Jan 20 2016

Masters of the Universe Classics: He-Ro II by Mattel

It feels weird, this is the first month where I’m no longer collecting the MOTUC line. The last traditional Sub ended in 2015 and while I have been nothing but thrilled with my collection, I just couldn’t bring myself to sign up for the 2.0 and do it all over again with the Filmation versions. Maybe if display space wasn’t in such high demand around here, it would have been a different story, but it is what it is. I did go on Matty Collector and consider picking up Lord Masque, but with a checkout price of $38, I just couldn’t do it. Anywho, I do still have plenty of unfinished business with the line and today I’m opening up the last single carded figure from December’s sale… It’s Hero II.

And here he is, in package. He-Ro… II? Yes, the II is to denote that this is the second He-Ro figure released in the MOTUC line and both have roots in the original Mattel property. This one, as the tagline on the package states, is the “Heroic Son of He-Man.” His real name is Dare and he is the product of Adam and Teela bumping uglies, at least in the Classics narrative. The character is based on the protagonist from a failed pitch in the 90’s to spawn a new Masters cartoon. So yeah, what we have here is a figure based on a concept series that didn’t get produced, let alone spawn an actual line of action figures.

Dare isn’t so much like a cross between Adam and Teela, but rather He-Man and New Adventures He-Man. He’s got NA’s blue pants and ponytail and a spiffy futuristic version of He-Man’s chest harness and his fur lined boots. There’s so much I dig about this guy’s design and execution, particularly the corny combination of “H” and “M” on his belt buckle and the traditional He-Man crosses on his gauntlets and shoulder armor. Dare also features a belt with a working holster for his pistol and a bitchin’ crystal in the center of his chest harness.

The coloring here is great too. There’s a couple purdy shades of blue along with a metallic blue for the shoulder and it combines with the gold, silver and red to make a dynamic and pleasing color scheme. In fact, this figure is loaded with great little touches to the paint and sculpt that make it obvious Matty put a lot of extra love into him. They just went all out.

The head sculpt is new, but the nod to NA He-Man is certainly there. Besides the ponytail he’s got a younger look and a more angular face. The hair sculpt is particularly great with the tussled bangs.

If you want a little more NA He-Man in your Dare, the figure comes with a swap out vest, which is basically a silver repaint of NA’s gold space vest. It’s a welcome bonus, but I’ll likely be sticking with the blue rig.

In addition to the extra vest, Dare comes with his sword and laser pistol. The sword can be stowed in the loop on the back of either vest. I’m a big fan of mixing swords and laser guns, so this guy’s armament is right up my ally.

There’s no doubt about it, He-Ro II is mined deep from the annals of Masters history and so as a character, he’s only going to appeal to the most hardcore of Masters fans who know the stories beyond the stories about the stories that never happened. But for someone like me, a significant portion of this line has always been more about the figures than the characters, and so I can say that I really dig this guy a lot. And since, I don’t have a New Adventures He-Man in my collection (yet). Dare may just stand in for him on that shelf. Oh yeah, I just realized I never looked at the Classics release of the first He-Ro, so I’ll try to remedy that next week.

Jan 19 2016

Terminator 2 Judgement Day: Ultimate Sarah Connor by NECA

Boy, I sure am digging NECA’s Ultimate Series! But, if you’ve been reading FFZ for the last year or so, you already knew that. While the half-dozen or so figures in this line have hit on several different and classic points of action and horror cinema, this newest offerings are going back to T2: Judgement Day, the greatest sci-fi action flick ever produced (IMNSHO) with the most quintessential bad-ass mom of them all, Sarah Connor!

Sarah joins the first T2 figure in the line, the T-800, with beautifully matched packaging. It’s the same chunky box with a front flap and I dig the way it like an oversized VHS tape sleeve. The flap opens up to allow a look at the figure and all her accessories and there’s a little blurb about the character on the back. Everything is collector friendly, and that’s great because there’s a lot of stuff here to store in it.

Sarah is sculpted wearing the tactical gear she donned after hooking up with her merc friends and getting ready to go after Dyson. The outfit features high laced combat boots, pocketed pants, a sleeveless t-shirt, and a tactical rig. Everything here is reproduced with NECA’s usual uncanny attention to detail, which includes stitching on the pants, textures on the shirt, individual pouches and straps on the rig, individually painted fixtures on the belt, and a combat knife sheath with removable knife.

