Monthly Archives: January 2019

Jan 30 2019

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): King Bromdenn Ironjaw by The Four Horsemen

The Dwarf faction did not factor into the Advent of Decay assortment too heavily, and that’s understandable. T4H had a lot of newcomers to deal with and were also introducing females into the some of the existing factions. But this newest assortment did give us the Dwarven King, Bromdenn Ironjaw, and that’s pretty damn special. And to make things even more intriguing, we get a lot of backstory about the state of Dwarven politics, thanks to his bio. Apparently King Ironjaw has not only made a lucrative alliance with the Goblin Kingdom, but he’s also leaning toward allying himself with the dreaded Gorgo Aetherblade! I’m not usually all that big into these bios, but this slice of politics in the Realm of Mythoss is pretty cool. And it seems like when it comes to politics, the Dwarves of Mythoss don’t f’ck around!

And damn, King Ironjaw does indeed look like a tough customer. As far as the body goes, there isn’t a whole lot new here. With the exception of the shoulders, the King uses the same body as his namesake, Thord Ironjaw. But it’s hard to tell much about his armor from a casual glance, because ause of all the other stuff going on here. For starters, Ironjaw has both a flowing red cape and a black hair-sash (sorry, don’t know what else to call it!) over his shoulders. Between those and his monumental beard, a lot of his armor is covered up. But fear not, we’ll see more of it in a little bit. What we can see suggests a full suit of black plate armor with gold and brown accents. This is the first time I’m seeing the line use hair as a garment. It’s a cool little addition of mixed media and it looks damn good on him. Advent of Decay uses this new addition to Mythoss fashion sparingly, but we will see it again!

And as good as the costuming is, it’s the head sculpt that really takes this figure above and beyond, at least for me. Sure, the face sculpt itself isn’t terribly different from previous Dwarves. I think they’re still working a bit of that John Rhyes Davies likeness and a little Gimli resemblance ain’t a bad thing. Still, it’s the majestic beard that stands out the most here. This copious coif of red whiskers is twisted into a series of heavy braids down his front, and some are “secured” with sculpted gold rings. It’s a veritable wall of beard and it covers the entire front of his torso. It’s matched by a pair of dominant eyebrows over his piercing gaze and somewhat bulbous nose. And then there’s the crown, which features a gold and ebony deco and a brilliant design. It’s shape and scroll-work patterns reminds me a bit of the Dwarf art and architecture from the Elder Scrolls games. And even better…

It is indeed removable! I was not expecting that when I got the figure, but it’s a wonderful option to have him standing with his crown in hand and to be able to check out his bald head. There’s another head included in the package, but let’s save that for a bit and look at the weapons instead. The Dwarves of Mythoss are accomplished weapon-smiths, so it’s only right that King Ironjaw should come with some very special weapons. None of what’s included here has turned up in any of my previously opened figures, so they’re all new to me, but it is worth mentioning that these have been included as part of a Dwarf Weapons Pack.

First off, he comes with this mighty hammer that basically doubles as a kingly scepter. This piece is painted gold and features twin cylindrical hammer heads with segmented rings and silver medallions. The butt of the shaft is fitted out with five silver tipped spikes, and if you want, you can actually remove the hammer head altogether, turn the shaft upside down for more of a scepter look. Not too shabby. Despite being taller than the King himself, I have no doubt that he could wield this thing pretty well in battle.

Next up is this gold-bladed broadsword with a stocky ebony hilt and an angular cross-guard. The gold finish on the blade is brushed over an emerald blade to give it a rather interesting finish. It has an extended grip for two hands, and it looks like the perfect weapon for a Dwarven King.

Equally impressive is his shield. Indeed, this is easily the most distinctive shield out of all the ones I’ve seen so far. It has a bearded face sculpted into the center of the ebony face with a gold border around the edges and silver bolts “securing” it. You get some geometric patterns sculpted into the face as well. Like the crown, I get a strong Elder Scrolls vibe off this piece and I love it. It looks particularly nice when accompanied by the sword. I could easily see this piece hung proudly above Ironjaw’s throne.

