t have the gravitas of the older MK characters, he is nonetheless a great design and a magnificently executed figure. Playing around with him has made me both happy to have him and sad to realize that this line is dead and I have only one more figure to open up. And with that having been said, I’ll be back tomorrow to wrap up with Quan Chi.

May 17 2016

Aliens: Space Marine Lt. Ripley (Kenner Version) by NECA

Kenner’s line of Aliens figures defies all sense and logic by its very existence. It was originally inspired by the planned cartoon series Aliens Operation, Yes, a cartoon based on an R-rated film franchise. The cartoon was scrapped, but the figures survived and came out under the name Aliens thus becoming a line of figures directly based on an R-rated movie that was at that point some six years old. Craziness! Nonetheless it was a fun and wildly creative line that was sadly released at a time when I had zero interest in collecting toys. Nonetheless, when NECA decided to celebrate Alien Day on 4/26 and release a Kenner-inspired repaint of their Aliens Lt Ripley figure, I was definitely on board.

Ripley was exclusive to Toys R Us and GoHastings and sold out really fast online, but eventually came back into stock at TRU. The figure comes in NECA’s traditional sealed blister pack, and while the Aliens title up at the top is the same as what we saw with NECA’s Aliens line, the rest of the package art has been re-branded to reflect the Kenner animated look, complete with a brand new insert and a “cardback” that imitates the Kenner line. It’s a fun and colorful package and in this case I’m glad I wound up with two, because one of them is staying in the package and going right up on my wall.

If you own NECA’s original release of Ripley from Aliens, then the sculpt should be instantly familiar to you. This is a straight repaint to the Kenner colors with the ammo strap reversed and an added neckerchief. Keep in mind, that’s not a criticism. For starters, the original release of this figure is both excellent and a tough item to get anywhere near the original price point. Secondly, it’s amazing how well this homage works with just a fresh coat of paint. When I look at it, I don’t see the repaint, just a fully realized Kenner-style figure.

The new coloring includes the bright yellow shit-kickers, darker blue pants, the maroon top and tan neckerchief. The ammo strap is black with orange cartridges. The paint is all very clean, right down to the black watch on her left wrist. For a 90’s line, the coloring here isn’t as obnoxious as one might expect. In fact, the only thing that’s really out of the ordinary are her bright yellow boots and I still think they look great.

The portrait on this figure was pretty solid to begin with and it not only still looks great, but I’m surprised how well it works on this homage. I particularly love what they did with the hair sculpt. On the downside, this figure uses flesh toned plastic, rather than paint, so you do get a bit of the waxy finish. Granted, it looks a lot more shiny under the studio lights than it does most of the time. Aw hell, she’s lugging a big gun around, running around hunting Xenomorphs, I’ve got to imagine Ripley’s going to be perspiring a bit.

Speaking of running around, Ripley features some solid articulation. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. The ankles are hinged and have lateral rockers, there’s a ball joint just above the waist, and another in the neck. Not bad!

Ripley comes with one accessory and that’s her Smartgun. I don’t have a lot of the Colonial Marines figures, so this is my first encounter with this accessory and I like it a lot. It’s a beautifully intricate sculpt and while it looks like it would be unwieldy and difficult to work with, the truth is it’s got so many grab points that I was able to have a lot of fun with it.

The only downside of this figure is that the availability was spotty at release because of quick sell outs leading to a run on Ebay and doubling the price of the figure. But now all that has settled down, and at the time I’m posting this Feature, Ripley is available on TRU’s website for the original $24.99. Obviously, this figure is aimed at the 90’s kids who have nostalgia for the original toy line, but I’m proof positive that the figure’s appeal can transcend that. Seeing as I don’t own the original release of Aliens Ripley, I’m very happy to have this mold on my shelf and the coloring just makes her all the more special.

May 16 2016

Ant-Man 1:6 Scale Figure by Hot Toys

I know, when I looked at Hot Toys’ Vision I promised I’d get to Scarlet Witch next, but then Ant-Man hit my stoop and no offense, Wanda, but I was just more excited to get to this figure and check him out, especially after seeing him in action again in Civil War. Of course, this is the outfit from the original movie, the one I prefer, and while no one knows what the future holds, for now it’ll be the definitive version of the MCU Scott Lang on my shelf. Let’s check him out…

The package consists of the same window box with illustrated sleeve around it that we’ve been seeing out of the Hot Toys Marvel line for a little while now. It feels rather simple for a $200+ collectible, but it gets the job done. And in this case the artwork really blows me away. It’s very stylish and to me it just beautifully reflects the quirky nature of what we saw in the closing credits. I also really dig the wrap-around title. You can lift off the sleeve to peek at the figure through the window, or you can open up the top flap with the sleeve still on and slide out the tray. Ant-Man comes mostly ready to go right out of the box. You just have to insert the tubes of Pym Particles into the slots on his belt and pop in the batteries (or not, as we’ll see it doesn’t make much of a difference).