Not to be outdone by the T-800 figure, Sarah also comes with three different portraits. The figure is packaged with the ponytail, military cap, and sunglasses. This one is a great look for the character and a nice likeness even with the glasses on. The glasses appear to be a separate sculpt and are permanently attached. My only point of contention here is that I wish the paint used for the silver rims of the glasses was a little sharper. There’s a lot of slop when you get up close with the lens, but it’s clearly not as bad with the naked eye. Want to take the hat and glasses off? Just pop on the next head…

This one is the same ponytail, sans hat and glasses, with her bangs down in her eyes. Another great likeness, and I really dig the way they sculpted the bangs as a separate piece. You can actually pull them back and see her eyes under there. Neat!

Finally, you get a portrait with her hair down and another pretty solid likeness. I think they got a little heavy handed with the eyebrow paint, but I’ve got no other complaints. And even with all that hair, NECA was still able to salvage the neck articulation thanks to the use of soft plastic and the cuts on each side where the hair falls in front of and behind her shoulders.

Speaking of articulation, the articulation here is pretty solid. You get rotating hinges at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. There are ball joints in the waist and neck. The wrists have swivels and the ankles have both hinges and lateral rockers. Some extra points could have been justified, but I suspect some, like bicep cuts, were left out so as not to compromise the sculpt. If I could have one improvement here it would have been a better range of motion in the elbows. The sculpt stops them about halfway, which makes it more difficult than it should be to achieve certain poses with her guns.

Naturally, Sarah comes with a nice selection of weaponry, in addition to the combat knife included in the sheath, she has three guns. Starting off with the pistol, she has the Colt-Detonics M1911 Hybrid, which the T-800 acquired at the bikier bar and Sarah picked up in the escape from the mental hospital. There’s some beautiful detailing on this, particularly in the distinctive grip.

Next up, you get the Remington 870 police shotgun. This is a great looking accessory, which includes a hinged stock with the extra cartridges sculpted on top.

And finally, you get a really great recreation of the Colt Commando. This one includes the laser site she used to target Dyson outside his home. Owning this figure and the T-800 results in a damn fine collection of iconic weapons in the 7-inch scale.

Once again the term “Ultimate” is aptly used to describe this line. Sarah is a fantastic figure and with a bevy of weapons and extra likeness options, you get a lot more here then one is inclined to expect from a mass market figure in this scale and all for the ridiculously reasonable price of $21. Needless to say I’m continuing to be on board with every figure NECA puts out in this line, and the next one will keep the T2 love alive with the Ultimate T-1000.

Jan 18 2016

Marvel Legends (Hulkbuster Wave): Thundra by Hasbro

It’s taken me an unusually long time to get through the Hulkbuster Wave of Marvel Legends. I started this endeavor all the way back in November for crying out loud. Well, it’s finally almost done as today I’ll be opening the final figure in the assortment. It’s Thundra. Let’s do this.

Thundra shares a slot with Valkyrie and as such her name is not printed on the front of the package. All she gets is the moniker “Fearless Defenders,” which isn’t bad since it’s pointing out the fact that Hasbro has been doing a little team building with the ladies. Not that The Fearless Defenders is a tightly knit group. Anyway, this lovely little box also holds the final piece I will need to build the Iron Man Hulkbuster Armor and it’s only through an uncommon burst of willpower that I have resisted putting him together as yet. Ah, but that’s a subject for next Monday. Let’s get a look at Thundra…

And here she is… what the hell is she doing in this wave? Thundra’s history is one of alternate futures and pure comic book craziness. The only reason I know her at all is from my early bond with Fantastic Four, where she happened to debut in the very same year I was born. As a teenager, I used to peddle my bike downtown and hunt badly worn copies of FF (among other comics) at the local used book shop. Fast forward about 30 years and I can’t say as I recall running into her again the (unfortunately) short lived 2013 run of Fearless Defenders and ultimately again in The End of The Fantastic Four. I understand that she’s currently appearing in Squdaron Supreme, but I’ve got a lot of backlog to get through before that ever gets to the pile on my nightstand. Where was I? Oh yeah, I’ve got a figure to look at!

Thundra relies heavily on paint apps for her costume, although the defined muscles in her exposed abs suggest some new sculpting there. From the waist down, she’s got red painted pants with gold lightning stripes running down the sides and gold painted boots. The top is a sort of one sleeved red sports bra affair with a painted gold stitch pattern running diagonally down the top. The outfit is wrapped up with a painted arm bracer on her left wrist and a belt hanging on her hips. All in all, it’s a nice looking costume. The deco is certainly appealing and the figure pops beautifully on the shelf, even when displayed amidst a bevy of brightly colored costumed heroes.