And finally, King Ironjaw comes with an axe. It’s relatively demure when compared to the sword and hammer, but I believe that it may be the most attractive weapon of the three. It features the same striking black and gold deco with a turned grip and a spiked butt cap. The axe head itself has a brilliant finish and I love the textured black inlay. It’s such a beautiful and deadly looking weapon! And that brings us back to the other head.

Ironjaw comes with this rather smart looking helmeted head. It’s the classic knight helmet sculpt that we’ve seen more than a few times before, only here it’s painted with the same black and gold deco as Ironjaw’s armor and it features a winged dragon motif on the top. I love the way this thing looks, but I cannot in any way believe that it’s Ironjaw wearing it. Where does his beard go? Is it some kind of Dwarven magic? Does he stuff it all in his mouth? Does he wrap it around his head to form helmet padding? It just doesn’t work. But… if I take off the hair sash…

Now we have a damn fine looking Dwarven Knight! It also gives us that much better look at Ironjaw’s armor that I promised earlier. I won’t spend a lot of time gushing over the armored sculpt, because we’ve seen it all before and I’ve done my gushing many times over. But damn, that deco is gorgeous and this guy looks so good! Am I ever going to display the figure like this? Nope. Never. And what a shame, because now I really wish I had the budget to pick up a couple more Ironjaws back when the pre-orders were going on. It would have been cool to turn a pair of these into the King’s personal bodyguard. Ironjaw would look pretty damn rad with a pair of these guys flanking his throne or preventing the Heavenbrands from approaching to protest the King’s impending pact with their sworn enemy, Gorgo Aetherblade.

And so what we have here is another great looking figure with lots of options for display. No, I’m not really still kicking myself for not having bought more Ironjaws. It’s tough enough to find room to display all the other figures in this rapidly growing line. I can easily let something like that go. But if you were keen on troop building the hell out of some of these guys, I think a bunch of Ironjaws kitted out with the helmets would look great as the King’s Royal Guard. Or just peppered into a display with a bunch of the Dwarf Legion Builders. As things are, though, I’m happy to have him as the King. Now, that’s not to say I wouldn’t mind The Four Horsemen cooking up a throne for him. Maybe bundle it with another Dwarf weapons pack? That would make me plunk down some serious mythril.

Jan 28 2019

Marvel Legends (Sauron Wave): Lady Deadpool by Hasbro

It’s time again for Marvel Monday and today I stuck my true-believing meat-hooks into a big box of unopened Legends figures and pulled forth none other than Lady Deadpool! The fates were good to me, as she’s the first figure I’m opening from the Sauron Wave, a Build-A-Figure that I am rather anxious to put together! Definitely more anxious than I am for this figure.

The Sauron Wave gives us a mix of Deadpool and X-Men characters, and I can tell right away from the back of the box that this one is going to be all about highs and lows, but with one figure kind of hanging out in the middle. That figure just happens to be Wanda Wilson. But let’s set aside my feelings about the rest of the wave’s assortment and instead focus on Lady-D. I didn’t want to like Deadpool Corps. Even to someone like me, who adores The ‘Pool, the concept of tossing a bunch of Deadpools, from across the multi-verse, together seemed like way too much pandering. Eventually I begrudgingly read it, and I begrudgingly loved it, and I begrudgingly bought the hardcovers. It was fun and stupid and sometimes that’s all I’m looking for out of my funnybooks. And with that context in mind, let’s check out Wanda!

Hey, it’s a basic female buck in Deadpool colors! Well of course it is, what else would I be expecting? The red is very red, the black is very black, and the paint lines are very… well, they could have been a lot sharper. Normally I’m not a huge stickler about this, but when the bulk of the costume comes from the paint, I’d like some crisp lines. Indeed, from the neck down, the only original sculpting on this figure comes in the form of her attached gear, all sculpted in soft brown plastic. This includes patches strapped to each of her thighs, a belt-o-pouches around her waist, and a shoulder rig, with a modest two-pouches, positioned under her right armpit. The sculpts have some nice detail, the belt buckle is painted in a silver and black variation of the old Pool emblem, and my only real complaint here is that the thigh straps are held up only by friction, so they have a habit of sliding down her legs. I’ll likely just end up securing them each with a drop of glue.