Man, do I love this costume design! It’s so cool that it almost makes up for the fact that Hank Pym was excluded from the MCU Avengers, something I was very sore about in the beginning. But this movie was great, MCU Scott Lang is a lot of fun, and this suit is absolutely killer, so all has been forgiven. When he first encountered it, Scott referred to the suit as “some old motorcycle outfit” and it does indeed look just like that. It’s got a deliciously retro-charm to it that looks high tech, while still conveying that it’s an antique. And we all know that if you give Hot Toys a great design like this one, they’re going to do it proud. The entire suit is crafted out of a leather-like material, which mimics the on screen appearance perfectly. The silver piping is gorgeous as is the red textured material on the chest, back, and shoulders. This is such a perfect blend of great design and near perfect execution, that it’s instantly become one of my favorite Marvel Hot Toys figures in my collection.

One little feature that I like a lot about the costume is the way they recreated the ribbing in the elbows and knees. While this was certainly part of the suit design, it serves a double purpose on the figure, where I’m not afraid to keep an elbow bent for fear of distorting the suit material. It can be a problem on figures like Avengers Black Widow or even the Age of Ultron Vision, but I don’t think it will be a problem here. On the downside, the suit is fairly restrictive of articulation. Now, if you’ve been reading my Hot Toys Features over the years, you may have noted that articulation is never a huge concern of mine with these figures. Sure, better range of motion is always better, but for the most part I like to tweak the poses now and then and leave it at that. Besides, just about every HT figure I’ve ever owned has come with a page in the instructions warning not to move certain appendages beyond a certain number of degrees. In the case of Ant-Man, the biggest let down in the restriction for me is in the hips and that’s because I’m afraid of pulling the stitching in that groin area. Bottom line, don’t expect any extreme action poses out of Scott.

The helmet is a work of art in and of itself. Not only is the detail just superb, but the paint and weathering is right on target. The side arms that hold the mouth piece in place look particularly good and I really dig the bars that encircle the neck. The red plastic screens for the eyes even offer a pretty clear view of Scott’s eyes inside, which adds an extraordinary level of depth and realism to the portrait even when masked.

From behind you can see the two thin wires that connect from the helmet to the small backpack. These pieces are designed to pull out of the helmet rather than allow themselves to be overly stressed. I think this was a good idea, because it wouldn’t take much to tear these pieces, however, it does mean having to reconnect them from time to time when manipulating the figure. That having been said, I found that I only had to do that a few times while shooting him.

Of course, the coolest thing about the helmet is that Hot Toys went with an articulated helmet that allows for you to display the Scott Lang portrait without having to do a head swap. In fact, making the switch is incredibly easy. The face plate is held on by a magnet, so you just pluck it off and place it raised on the forehead. The arms that hold the mouthpiece rotate at the sides of the head and have ball joints where they connect to the mouth piece, so you just angle those downward. I’m not a big fan of swapping heads on these figures, so the ability to do it on the fly adds a lot of value to me. Plus, I think the likeness to Paul Rudd is one of their absolute best, so it would be a shame to hide it all the time.

This figure has taken a lot of heat over its electronics feature, which is basically a light up mask. Some of that may be warranted, but I can’t get too worked up over it. The top plate of the helmet lifts up to reveal the battery compartment and on/off switch. Switching it on lights a panel in the forehead, which in turn shines through the eyes of the mask and out the sides. If you switch it on in anything close to a well lit room, it barely shows at all. Forget about getting it to show up on my studio staging area. The above picture was snapped with him on the display shelf, with the shelf lighting turned off and the room fairly dark and it looks fine to me. If the effect certainly isn’t blinding. I think it’s because they made it work with such a versatile head. Had they gone with an alternate masked portrait, like they did with Star-Lord, it would have certainly worked better. Me? I’ll take less effective lighting over the articulated mask any day. Let’s move on to the accessories…

HANDS!!! Oh, you know it! If it’s a Hot Toys figure, you’re going to get a ton of hands. Scott comes with fists, relaxed hands, and hands that look like he’s about to do the patented Captain Kirk palm strike. The most important hand to me is the right hand with thumb poised over the shrinking button and this is the one he’ll likely always be displayed with. You also get a right hand designed to hold some of the teeny-tiny accessories he comes with…

…in this little tray of goodies. It’s also a little tray of goodies that resists opening enough so that it explodes and throws the tiny goodies all over the room when it finally does open. I’ll start off with those little bombs, because they’re pretty much staying right there in the tray. Nice little pieces, but I’ve got no use for them.