The head sculpt here is as solid as they come. Thundra is quite pretty with a lush mane of red hair and a flashy row of gritting teeth between her neatly painted lips. They also used a particularly striking bit of emerald green paint for her eyes. Last, but not least, you get a silver tiara peeking through her hair above her forehead.

Articulation is good, although she does feature those hip joints that require some extra fiddling to get the legs to do what you want. There are swivels in the thighs, double hinges in the knees, and the ankles feature both hinges and lateral rockers. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, and you also get swivels in the biceps. There’s a ball joint just under the chest and another in the neck. Granted, the sculpted hair renders the neck articulation all but inert.

In addition to the giant Hulkbuster piece, Thundra comes with a ball and chain and surprisingly it’s not a repack of the one that came with some of The Wreckers. This one has a much more dainty ball on the end. I think she took this off a Doom-Maiden in the comics…

I may have made much ado about Thundra being a bit of a back bencher character, but I actually really like this figure a lot and for me every character contributes to my universe building, so it’s all good. I’m also doubly anxious now to pick up Misty Knight and get bolster my Fearless Defenders roster even more. Besides, there’s always someone out there that is going to be totally excited over a character that seems inconsequential to the majority. Hell, I’m still waiting for a new Legends Moon Knight.

Jan 15 2016

Femme Fatales “DC Animated Series:” Batgirl by Diamond Select

It’s DC Friday again, and today I’m jumping back into Diamond’s new line of statues based on the ladies of the DC Animated Universe. Since this off-shoot of DST’s Femme Fatales line debuted back in October, I’ve already picked up Poison Ivy and two versions of Supergirl and today it’s Batgirl’s turn.

While it’s basically the same style of window box DST has been using since the line debuted, the DC Animated Statues are each getting their own deco to match the theme of their respective series. I like that they’re doing this because the regular Femme Fatales packaging wasn’t all that exciting or engaging. In this case the deco is themed for Batman: The Animated Series and so the box matches the one used for Poison Ivy quite nicely. Windows on the front, top, and side panels all allow for a pretty good look at the statue and everything is collector friendly, should you ever wish to box Batgirl back up for storage. The statue comes sandwiched between two clear plastic trays and there’s no assembly required. Let’s get her out and take a look…

Sculpted from the Bruce Timm art style, this version of Batgirl features her traditional grey bodysuit with blue boots, gauntlets, cape and cowl along with her yellow belt and bat insignia. While I wouldn’t be opposed to double-dipping on her black and yellow costume, I’m glad DST went with this one. It’s just a bit more iconic to me. The costume doesn’t feature a lot of detail, that’s all part of the simple animated style, but the tight costume doesn’t leave much to the imagination when it comes to her bat curves. Her adorable little cape bellows out behind her and the head sculpt is certainly faithful to the art that inspired it. The cowl and mask is part of the sculpt and her hair spills out the back. And yes, she also has a nice little bum.

The pose here is a fun one. I’m torn on whether she’s about to break into a run, throw the batarang in her right hand, or if she’s just posing for the camera. Either way, it’s a nice mix of whimsy with a hint of action and it suits the character well.

The singular thing about doing statues based on this simple animated style is the importance of a nice clean paint job. The paintwork on Batgirl is overall fairly solid, but there’s a few areas where I would have liked to see some improvement, most notably the outline around the bat symbol, where there are some uneven lines. Otherwise, there’s a few stray marks on the grey bodysuit, most notably an off-color spot just above her belt buckle and another on her butt. Yeah, I’ve seen worse paintwork on more expensive statues, but that doesn’t completely excuse it. I will also note that I think the hair could have used a more red in it. What we got is more of a straight chocolate brown.

The base suggests Batgirl is standing on the roof of a Gotham City Police car with one foot up on the light bar. This is easily my favorite base in the line so far as it’s evocative of the simple art style and still communicates a bit of environmental context.