The head sculpt is surprisingly expressive, with Lady-D’s eyes narrowed and the shape of her furled brow clearly transmitted through her mask. She looks like she’s either trying to make outs something far off on the horizon, or trying to comprehend the stupidity of the person she’s about to kill. The stitch lines around the black areas are sculpted in, but what really saves this noggin from being ordinary is the wonderful stream of hair that spills out of her hood and coils its’ way down her back. It looks great and it’s really the one thing about this figure that stands out as special.

Accessories include her twin katanas, each with red painted grips. These are nice swords, but I wish they had painted the blades silver instead of leaving them as flat, gray plastic. Her grip on them can be a little loose, but they will usually stay in her hands. The only real downside here is that she doesn’t have any scabbards on her back to wear them. I was extremely disappointed by this omission.

As for articulation, well no surprises here. Like most of the Marvel Legends gals, Wanda doesn’t get the double-hinged elbow treatment, nor does she get any bicep swivels. Instead her sword-swingers get rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The legs have ball jointed hips, double-hinged knees, swivels int he thighs, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. The torso has a ball joint under the chest and there’s both a hinge and ball joint in the neck.

Wanda comes with one more accessory, and that’s Headpool! And this little floating zombie noggin is the sole reason I’m not complaining about there being no guns in the package. The sculpt here is excellent and the paint is surprisingly tight for such a tiny accessory. Headpool also comes with a clear plastic stand, but it sits pretty low. In all the pictures, I put the stand up on a shot glass before painting them out of the pictures. So don’t expect Headpool to float that high up without some assistance.

Lady Deadpool is a fun and decent-looking figure, but not one that I was really jonesing to own. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy to have her, just that there are plenty of other characters I would have wanted first. To me, Lady-D is more a gimmick or a gag than an actual character. I think she may have been better served being put out in a box set like they did with the 4-inch version a few years back. But like I mentioned earlier, she’s certainly not ranking in at the bottom of this wave, but for that dubious distinction, we’ll have to wait for a future Marvel Monday.

Jan 25 2019

DC Gallery: Catwoman by Diamond Select

How about a DC Friday for old time’s sake? Once upon a time I could fuel DC Friday every week with a seemingly unending offering of figures from Mattel and DC Collectibles, not to mention there were statues galore! Well, DC Collectibles killed off their Icons line, Mattel just lost the license to Spin Master, and I’m trying to not buy as many statues these days, because I’m all out of room to display them. Nonetheless, Diamond Select’s DC and Marvel Gallery series continues to be tough to resist. And their new version of Catwoman was an impossible temptation! So let’s take a look at this feline temptress!

For the unacquainted, DST’s various Gallery series are a budget line of roughly 9-inch scale PVC statues that grew out of their old Femme Fatales series. They later branched out to DC Animated Series statues before ultimately embracing all of Marvel and DC. The statue comes in a box with windows on the front, sides, and top panels, which offer enough visibility that you could just about get away with displaying these in the package. That works for me, because I ran out of shelves long ago, and now I display most of these as a wall of the stacked boxes. While the DC Gallery’s previous versions of Catwoman have been based on her animated appearances, this one is drawn from her more modern comic look. Of course, everything here is collector friendly, and Catwoman comes out of the box all assembled and ready for display!

And this is a case where the composition and overall style had me mashing the pre-order button the moment I saw pictures in the solicitation. Sure, when it comes to Catwoman I’m an easy mark, but having her perched on the giant Egyptian-styled cat-head turned my head in a big way. She sits on the top of the statue with one leg bent under her and the other dangling down, while leaning slightly forward on her hands, both clutching at the statue in a very cat-like manner. I’d like to imagine that she just crept her way into the skylight of the Egyptian Wing at the Gotham Museum of Antiquities, pounced down onto the head of this giant statue and is now sizing up the various lasers and security cameras that stand between her and whatever coveted bauble she happens to be after. There’s something to be said when the composition can send my mind to working up context for the figure and that’s exactly what happened here.