The vials of Pym Particles, all fit into the slots on his belt. You get two red and two blue. If I remember correctly it’s the red ones on the right to shrink and the blue ones on the left to enlarge.

You also get the two discs that enlarge or shrink whatever they stick to. They’re super tiny, but Scott can hold them fairly convincingly in that one accessory-specific hand. I wish there was somewhere to attach these to the figure.

Next up, you get tiny Ant-Man. And, yes, tiny Ant-Man is indeed tiny. He comes with his own little disc stand with indented spots for his feet, which hold him surprisingly well. Considering that I have no room on my Avengers shelf for the full size Ant-Man, this little guy will come in handy to stand in for him. For now, full size Scott will be hanging out with Falcon, Winter Soldier, and Captain America on the shelf below it.

And of course, you get the figure stand. This is the same type that came with the Age of Ultron figures, so it’s bigger than the old standard and overall feels more impressive. I actually like that they called out Scott Lang’s name on the tag.

I’ve never been truly disappointed by a Hot Toys figure, so when I say I really love HT’s Ant-Man, I have to qualify it by saying this is without a doubt one of my favorite Marvel figures on my shelf. In terms of overall execution, I’d say he’s tied right now with Star-Lord as my overall favorite. The suit is recreated flawlessly and they went all out with the intricacies of the helmet. I can understand some collectors wanting a better light show out of the electronics, especially when you’re paying extra for them, but the ability to unmask the figure so quickly and easily without a head swap makes that trade off totally worth it to me. Ant-Man retailed at $240, which about the middle ground for Hot Toys’ releases these days and I think he was worth every penny. He sold out rather quickly at Sideshow, but he’s still available at a number of secondary online retailers, some of which have already begun to crank up their prices. On the next Marvel Monday, we’ll check out Hot Toys Scarlet Witch… for reals this time!

May 14 2016

Sword Art Online: Asuna (Aincrad Fencer) Prize Figure by Taito

If you were with me last Saturday, than you already know I recently discovered the wonderful world of Taito’s Prize Figures. My first look at these featured Sinon, as a Cait Sith Master of the Bow, from Sword Art Online II. Today I’m checking out Asuna, and this is a particularly cool piece. There’s been countless figures based on different versions of Asuna throughout the series, but this is the first one I’ve come across of her in her original Aincrad outfit before she joined the Knights of the Blood Oath and donned their spiffy uniform.

Like last time, this figure comes in a fully enclosed box with perforations on the sides to punch out if you want handles. The box gives you some colorful pictures of the statue on all sides, but if you want to see exactly what you’re getting, you’ve got to open this baby up. Inside, the figure and base come wrapped in plastic. Just peg the figure into the base and you’re all set to go!

Asuna measures just about 7-inches tall if you include the base and looks fantastic. Again, this is the costume she wore at the beginning of the series, so it didn’t get a lot of exposure. Indeed, a lot of the time we see her in it, the brown cloak is wrapped around her and the hood is up. Her outfit inside consists of reddish-brown boots with buckles at the ankles, which are nicely painted with silver fixtures. Her white stockings have a little range of color in them to expose a little of the flesh tone that underneath, She has a little red skirt with sculpted pleats, and finally a white tunic with painted brown borders and a sculpted belt at that waist. One little touch that’s really nice is where her sleeves are open and you can see her exposed arms inside. For a figure in this price range, that’s a rather unexpected detail.

Asuna is posed leaning forward with one leg drawn back the other and her arms drawn up to her mouth and holding one of those cakes that was a common focus of one of her first meaningful exchanges with Kirito. Her fencing sword is mostly obscured by her cloak, but the hilt is visible peaking out beside her left elbow. I really enjoy how much work went into sculpting a weapon that isn’t obviously on display.

The brown cloak is sculpted to billow out a bit behind her and a good deal of it is obscured by her voluminous reddish-orange hair. From the neck down, the paintwork on this piece is really tight, far more so than the Sinon figure I looked at last time. There’s virtually no slop or bleeding and even though a lot of the colors are rather muted, the coloring is still exciting to me.

The portrait is excellent, with Asuna’s big eyes printed perfectly and you can see her ears peaking out from her hair. Her mouth is partly open as if she’s about to take a bite of her meal. The hair, however, is what really shines here. It falls over her forehead, frames her face and than cascades down her back. You also get a pair of strands down the fronts of her shoulders reaching all the way down to her skirt. Really nice work!

The base is a simple white disk with a wedge to support her raised left heel. I have no issues with the plain bases in this series, but I’m wondering if I would have preferred a black disk here so that they would all match. Then again, this one accentuates the white in her stockings and tunic, so maybe Taito knew what they were doing here.