Three statues in and I’m still digging these DC animated ladies a lot. Yes, they’re budget statues and as such the more discerning statue collectors are likely to turn their noses up, but I think the scope of the line marries the simplistic Bruce Timm style perfectly. These aren’t going to replace Koto’s Bishoujos as my favorites any time soon, but then again these run between half to three-quarters of the price, so at $35, there’s some decent value here. Batgirl’s paint is the weakest of the three, but that could be just my specific statue and it’s still not terrible. My eye is often drawn to the spot on her tummy, but I may have some success smoothing that out. DST seems to be averaging about one release a month on these, with Harley hitting right about now and Catwoman and Hawkgirl both on deck to ship in the months ahead. There’s also an Exclusive Talia Al Ghul, which I’ve been trying to resist, but I’m thinking I may wind up getting.

Jan 14 2016

Transformers Legends: (LG-15) Nightbird Shadow by Takara

I distinctly remember, back in the 80’s I used to get up on Sunday mornings, pour myself a big bowl of cereal (probably Cap’n Crunch) and watch the Transformers cartoon before my parents hauled me off to church. I’m not gonna lie, most Sundays I would spend the whole time replaying the episode in my head, but then there was that one episode, Enter the Nightbird that had me so pumped, I’m surprised I didn’t just stand up in the middle of Sunday Mass and scream, “WATCH OUT, OPTIMUS, SHE’S PLAYING ROBOTO-POSSUM!” It was a great episode and I always wanted a Nightbird figure because she was a giant female robot ninja, and if you need any more reason than that, you must be very empty inside. About the only thing Nightbird didn’t have going for her was she wasn’t a Transformer… well, now she is!

This is my first time dipping my toe into Takara’s Transformers Legends line, not to be confused with Hasbro’s Legends line. On our side of the Pacific Legends means tiny little bite-sized Transformers, whereas abroad it has consisted of repaints of Deluxe toys and a few unique characters. I do dig the packaging here quite a bit. It’s a compact window box that displays the figure in her vehicle mode with a very G1-inspired grid deco, some bitchin’ character art, and a lot of copy that I can’t read. You get a fold-out instruction sheet with some very wacky looking comic pages and a poster too. Everything is collector friendly, which is a definite plus because there are a lot of accessories here to keep track of.

As already mentioned, Nightbird is an actual Transformer now, and as you can probably tell from her vehicle mode, she’s a repaint (and ever so slight remold) of Generations Arcee. This futuristic convertible is one of my favorite alt modes in recent history and it looks rather spectacular repainted in the black and silver Nightbird colors. You also get purple seats to complete that classic Decepticon deco and a tinted yellow windshield. The only changes to the mold can be found in the very tip of the hood. While Nightbird started life as a free agent, here she proudly bears a Decepticon logo on her hood and it looks great.

As with Arcee, there are still several ports on this vehicle to take the weapons she comes with. So you can really arm Nightbird to the teeth even when she’s cruising around on the roads of Cybertron. Of course, some of the weapons look better on her alt mode than others.

Transformation is identical to Arcee, which means it’s a lot easier going to robot mode than packing everything away into vehicle mode. Still, once you know what you’re doing, neither conversion is all that difficult. There’s a little more remolding evident in the robot mode, all of which can be found on the torso, and of course the new head. While the new sculpting is appreciated, I have to say I’m really amazed at how incredibly well this figure works as Nightbird with so little tweaking. In fact, if I didn’t know it already, and if it weren’t for the car kibble backpack, I’d be hard pressed to guess that this wasn’t created specifically to be Nightbird.

The new head is a fairly simple yet fantastic sculpt and features some rather nice light piping in the eyes, which I utterly failed to capture here.

In the cartoon, Nightbird was able to keep all the Autobots at bay with her cunning Ninja tricks and her action figure sports a nice arsenal of weaponry. For starters, she has the same two guns that came with Arcee, both black this time. I like the design of both these guns, but they sit rather high in her hand making them look a bit awkward when she’s wielding them. Thanks to the side tabs, she can also attach them to her hips as if they were holstered.

Also included are Arcee’s swords, this time cast in yellow translucent plastic. I like these pieces a lot and she looks great holding them. It’s a pity that they didn’t include side tabs so she could wear them on her hips with the blades flat against her, rather than sticking out awkwardly.

Last and certainly not least, you also get a pair of energon sai, which are a welcome addition to the arsenal and very appropriate for the character. Like the swords, these are also cast in clear yellow and while all the weapons are appreciated, it’s the sai that are going to be displayed on her person most of the time. These can also be tabbed into her forearms or comfortably worn on her hips. Very cool!