Despite being a fairly modern look, Catwoman’s costume gets by with a fairly low amount of detail, and that is in no way a slight against the sculpt. Her body suit relies on some neatly sculpted stitch lines and it’s smooth contours accentuate her curves and muscle tone in all the right places. The finish looks black, with just the right amount of gloss to make it look like leather, and under the right light it can give off a purple sheen. The front of the suit features a silver zipper, which is pulled down just enough to show off her kittens, and that low plunge is balanced out by a high collar.

And while the suit itself is simple, that’s not to say there isn’t some great detail to be found. The boots in particular are wonderfully done, with sculpted laces running part of the way up and interlaced through the eyelets. The excellent sculpt is finished off with a high gloss black to differentiate them from the rest of the suit, and the same finish is used on Catwoman’s gloves.

Her brown whip, which doubles as her belt, is coiled around her and sculpted with a very fine braided pattern. It loops around her waist four times, held in place by a silver belt-buckle, and terminates with the segmented grip protruding from behind her right hip.

And that brings us to the portrait, and DST did a fine job on it! I love the way the mouth is sculpted with the lips slightly apart to show off her pearly whites, her nose is perfect, and while I don’t really associate this likeness with any one artist, I still think she looks great. The cowl is sculpted with the same stitch lines we see in her suit, and the paint lines between the cowl and her skin are clean and sharp, even around the chin strap. One of the things that particularly impresses me here are the lenses in her goggles. They’re remarkably clear for a piece in this price range, showing off her green eyes. Hell I think the lenses here look every bit as good as the ones on DC Collectibles’ second Cover Girl Catwoman statues, which retailed at more than twice the price.

And that brings us to the base, which not only compliments the figure beautifully, but really elevates the whole statue. The Egyptian cat head features a large loop earring in each ear, some geometric patterns around the base, and a Egyptian eye motif on the collar. It’s all sprayed in a gold finish, which has just the right amount of sheen to it. It’s quite simply marvelous!

With over two dozen of these Gallery statues in my collection, I usually only have the space to have a handful on display at any one time. So it’s quite the compliment to say that this one is going to be immediately taking up one of those spaces, and bumping someone back into their box. I just haven’t decided which one yet. This is a piece that I was super excited to get from the moment it was revealed, and now that it’s in hand, I’m happy to say she does not disappoint. Toss in the fact that she was only $44 and it’s hard not to love and appreciate what DST has been doing with this line. Every time I think I’m out, they release a beauty like this one to pull me back in!

Jan 23 2019

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Knubnik by The Four Horsemen

Welcome back to another Mythic Legions Wednesday! If you’re keeping track, this is the twelfth week and my twelfth figure review from Advent of Decay, which means I’m not quite a third of the way through, and that’s fine by me, because I am having an absolute blast going through this series! It’s been a while since I reviewed Snagg, so revisiting the Goblins is something that’s long overdue, so let’s check out another one of these little green meanies. This time it’s Knubnik! God, I love these names!

While Snagg was identified as a treacherous Goblin thief, Knubnik is identified as King No’Glin’s chief assassin. He’s also called one of the most vile and loathsome of all the Goblins, and I just have to wonder what kind of shit you have to get up to in order to earn that moniker! He shares some of Snagg’s parts, the torso armor and legs, but he deviates with his full armored sleeves and and heavy gauntlets, and a set of crude and jagged shoulders. Perhaps the most amazing piece of re-use on this figure is the sculpted belt piece, which was last seen here on Juno The Crusher. It’s such a distinctive design and yet it looks so different with the darker deco, I’m just amazed how well it works for two completely different figures. And speaking of the deco, the coloring on this guy is exactly what I would expect from a Goblin: Dark and grimy. The armor has a tarnished iron finish, the boots are caked with mud, but he still has some bright and shiny silver paint on select points, as well as some dirty gold for the exposed chain-mail in the joints.