For a Prize Figure, the sculpting and paint on this piece are both top notch and the $30 I paid for her feels like a fantastic deal. Sometimes collecting these cheaper figures can feel like slumming it when compared to the really good expensive stuff, but this was a case where I really don’t see all that much of a difference. This was also a case where I have literally not seen this version of the character produced anywhere else in a premium release, so if this is indeed the only way to get her, collectors should be happy to know they did a fine job with her. Next Saturday, I’m going to give Sword Art Online a little rest and move on to some figures from one of my more recent anime obsessions… KanColle!

May 13 2016

DC Icons: (#07) Black Adam by DC Collectibles

I’m a naughty DC Fan. Today’s DC Friday update is late because I had friends over for pizza and beer and a screening of the Deadpool Blu-Ray. But we got here eventually and today sees me finally get all caught up with the DC Icons line… at least until Wave 3 hits in a little while. This has been a long run, so let’s finish off Wave 2 with Black Adam!

We’ve seen the packaging for this line plenty of times now, so I’m not going to dwell on it. This is the seventh figure in the line, and like the Icons Lex Luthor figure, Black Adam here is drawn from “Forever Evil,” which followed “Trinity War” in the New 52 run. With ReBirth coming, it’ll be interesting what DC Icons does vis-a-vis the other continuities, but my guess is we will likely see a lot of stuff based on the new run.

And here is Black Adam out of the package. Late last year, I featured this character in the DC Collectibles Super-Villains series, which was a great looking figure with fairly restrictive articulation. In terms of sculpt, this Icons version gets the slight nod as some of the costume features, like the cape clasps and belt, look less chunky and more reasonably proportioned. It’s a stylistic preference on my part, to be sure, but even beyond that I’d say the costume sculpt on this version is exceptionally good. Every detail of the costume is part of the sculpt from the subtle panel lines on the vest to the impressive musculature and the chest emblem is raised and hangs off his chest toward the bottom.

The cape is cast in very soft and pliable plastic and doesn’t add a lot of weight to throw the figure off balance. It’s not sculpted to look ragged like on the Super-Villains figure. The hood is sculpted down behind the back of the head. The paint here is really phenomenal. Sure, he’s mostly black, but the gold leaf paint used for his boots, bracers, belt, and other decorations is carefully applied and looks brilliant. Even the gold borders around the cape is splendid. I also really dig the Kirby Krackle printed in the center of his emblem.

The portrait features what I think is one of the better head sculpts in the line so far, but keep in mind, this hasn’t been Icons’ strongest point. Is it better than the Super-Villains figure? Hmm… that other head was a tough act to follow. I’ll cop out and just say it’s different. This is more of a passive expression than the crazy-evil expression of the previous release. The pupil-less eyes are pretty creepy and there are some especially nice and sharp contours in the face. I’ll just say that I like what we got here and leave it at that.

Articulation is exactly what we’ve been seeing all along with the Icons line. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, there are swivels in the biceps and double hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and have swivels at the tops of the boots. The ankles are hinged and have lateral rockers. There’s a torso hinge down low by the waist and a ball joint in the chest, and lastly a ball joint in the neck.

For accessories, you get three pairs of hands. Black Adam comes out of the package with fists attached, you also get a pair of graspy hands and finally a pair of lightning shooting hands, which are pretty damn cool. Many of you know I’m not all that much for effect parts, but these are extremely well done and look great on the figure.

I came into this line apprehensive about the new scale and starting over, but nine figures later, I’m mighty glad I got in. With solid accessories and articulation aimed at having fun, the only thing that this line has working against it is the scattershot approach to character selection. If you’re out to build teams, it could be a long time before you get any resolution on that quest. On the other hand, this line seems to have no boundaries. There’s new and old, New 52 and Classic, anything seems possible and we’ve already seen some figures, like Earth 2 Mister Miracle, that haven’t been given figure form before. If DC Collectibles throws enough love behind it, DC Icons could be more than a worthy successor to DC Universe Classics, but only time will tell. Meanwhile, bring on Waves 3 and 4!

May 12 2016

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part III: Fozzie and Scooter

Alrighty, folks, here we are at the final stop in this Midweek Mini Muppet Marathon. You might even say, “we’re moving right along!” Time to open up the last figures of the first wave: Fozzie and Scooter!