As an import, the price on the Takara’s Legends figures are certainly steeper than the Hasbro Deluxes. Nightbird set me back just a bit under $30 and that seems to be the going price for these. Yes, you do get an extra pair of weapons and I think overall the paint is of better quality than what we see on the American releases, but this is a case where I was really paying for a character that I really wanted and had very little chance of ever making it Stateside via Hasbro. Chances are this will be a one-shot dip into this line, but even at about twice the price of a Generations Deluxe, I have no regrets. Nightbird is an amazing little figure and one that I’ve wanted for a long time.

Jan 13 2016

Mortal Kombat X: Kitana by Mezco

Last year, the folks at Mezco wowed me with the first assortment of their Mortal Kombat X line and the second assortment hit just at the tail end of 2015 and it’s been hanging around waiting to be opened for the better part of a month now. Today, I’m checking out my most anticipated figure of that second wave, the deadly and lovely Kitana!

The packaging is largely unchanged from the first wave. You get a funky shaped card and a bubble molded to look like the MK emblem. It’s a snazzy presentation that shows off the figure quite well, but it’s totally unfriendly to collectors and so it’s getting torn open and pitched. FigureFan vs Packaging… FIGHT!

BRUTALITY!

The sculpting on this line has been top notch from the get go, and Kitana keeps that delightful trend chugging along. The top half of her outfit is layered onto the female buck to add a lot of depth and credibility, not to mention a little bit of lovely side-boob. That’s side boob… not to be confused with Noob Saibot. Extra sculpting is used for the ornamentation on her shoulder guards, gorget, and breast armor, all of which looks great. I’m not a huge fan of the baggy parts of her costume that puff out of the tops of her leggings, but that’s more an issue I have with the character design and not the execution of the figure. The leggings include sculpted stitching and there are extra armor pieces for her knees. The coloring also serves to back up the sculpt quite nicely. I really dig the shade of blue they used here too. It’s very similar to the wonderful blue they used for Sub Zero’s costume.

Kitana has a pair of tabs on her back, which are obviously designed to interact with her weapons, I’m just not a hundred percent sure how. It’s similar to the deal with Scorpion where you had to figure it out for yourself. I was able to clip her blades in there, but it’s tentative at best and there are rather conspicuous slots on the fans that make me think they’re supposed to go in there somehow.

The portrait here is very well done. Even though half her face is covered up, the paint on the eyes is enough to carry the day. Definitely a pretty lady.

Kitana features some solid articulation very much in line with what we saw on the previous figures. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have rotating hinges in the knees and ankles, and swivels at the thighs. There’s a ball joint at the waist and another at the neck. Her posability is perfectly serviceable, but these are fighting game figures, so there is definitely room for improvement. I would have certainly liked a greater range of motion in the hips at least. I’m also happy to say, I’ve never had any issues with stuck joints when dealing with Mezco’s products.

The package includes no less than four pairs of hands, which is certainly impressive for a figure in this scale. You also get two sets of weapons. First, Kitana has her regular blades. These include blue painted handles and etched blades. They’re great little pieces, but let’s face it, they’re upstaged by her amazing fans…

Yeah, I’m a big fan of these fans! Yeah, technically, they’re meant to be the same weapon as the regular blades. They look amazing and she can hold them beautifully. I can’t imagine I’ll be displaying her without these very often as they remain her trademark weapons for me.

Kitana is another solid addition to this wonderful little series. Mortal Kombat hasn’t been a big deal for me for a long while, so it’s a testament to the look and quality of these figures that I’m collecting them at all. The paint and sculpt on these have been superb across the board and I really wish that Mezco would snag some more licenses and produce more articulated figures in this scale, rather than just churning out semi-articulated Breaking Bad statues. Unfortunately, the fate of the MKX line doesn’t seem all that rosy and Mezco hasn’t been very upbeat about the likelihood that the line will continue into 2016. The next two figures in the wave are Quan Chi and Kotal Kahn and you can expect me back with a look at those in a week or so, as soon as I’ve cleared some more of the rest of my backlog!

Jan 12 2016

Doctor Who: “Night of the Doctor” Eighth Doctor by Character Options

It’s become part of my Doctor Who viewing routine to watch the new episodes and lament over how almost every single character would have gotten an action figure back in the heyday of Character Options’ 5-inch line. Oh, the missed opportunities over the last couple of Series. Now, we’re lucky to get a handful of figures a year. And I do mean lucky, because I’m sincerely grateful for every single release these days. That goes double for today’s because it’s the version of The 8th Doctor from the six-and-a-half minute short, “Night of the Doctor!”