The head sculpt shares all the basic Goblin features we saw with Snagg, but the face is broader and more squat. His wide and sour mouth is fixed in a disapproving glower with twin tusk-like teeth rising up from each corner. The battered and pitted helmet features holes cut out for the ears, sharp cheek guards, and a single spike rising from the back. The head is also framed by a collar studded with the long teeth of some foul beast. It would be impossible for me to choose a favorite portrait between Snagg and Knubnik, but I really dig how distinctive each one is. They’re both just packed with personality.

You also get a second head, which is sans helmet, but otherwise the same likeness. I can’t imagine displaying this figure without his helmet, but the second head would come in handy if I had picked up a couple and wanted to kit them out as two different Goblins, or even use one of these noggins on a different Goblin altogether. It’s almost a shame to keep this one in an accessory baggie.

As an assassin, Knubnik doesn’t come laden down with weapons, but he does have a decent little assortment. First off, he has this stout dagger with a gray hilt and a silver blade. It’s a repaint of the flashier one that came with Snagg, and this one looks like it’s all business. And let’s face it, every assassin has to have a favorite dagger for the quick-and-dirty work.

Next up, he has this primitive looking axe with a bone handle and unusual blade. We last saw this implement included with The Boarrior and it fits really well here too. The finish on the bone looks great, and I dig the sculpted leather straps that are intended to help hold the blade in place.

Finally, you get this deliciously low-rent mace, and I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’m seeing this accessory. The handle is a simple shaft sculpted to look like wood, with a cap on the end, while the head is a simple globe with studs to help it crack those particularly stubborn skulls. As always, the mace head is detachable from the shaft, so you can go wild with customizing here. While these Goblins are just little fellas, I think the mace is still sized pretty well for him.

I am absolutely smitten with the Mythic Legion Goblins, and Knubnik is yet another fine example of why. He gives me everything I’m looking for in a Goblin: Dark and dirty armor, some crude weapons, and a mug that even a mamma Goblin probably wouldn’t love. This guy is probably going to forever preside as right-hand-man to my King No’Glin when I finally get my Goblin display up and settled. And while there’s a Goblin Legion Builder for amassing an army, I think this guy would make a pretty good rank-and-file soldier too, or perhaps even a Goblin General.

Jan 21 2019

Marvel Legends (Vintage Style): Ant-Man and Wasp by Hasbro

Well, after a whole week of Marvel Legends reviews it’s refreshing to start a new week and get into something diff… oh, riiiiight… It’s Marvel Monday. Well, hopefully everyone isn’t all Marvel’ed out, because apparently we have one more day of this! Today I’m mixing things up just a tad and opening a couple of the Vintage Style figures. Let’s have a look at Ant-Man and Wasp!

This is my first time checking out figures from one of these special waves, and they’re mainly special because of the packaging. Some of these have been repacks, some are brand new figures. I have picked up a few of these in the past, and while I’m always tempted to leave them carded, that just ain’t me. The card-and-bubble is designed to invoke the packaging from Toybiz’s Marvel Superheroes line and it certainly does that. On the downside, they are not collector friendly, so it’s time to get with the shredding. Let’s start with Ant-Man, but first, I’m going to change backgrounds because Wasp’s wings don’t show up all that well against the white!

I’m such a huge fan of this classic Ant-Man suit, and it’s crazy to me that it’s taken so long to get it in the modern Legends line. It’s also a bit crazy that he’s coming as part of this retro-inspired sub-line, rather than in one of the proper waves. No, in the end it doesn’t matter, but I find it worth mentioning nonetheless. The figure itself is very nearly a straight repaint of the Eric O’Grady figure we got as a Walgreens Exclusive back in 2015, and it works just fine for that purpose.