Here’s a quick look at the package. This time around we get two fully realized figures in one pack. I’ve said all I have to say, so let me just sympathize with how hard character selection for this wave must have been. With basically just four main characters, I think they did pretty well, although I’m still surprised that Ms Piggy didn’t make the cut. I was even more surprised that she didn’t make the cut for wave two. Again, here’s hoping this line has some staying power! Let’s start off with Fozzie…

Ahhhhhhahhhh. Waka Waka! I love Fozzie Bear, he was easily my most anticipated figure in this wave, and I’m happy to say he turned out fantastic. Approaching 4-inches tall, he’s easily the biggest figure of the wave, not only in height, but also in girth. Since his costume consists entirely of his poka-dotted neckerchief (a separate piece) his bare bear body is supplied with some nice sculpted fur and a brownish-orange coat of paint. The head sculpt is as spot on as you can get. This is without a doubt the Fozzie Bear that I know and love. Apart from some scratches on his nose, the paint on the face is solid. Articulation consists of rotating hinges all around: The shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles. He’s capped off with a ball jointed neck. The sculpt does restrict some range of motion and the way his hips are designed, he can’t really sit down. But why would he? He’s a stand-up comedian. Eh? Waka Waka!

Scooter weighs in a little closer to Kermit in height, putting him around 3 1/2-inches. He’s one of the most complex designs in this wave, both because of his costume and the nature of his peepers. His eyes are appropriately part of his glasses, but there’s very little holding his glasses on. In fact, thanks to the warning from Scott’s review on the Action Figure Blues podcast, I was careful to keep the transparent rubberband that holds them on. It’s a temporary (and not ideal) thing for now, as I might get the courage to dab a little glue on them.

Considering this is the most intricate paint job on any figures in this wave, I’d say it’s fair but not exceptional. There’s some slop to the striping on his sneakers and some of the yellow piping on the jacket could be sharper. Again, these closeup shots don’t do these figures any favors and all in all he looks good in hand. I do really dig the metallic green they used for his jacket and The Muppet Show logo on the back looks great. Scooter’s articulation again consists of rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and neck. The hips have rotate and have lateral hinges.

With both Fozzie and Scooter taking up most of the plastic real estate in this package, it’s understandable that the accessories are a lot smaller, but what we get here is still plenty good and fairly character specific. Fozzie comes with his hat, which is only an accessory because it’s removable. No clever magnets here like with the Palisades figures, and while it does sit on his head fairly well, I used a blob of blue tack to keep it there. You also get a rubber chicken and his Groucho Marx glasses, both of which are perfect accessories for him, but no telephone pole for the infamous Telephone Pole Bit.

Scooter’s accessories are a little less personal. He comes with a clap board and a bullhorn. Considering Scooter was more of a stage hand most of the time, I’m not sure that these Director’s tools fit him, but I’ll go with it. Besides, they’re more of those great universe building accessories that will be nice to have as the pot grows bigger with subsequent waves.

If I had to pick a favorite pack in this first wave, I’d probably go with this one. Besides my love of Fozzie and general fondness for Scooter, the mix of two figures and a handful of decent accessories feels right. But when you put all three releases together, then everything feels right, so I’m not going to quibble over what came in which pack. DST seems to be working well with the challenges that the different shapes and sizes of these characters offer and the accessories are diverse and fun. If I had one thing I’d like to see improved in future waves it would be a little more polish on the paint. I think this series is off to a strong start and the next wave, due out sometime this Summer, looks like it’ll be fantastic. Animal with his drums? Beaker and Professor Bunsen Honeydew? And Waldorf and Statler? Oh, yes, please. Give me some of that!

May 11 2016

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part II: Kermit with Robin and Bean Bunny

In case you missed yesterday, I’m smack in the middle of a Muppets Trifecta as I look through the first wave of Diamond Select’s new Muppets figures. I went really long yesterday, which often happens when I introduced myself to a brand new line, so let’s jump right in and check out Kermit and friends!

I had a lot to say about the packaging yesterday, so let’s just take a quick look and move on. It looks great and it gives you a clear look at the figures and accessories inside. The large character portrait on the side panel is nice to be able to identify who is in the package if you have them all lined up on a shelf. But, great presentation aside, it’s not at all collector friendly and takes up way too much room for my taste. It’s also really wasteful. When I was all done opening this set it was crazy how big the pile of cardboard and plastic was in relation to the actual toys that came in it. But enough said about that, let’s start off with Kermit…

At about 3 1/2-inches tall, Kermit is just a smidgen taller than Gonzo. And like Gonzo, DST did a really nice job with this sculpt. Granted, there isn’t as much to work with here. There’s no outfit, no elaborate coloring. Just a green frog and as we all know, it ain’t easy being green. The head sculpt is spot on, with the mouth open to show the painted tongue and throat inside. The best detail for me here are the little creases that appear at the sides of his mouth that showed on the real life Muppet when he opened his mouth. There’s a little bit of slop around the eyes where the white meets the body. It stands out a bit on close up photos, but it’s not too bad when viewed with the figure in hand.