If you picked up either version of The 12th Doctor figures last year, you’ll know just what to expect from the packaging. The figure comes in a window box very much in line with what a lot of the big toy companies are doing with their 6-inch figure lines. The deco is a sumptuous blend of old and new, the window shows off the figure beautifully, and everything is totally collector friendly. Needless to say, I like it!

The back of the box gives you a little blurb about the great Paul McGann as The 8th Doctor and the short “minisode” that the figure is based on. When it comes to that 1996 Fox TV movie, my motto has always been “hate the movie, love The Doctor!” That’s probably why I dig this short so much. It not only gave us a precious few more minutes of McGann on screen as The Doctor, but this time it was brilliant and it finally gave him a proper (and superb!) regeneration scene as well as legitimized his Big Finish Audio Adventures by having him rattle off the names of his companions. Lovely.

It’s no secret that I’ve been disappointed with the QC in the last few figures in this line. I’m happy to say that this figure shows improvements on a massive scale. The paint is near perfect and there are no loose, pulled, or wobbly joints. Naturally, I had to get him online, so when I was ready to cringe when I pulled the package from the shipping box. Needless to say, I was pleasntly surprised with what I got! I absolutely adore this costume. It’s like a blend of Edwardian gentlemen meets steampunk high plains drifter and the sculpt and paint used to bring it to life are both implemented beautifully. There’s all sorts of detail in the vest, including the unbuttoned bottom button and the chain to his fob watch running off to the side and disappearing under the coat. The coat is the usual vest faked out with sculpted arm sleeves and it works brilliantly here. The boots include individually sculpted laces and the open shirt collar with cravat looks great. The paint used to make the worn leather finish on the boots loos particularly nice.

The portrait is fine, but under close scrutiny it looks rather soft. It’s a decent likeness and certainly sets itself apart from the McGann portraits Character Options has delivered in the past.

With fewer figures being produced each year, you’d think that CO would have cut back on the articulation, but this Doctor is probably the best articulated figure this line has ever seen. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs feature a t-crotch in the hips with added lateral hinges. The knees are hinged and there are swivels in both the thighs and the tops of the boots. There’s a swivel at the waist and again at the neck.

The Doctor comes with three accessories. First, you get the bandoleer strap that he took from Cass, the woman he failed to save. It’s a very key accessory, as the woman died refusing to trust The Doctor because of his connection to the Time Lords. Her death was in effect the last straw that led to him finally agreeing to take up arms and fight to end it. The strap is removable and very similar to the one seen sculpted under the jacket of The War Doctor.

Next up you get the Sonic Screwdriver, which is a wonderful little piece because it matches the design of the ones carried by the classic Doctors.

Finally, you get the chalice that was given to The Doctor by the Sisterhood of Karn, containing the Elyxyr of Life, which allowed him to undergo a customized regeneration. It also figured in that wonderful little sequence where he canonizes his Audio Adventure companions before drinking: “Charley, C’rizz, Lucie, Tamsin, Molly, friends, companions I’ve known, I salute you. And Cass, I apologise…. Physician, heal thyself.” Freaking brilliant.

At this point every 5-inch scale Doctor Who figure I can add to my shelf is a rare treat. This one, especially so because a) It’s a version of The Doctor that I badly wanted and b) the craftsmanship on display here is exceptional. He’s definitely going to replace my current 8th Doctor on my Shelf of Doctors. Seeing that CO is still capable of producing a figure this nice makes me just want more. Fortunately, I do happen to have another new one to check out next week: It’s Missy! Well, she couldn’t go around calling herself The Master, could she?

Jan 11 2016

Marvel Legends (Hulkbuster Wave): Valkyrie by Hasbro

I’ve got just two more figures in the Hulkbuster Wave to check out before I can cobble together my Hulkbuster. Believe you me, that it’s taken all my resolve and willpower not to jump the gun and tear these last figures open to get the big guy assembled. Especially since at the rate I’m going, I still two more weeks. Anyway, today’s figure is Valkyrie. Somehow I wound up saving the two ladies in this assortment for last…

And there’s the figure in the package. You’ll note that Valkyrie shares this slot with Thundra and as a result her name isn’t on the front of the box. Instead you get, “Fearless Defenders” It still amazes me that Hasbro is willing to put out the lesser known characters and not even put their names on the front of the packages. Sometimes, you show balls Hasbro. Anyway, Valkyrie is also one of those characters that Hasbro is double-dipping on, as we got her in the 3 3/4-inch Universe line last year.