The costume relies almost entirely on the coloring of the buck, with only the belt as original sculpting, and by original, I mean that too was borrowed from the O’Grady figure. Replacing the mostly black buck, we get a mostly red suit, with blue boots, gloves, and ant-undies, and a black stripe running up the chest, forming a circle, and then terminating in a collar. There are some discrepancies in the red, where the red paint doesn’t quite match the red plastic, but overall I think the coloring looks good.

The biggest change to the figure is found on the head, or more specifically the eyes. The O’Grady figure had his eyes painted over as red lenses whereas Hank here has his eyes visible. At first, I thought this was actually a change in the sculpt, but nope, it’s just paint. Otherwise, the helmet is now silver. The grim expression isn’t my first choice, but it works OK. My only concern with this figure is the fragility of the antenna. They look great, but most of my Legends live in baggies and I always have to make sure Black Ant is at the top of the box so his antenna don’t get crushed or warped. I may avoid that here, as I’m probably going to have this pair on display somewhere.

The articulation is identical to the Black Ant figure, right down to those lovely shoulder-crunches. And since I’m looking at two figures today, I’ll be lazy and refer you back to that review for the details. Let’s move on to Wasp!

Janet has had a veritable ton of different costumes in the comics, and to be honest, I’d probably buy more than Hasbro would ever care to release. This one, wouldn’t be high on that list, but that’s mainly because I don’t recall her ever actually wearing it in any of my funnybook readings. I do recall it being released by Toybiz around 2006 as a variant of The Wasp in that Modok Wave. It saw very limited production and I think it ranks up there as being one of, if not the, rarest Toybiz Legends figure. So, while there are at least a dozen other Wasp costumes I’d like to have seen here instead, I do appreciate what Hasbro was doing here.

While Hank was a straight repaint, Janet here is nearly a straight repaint. In this case her body and wings are recycled from the Ultron Wave Wasp, released back in 2015. And while I don’t really have any association with this costume, I do dig it a lot. The blue body suit and white boots and gloves looks great, albeit maybe a bit too Fantastic Four-ish. The arrows pointing down from her thighs are an interesting choice, but I do like the way her black collar forms the “W.” The wings are also the same molds as Ultron Wave Wasp, but now cast in a pinkish-pearlescent and semi-translucent plastic, which compliments the coloring of the costume quite well. Articulation is all the same as the previous Wasp, and once again I’ll just refer you back to that review for the details.

The head sculpt is different from the 2015 Wasp and while I like both, I’m going to give this one the nod. The hair is more of a bob than a pixie cut and the paint on the eyes and lips are sharp and clean.

Each figure comes with a miniaturized version of the other. We’ve seen both of these before, but mine usually wind up in accessory bins, so I’m happy to have a couple more. Sure they’re just simple and tiny sculpts with some rough paint on them, but there’s only so much you can do with these, and to be honest, these look about as good as the miniatures that came with the Hot Toys Ant-Man, so I’m not complaining.

I love what Hasbro is doing with this line, or at least some of it. To be fair, I only picked up two figures from the first wave, Black Widow and The Punisher, so I haven’t been double-dipping on the figures I already have just to get them in the retro-packaging. This pair were must-haves because I love the characters and quite frankly, I’ll buy all the Classic versions of Hank and Janet that Hasbro will pump out. Seriously, Hasbro, call my bluff… I dare you! As for the rest of the wave, it’s mostly figures that I already own, so unless I come across a great deal on them and decide that I want to hang them on my wall, I doubt I’ll be revisiting this retro-series any time soon.

Jan 20 2019

Marvel Legends (Kree Sentry Wave): Kree Sentry Build-A-Figure by Hasbro

After a steady diet of Marvel Legends for dinner all week, it’s finally time for dessert. And in this case, dessert means taking all those delicious BAF parts and putting together the Build-A-Figure Sundae. Of course, in this case the Sundae is a killer alien robot! So, let’s wrap up this long-ass week with a look at the Kree Sentry!

The Sentry is comprised of your standard six BAF parts: Four limbs, a torso, and a head. Obviously, there are seven figures in this wave, so you could opt out of buying the regular suited Captain Marvel and still build this guy, because Hasbro knows you’re probably going to buy that one anyway. Putting this guy together is as simple as simple gets and all the parts fit nice and easy.