I was really curious to see how they were going to make him work with his spindly arms and legs while still maintaining articulation and not being ridiculously fragile. As it turns out, they did a really nice job. Kermit sports rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. He also has a rotating hinge in the neck, which allows him to look up and down, where Gonzo really couldn’t. I was honestly terrified when I first got the figure out and started to work his joints. They are certainly fragile and the left hip joint on mine wouldn’t move until I gave it some prolonged gentile coaxing. I think the most amazing thing about this figure is that while the joints are tiny and some feel loose in hand, he can still stand surprisingly well on his own. Seriously, just look up there at the balance on this guy. Half the time, I didn’t even have to put any effort into it at all.

Robin, Kermit’s nephew, measures in at only 2-inches tall. He’s a very simple figure with the only articulation being the swivels in his elbows and hips. He’s a lot tougher to stand than Kermit is, but he will stand. I’m not sure, but I might have preferred him sculpted in a seated position. That was the way he was almost always seen on the show and I think he would have made a more stable display piece that way. Still, all in all, he’s not bad.

And that brings us to Bean Bunny. I had absolutely no idea who he was until I did a little research to discover the character premiered in 1986 and was a little after my time. I won’t hold that against him as he is a cool little guy, even if his black, soulless eyes give me the creeps. At about 2-inches tall, this is a really impressive little sculpt and features quite a lot of paintwork for such a tiny piece. He also sports an impressive about of articulation, especially considering I expected him to be a static piece like Camilla. With ball joints in the shoulders, swivels at the hips, and a head that turns, he made out a lot better than Robin. With Kermit and his two chums, this pack really feels like a better action figure value than Gonzo and Camilla… let’s see how it stacks up with the accessories…

My guess is that DST had their doubts about Kermit’s uncanny ability to stand because a lot of what you get in this pack are things for Kermit to sit on. The largest one is the director’s chair and it’s a great piece to give him a little height if you want to display him alongside any 5 or 6-inch scale special guest star figures. Additionally, you get a little stool and a log for Kermit to plant his green ass on, especially when he feels like plucking away at a string instrument.

And hey, speaking of instruments… you just happen to get a couple: A banjo and a guitar. These are great for any time he wants to bust out Rainbow Connection. These are fairly simple sculpts and fairly simply painted, but welcome additions nonetheless and I could see these getting passed around my Muppets figures quite a bit.

While there were some things about the Gonzo set that left me a little cold, Kermit brings it all back home for me. This is a great set with some thoughtful accessories and combining it with Gonzo and his stuff begins to hint at how much potential this line is going to have as it continues to grow. And while I still can’t quite figure out what sort of black magic DST used to get Kermit to articulate and stand so wonderfully, I’m glad they were able to do it. He’s a fantastic little figure that gives me nothing but high hopes for The Muppets future.

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up this Trilogy with a look at Fozzie Bear and Scooter!

May 10 2016

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part I: Grover and Camilla

“It’s The Muppet Show, with our very special guest…” Growing up hearing those words meant about 25 minutes of sheer bliss was about to be unleashed on our household. I was about seven years old when The Muppet Show was in full stride, right around 1979 and let me tell you, it was event programming in my house. It truly was great family television, because there was something for everyone. My brother and I watched it for the Muppets craziness and my parents watched it for the guest stars and musical numbers. My father would even pop popcorn. It was a magic time and produced many wonderful family memories. And while I would have killed for some actual Muppet puppets as a kid, the only Muppet toys I ever had were those little figures from Fischer-Price with the big white sticks coming out of their backs. As if to pour salt into the wound, Palisades introduced their epic line just a year or two before I got back into toy collecting and I missed out on that. When Diamond Select announced their new line, I was pretty excited and instantly sold. I’m going to be looking at all of Wave 1 over the next three days and just to warn you, today will get a little long-winded. Let’s start with Gonzo and Camilla…

Diamond Select has been doing figures for a long time, but apart from one of their Classic Star Trek sets with Kirk and Khan, I’ve never actually bought any. Yeah, that even surprised me. I’ve come close to picking up some of their Marvel Select figures and some Universal Monsters, but never got around to pulling the trigger. As such, this packaging is a new experience to me. It certainly is impressively HUGE for what are in this case some pretty small figures. The figures and accessories come spread out in a tray under a giant bubble, allowing you to see everything you’re getting. Also… Disney? I honestly had no idea that Disney owned The Muppets now, but I guess I should have because they own everything. A folded illustrated cardboard spine offers some great pictures of Gonzo and Camilla, so you could line these up on a shelf and know exactly who is in which package. Of course, none of this amazing presentation makes much sense when you have to destroy it to get to the figures. Nothing here is collector friendly, and all of the packages seemed to be pretty rough just from being on the shelf at the store. All this plastic and cardboard seems rather wasteful for something that I’m betting most people are just going to throw out. And considering all the accessories, keeping these mint-in-package makes even less sense to me than doing it with their Marvel figures. But hey, to each their own.