If you have that Universe figure, you have a good idea what to expect here, as this is every bit the same version of the character. That having been said, it’s also an improvement on almost every level. Take note for your Star Wars Black series, Hasbro, because this is how you upscale a figure and take proper advantage of it. It’s interesting, because technically, there isn’t a whole lot to Valkyrie’s costume. It’s mostly painted black body suit, but few details almost all include new sculpting and that carries the figure a long way. The four armor points on her torso, for example, are all sculpted as well as painted. The belt is new and actually attached to the figure, rather than just dangling on her hips, the downside being that you can’t stick her sword through the belt for her to carry, like you could with the Universe figure. The only details that get by with paint alone are her bicep straps and wrist bracers, and they look just fine.

I really dig the head sculpt here. The portrait has a lot of character and shows that Hasbro has come a long way with female faces since the unfortunate Madam Viper. The paint on the pupils is a little uneven, but you can’t tell unless you get up really close with a camera. The sculpting on the hair is also quite good, although the braids do tend to jut out in front of her a bit too much. I really wish there was some way Hasbro could have done these in plastic that could bend and hold its form. The braids are also the biggest difference between this figure and the 3 3/4″ version, which had much longer hair.

The articulation here is actually pretty close to what we got in the 3 3/4″ figure, with just a little give and take. The arms have rotating hinges at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. There are also swivels in the biceps. The legs have rotating hinges at the hips, double hinges in the knees, hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles, and swivels at the hips. There’s a ball joint just under the chest and another in the neck. The one point I miss the most is the extra hinge in the neck. Hasbro has been including that point in just about every Legends figure I can think of. I’m not sure why it didn’t make it into this one, but it’s absence is very noticeable to me.

In addition to the enormous Hulkbuster arm, Valkyrie comes with her trusty sword, Dragonfang. The hilt sculpt is a lot more subdued than the smaller Universe version and I like it a lot more. It’s just a classical looking cruciform sword.

Valkyrie turned out to be the unexpected breakout figure of the wave, and that’s saying something because this has been an overall solid assortment. She looks great and she’s loads of fun to play with. It’s always nice to see Hasbro put some extra work into the characters that aren’t exactly top tier and I think that was certainly the case here. And with Valkyrie joining my Legends ranks of Spider-Woman, Hellcat, Black Cat, Black Widow and Captain Marvel my Fearless Defenders are shaping up nicely. Especially with Misty Knight in the next Wave I’m buying. And that will segue me right into Thundra on the next Marvel Monday.

Jan 9 2016

Pop! Vinyls (Army of Darkness): Ash by Funko

Damn these ridiculous things! I bought a few Doctor Who and Fallout Pop!s last year and swore it wasn’t going to be a gateway into anything, and now I’ve got more of these things then I’d care to admit. I’ve decided that the weekend would be the best time for me to start looking at these things, as well as some Disney Infinity figures and other items in my collection not worthy of occupying a regular weekday slot, so here we go…

Here is the insidious little box that called to me from the shelf. Ash is #53 of what I’m assuming is their movie series. But Funko is so prolific with these things that any time I see a number less than 10,000 on these things I call foul. I’ve been keeping the boxes for now, but I can foresee a day when I will have Totes with hundreds of loose Pop!s just spilled into them. Someone, please stop me before that plays out.

The back panel is odd, because instead of showing you what other POP!s are out there to buy it just has a poster from the film. Man, that was a great poster! Now, I realize that this particular Pop! is from Army of Darkness, but the real reason I wanted to look at Ash today was to give me a platform to talk about the TV Series, Ash Vs Evil Dead, which just wrapped up it’s first season and… HOLY SHIT, RIGHT??? This was a series that they could have totally phoned in and fans would have still eaten it up with a Candarian spoon. But the creators didn’t do that. No, instead they delivered what has got to be some of the most unique TV ever produced. This show is beyond a love letter to the fans. It’s a full on blow job letter to the fans. It’s just absolutely incredible and impossible and I can’t believe something like this was actually made and put on television. Needless to say, I loved it and can’t wait for more. OK, back to the damn Pop!

One of the thing that impresses me is the way Funko is able to take just one aspect of a character’s appearance and work it into the generic giant Pop! head and make the character recognizable. Here it’s Ash’s cowlick. The scar is neat too, as is the one raised eyebrow. I almost wish they had glued a chin on the bottom of the face, but that would have been going beyond the Pop! aesthetic so I can understand why they didn’t.

Now, I’m not saying I would recognize this head as Bruce Campbell by itself, but that’s where the body comes in and Funko did a nice job here. You get the torn blue shirt, the chest straps, the boomstick, and the chainsaw hand and all are produced quite well for this scale and scope. There’s just something about a figure this cute holding murder implements that makes me happy. The paint here is not bad at all. There’s a stray fleck of black here and there, but otherwise it’s pretty neat and the brushed steel look of the chainsaw blade is actually quite good.

So, I originally told myself just Fallout and Doctor Who (and yes, I have more of those to look at), but the problem here is that after you buy your first Pop! you start to notice them a lot more. Beforehand, they were just noise on an endcap at Target and now they sing to me as I make my sweep through the action figure aisle. Because lord knows, I really need more useless pieces of plastic to collect!

Jan 8 2016

DC Comics Designer Series (Greg Capullo): “New 52” Catwoman by DC Collectibles

It seems like a while since I did a DC Friday, so I’m getting back on point today by opening up another DC Collectibles figure. This time it’s the Designer Series Gregg Capullo Catwoman! Now, as many of you know, I’m not a regular reader of Batman comics, but I did go out of my way to read Death of the Family and rather enjoyed it. Of course, I’ve been an avid follower of Catwoman’s New 52 book. As a result, I tend to associate Guillem March’s art with New 52 Catwoman more than Capullo’s, but I still like what Capullo did in the Batman book and was happy to pick up this figure based on his art.

The packaging is quite similar to what we saw when I looked at the Flash TV Series figures and the deco is right in line with DCC’s regular New 52 window boxes. The biggest improvement is the angled window with the character’s name running up the side. The only real drawback here is how much wasted space is in that box. The tray looks very sparse and it could have used some art behind it with a little more punch to compensate. Everything is collector friendly, but with storage space ever the great enemy, I’ll be pitching this box.

Selena comes all decked out in her trademark skin-tight bodysuit. It’s a pretty simple outfit, enhanced by some wrinkles here and there and some very precise silver paint on her front zipper and the buckles on the sides of her high-heeled boots. I would have liked a little more gloss on the suit, but the matte finish that they used doesn’t look at all bad. They certainly got her curves in all the right places.

The head sculpt is damn nice, with her large, gold goggles and her cute little pursed lips. Getting in close makes the paint on her lips and nostrils seem a little weird, but it looks fine with the naked eye. Bonus points: I used the word “naked” in a feature about Catwoman. My Google hits are going up already! A second head with the goggles up would have been nice, as there was certainly plenty of room for it in the package, but I guess it was not to be.

The articulation here is decent enough for DC Collectibles’ standards, but a little lacking from what I’d like in my Catwoman figures. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels at the gloves. The legs feature a T-crotch at the hips, hinges in the knees, and swivels in both the thighs and at the tops of her boots. There’s no torso articulation, but there is a ball joint in the neck. Let’s face it, Catwoman is all about the acrobatics, so the posability here feels stiff and limiting. Then again, at this point anyone buying DCC figures and expecting limber articulation is really just kidding themselves. I will say that she can stand surprisingly well in those high heels, at least when she’s not doing anything. The more action orientated poses require a figure stand.

Catwoman comes with one accessory and that’s her whip. I really like this piece, as it’s made out of rubbery plastic and features a split end and a lanyard around the handle.

All in all, I’d say this is a pretty nice figure. She retailed at around $20 originally, but most of the figures in this wave have been hitting clearance around the Interwebs and I was able to pick up Selena here for around seven bucks. Not a bad deal at all, although getting her is really just driving me more to pick up DCC’s Heroes vs Villains 7-pack to get the Catwoman bundled in that box.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Yearly Archives: 2016

Masters of the Universe Classics: He-Ro II by Mattel

Terminator 2 Judgement Day: Ultimate Sarah Connor by NECA

Marvel Legends (Hulkbuster Wave): Thundra by Hasbro

Femme Fatales “DC Animated Series:” Batgirl by Diamond Select

Transformers Legends: (LG-15) Nightbird Shadow by Takara

Mortal Kombat X: Kitana by Mezco

Doctor Who: “Night of the Doctor” Eighth Doctor by Character Options

Marvel Legends (Hulkbuster Wave): Valkyrie by Hasbro

Pop! Vinyls (Army of Darkness): Ash by Funko

DC Comics Designer Series (Greg Capullo): “New 52” Catwoman by DC Collectibles

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