As I already mentioned, these are pretty small figures, with Gonzo measuring about 3 1/2-inches tall. If I were buying these without any foreknowledge, I probably would have been surprised when I got them. Diamond Select’s figures are usually sizable and the $21 price tag can cause sticker shock if not for all the extras in the package. Yes, I consider Camilla more of an extra than an actual figure, but more on her in a bit. Now, with all that having been said, I think the scale works for a couple of reasons. One, it does allow for more accessories, especially some of the big stuff coming in the second assortment, like Animal’s drums and Statler and Waldorf’s balcony. And who knows? Is a playset or two too much to hope for? Secondly, it will allow for bigger characters, like Sweetums, without having to break the bank. Finally, and this applies more to DST than us the consumer, it would make no sense for DST to adhere to the Palisades scale because then collectors would just be cherry-picking what Palisades didn’t get around to doing, instead of starting over. With all that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to little Gonzo.

The sculpt here is pretty spot on, with Gonzo sporting his trademark tuxedo, complete with bow tie and flower on the lapel. Gonzo adopts many different outfits, but this is the one I would call his standard look. I couldn’t have asked for more out of the portrait, at least not in this scale. His mouth is partially open. which I suspect will be the consistent look for all the Muppets throughout this line. The eyes are on point and while the wispy hairs that protrude from the real Muppet’s head are a lot heavier handed here in plastic, they still convey the look just fine for my tastes. What’s also cool is that Gonzo’s tiny body manages to employ a good deal of articulation. Rotating hinges are the running theme here, as they appear in his shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles. The hips are ball jointed, the wrists swivel, and there’s even a waist swivel buried under that tuxedo jacket. The neck is ball jointed, but really only allows for rotation, which is easily the most disappointing thing about the figure’s articulation. Yup, as far as the sculpt goes, I’m pretty happy with what we got.

The paint on my figure is pretty solid, at least to the naked eye. Keep in mind, Gonzo is shorter than your standard Star Wars figure and closeup shots of figures this small don’t usually do the paint any favors. That having been said, my figure only has a couple of nagging issues, like a weird yellow smudge on the back of his head and the fact that the purple along his mouth could be sharper where it meets the blue fur. Yeah, I’m nitpicking, especially when I’ve heard horror stories from some other collectors about horrible paint on some of these figures. Maybe I got lucky. Bottom line: The sculpt is great, the paint is solid. I like this figure a lot and he’s pretty fun to play with.

Camilla, as I already mentioned feels more like an accessory than a figure. I was hoping for a little articulation here, like swivels in the feet and a rotating head, but she’s a totally static piece. The sculpt is good, and again the paint looks fine with the figure in hand. Except the eyebrows. I don’t know where they were going with that blue paint. There’s nothing really wrong with her as far as non-poseable plastic chickens go, but despite her name being on the package, she feels more like a piece of window dressing. And that brings us to… accessories!

Gonzo comes with a rather odd mix of accessories, and by that I mean that only a few feel like they really belong to him. Now, I get the feeling this line is going to treat accessories (as much as the characters) as universe building blocks. You only need look at the packages to realize that. And as such, there’s stuff in this packet that becomes a lot more fun when you heap it all together with the others. For example, you get a coffee mug and a box of popcorn. I don’t remember Gonzo being a coffee afficiando, but that mug will look nice on Kermit’s desk while he’s working out the scheduling for the acts. And the popcorn? Well, it is a theater, so it makes sense, just not so much with Gonzo.

Well, now we’re talking… It’s Gonzo’s horn! At the end of the opening song and dance before every episode Gonzo would pop out of the sign, blow his horn and some different unexpected hilarity would ensue. To me, no other accessory better characterizes Gonzo, so this one was a great choice. Can he hold it? Mmmm, sort of, but it’s not like it feels the figure was meant to.

The final mixed pair of accessories are the easel and studio light. The easel comes complete with a cardboard poster showing Gonzo’s Daredevil Stunt Spectacular. This is a cool little display piece and I could see future figures coming with different posters to display with it. And then you have the studio light. A great accessory for that universe building I was talking about earlier, just not something specific to Gonzo. I could easily see DST repacking a couple more of these in with other figures and I don’t know that I would mind it that much. It’s an extremely well done piece and they will look great scattered about a shelf that is gradually being converted into The Muppet’s Theater.

I have a confession to make… I went with Gonzo first because this pack was the least impressive one to me, so it’s going to be all up hill from here. Not to say that I don’t like this set, I do! Gonzo is the man!!! But of the three releases, it feels like this one has the least amount of value on its own. It feels like you’re really only getting one figure and some of the accessories are a little random. However, taken as a group with the entire wave and the value here goes way up and offers a hint of all the fun stuff that I’ll be amassing for my Muppets, assuming that this line does well. And that’s why I remain a little apprehensive here. On the one hand I’m crazy excited about putting together a huge collection of characters. Hell, just the idea of completing Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem is making me giddy. But for that the line has to succeed and so I’m going to be 100% all in. Which is exactly how pissed I’ll be if this line fizzles after just a few waves.

Come on back tomorrow, and we’ll check out Kermit & Co.!

May 9 2016

Marvel Legends (Red Onslaught Wave): Red Onslaught Build-A-Figure by Hasbro

Here we are at the and of this wave’s run and I’m finally able to put all these pieces together and build Red Onslaught, a BAF that has truly left me with some mixed emotions. While not one of my favorite characters, I’m willing to believe that getting Onslaught in Legends format would have made many fans happy. Getting Onslaught merged with a clone of The Red Skull? Hmm… you may be on shakier ground there, Hasbro.

As I’m sure y’all know by now, Red Onslaught is built from the parts spread out between the seven figures in this wave. These include the two legs, two arms, torso, cape, and head. Technically, there are nine parts, as the shoulders are separate pieces, but were included with the torso piece in Mockingbird’s package. Everything fits together pretty easily and while he’s overall pretty sturdy, I did have one of his legs pull out a couple of times when posing him.

While I’ve certainly hinted at Red Onslaught not being high on my want list of characters, I cannot deny that this is one damn gorgeous figure. He’s suitably tall for a BAF and the look of the armor, with its clean and lovely contours, is just amazing to me. From the sculpted muscles in the legs and the various segmented plates in the chest to that ribbed sections on the inner thighs, the sculptors spared no expense and the result is a figure that commands attention as if screaming from the shelf… YOU VILL NOTICE ME!!! And check out those shoulders! They’re enough to make the collective Paladins of Azeroth feel pangs of jealousy. As if the sculpting on this piece weren’t enough, the mix of all that shiny crimson and purple is a veritable feast for the eyes!

The back of the figure showcases that wonderful… cape? Well, let’s go with cape for lack of a better word. It’s actually more like a giant carapace that pegs right into his back.

The portrait is a wonderful piece of work as well, even if most collectors would have probably preferred something a bit more Magneto-like sitting up there. Don’t worry, according to Hasbro, it’s coming! Either way, rather than blast it for what it isn’t, I’ll just go ahead and say it’s a fantastic sculpt with some amazing paintwork to back it up. The piercing eyes and individually painted teeth look great and the wash helps bring out some of those wonderful details in the skull.

The articulation here is about what I expect out of my BAFs, and that is to say it’s not all that much different than the individually packaged figures. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, with swivels in the biceps. The fact that the shoulders are hinged mean that you can move them a bit out of the way, but they’re still going to interfere a bit with the arm movement. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double hinges in the knees, hinges in the ankles, and swivels at the tops of the thighs. The only issue here for me is the ankle hinges. They don’t allow for any forward movement and that makes old Red Skull topple backwards sometimes. Finally, you get a ball joint in the chest and another in the neck.

That’s it. That’s really all I’ve got. Truth is, I didn’t really have a dog in this hunt when it came to this wave’s BAF because I’m just not vested in this version of the character. With that having been said, he’s a strikingly gorgeous figure and he’ll be a welcome and imposing addition to my 6-inch Marvel shelves. After all, the name of the game for me with Marvel Legends is always about that ever expanding universe building and Red Onslaught certainly fits that bill and caps off what was a very solid wave of figures.

And just to note, I’ll be taking a break from Legends for the next couple of Marvel Mondays to look at some of Hasbro’s 3 3/4-inch offerings as well as some Hot Toys, but when things do swing back to Legends in a few weeks I’ll be kicking off the Absorbing Man Wave… And eventually I’ll double back and look at that Rhino Wave… Assuming I don’t complete that Giant Ant-Man wave first.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Monthly Archives: May 2016

Mortal Kombat X: Quan Chi by Mezco

Mortal Kombat X: Kotal Khan by Mezco

Aliens: Space Marine Lt. Ripley (Kenner Version) by NECA

Ant-Man 1:6 Scale Figure by Hot Toys

Sword Art Online: Asuna (Aincrad Fencer) Prize Figure by Taito

DC Icons: (#07) Black Adam by DC Collectibles

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part III: Fozzie and Scooter

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part II: Kermit with Robin and Bean Bunny

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part I: Grover and Camilla

Marvel Legends (Red Onslaught Wave): Red Onslaught Build-A-Figure by Hasbro

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