And does it get any more Kirby than this? The design is a nice mix of chunky angular robot parts with organic curves in the upper arms and legs and I dig it a lot. He reminds me of a smaller, stockier Sentinel. There are a ton of cut lines running throughout the figure, as well as lots of segmented plates, and vents. There are hardly any paint apps on this guy, and the coloring is a simple one-two punch of snappy silver and deep metallic purple, plastic which looks fabulous. Some might argue it could have used a wash, but I kind of like the comic minty-fresh look.

In terms of size, the Sentry ranks up there for being pretty big and beefy as far as BAFs go, but depending on what kind of Sentry you’re looking for, he could be considered undersized. I know these guys ranged from massive to roughly man-sized in the comics, so technically this guy could work fine with the rest of the Legends collection, but I think I’m going to opt to display him with my 4-inch figures. I like big bots and I cannot lie.

The head sculpt is so wonderfully weird by modern sensibilities, but hearkens back to a time when these kinds of designs ruled the day. The blue energy waves that fills the eye are just missing some of that patented Kirby crackle speckling. Other high points include the jigsaw mouth, the dome ears, and the skull piece, which is basically the knitted cap of the robot world. There’s a bit of purple plastic bleeding through the silver paint on his face, but it’s not too bad.

Articulation is pretty standard stuff. The legs have rotating hinges in the hips, swivels in the upper thighs, double hinges in the knees, and both hinges and rockers in the ankles. The ankle rockers don’t have a whole lot of play because of the sculpt. The torso has no waist swivel, but there’s a ball joint under the chest, and the neck is both hinged and ball jointed. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, there are swivels in the biceps, and hinges in the elbows. Again, the sculpt can be pretty restrictive when it comes to the elbows. The Sentry has his right hand sculpted into a fist and his left hand is opened ready to fire off a blast. I really dig the sculpted aperture in his palm.

 

I’ve got to be honest, the Kree Sentry wasn’t even on my radar, let alone my wish list, but now that I have him, I’m glad Hasbro made him. It’s surprises like this one that makes the Legends line so much fun to collect. And while on the subject, Blast you, Hasbro! Why you gotta be making potential army builders into BAF’s? It would be damn cool to have a couple more of these.

And that’s a wrap for this Marvel Legends week. I really enjoyed this wave overall. It’s a great mix of predictable movie-based characters with a couple of excellent comic-based figures pulled out of left field and tossed into the mix. Of course, the Legends love is going to continue for one more day, because tomorrow is Marvel Monday! I won’t rule out the possibility of another Legends themed week coming up, maybe to look at the new Black Panther wave, but for now, I’ll be digging back into my pile of outdated shame!

Jan 20 2019

Marvel Legends (Kree Sentry Wave): Captain Marvel in Bomber Jacket by Hasbro

I started this week with Carol, so I might as well end it with her too! We got two versions of Captain Marvel in this wave, one in her official MCU suit and this variant, also in her official suit, but with her bomber jacket on over it. Some may have hoped for another character in the wave instead, but I was sold on this figure the moment I saw it.

After a week of this wave, I’ve got nothing new to say about the packaging. You will, however, note that that this is the version of Carol you have to buy if you want to build the Kree Sentry. Back in the day, Hasbro would have just included the same part with both figures, but they’ve gotten wise to that. I do appreciate that they actually cooked up different character art for the back of the package to reflect this look. And the way they posed her on the tray holding Goose gets my vote for best packaged Legends figure ever. Seriously, I may need a second to keep sealed.

Obviously, this figure features a lot of parts-sharing with the other Captain Marvel. The torso and legs are all the same, and the jacket is the usual illusion comprised of a soft plastic vest with the sleeves sculpted onto the arms. And so from the neck down, the arms and hands are the only new pieces of sculpting here. At first, I thought they just recycled the flat hands from the other figure, but these feature a little more curving to the fingers and the thumbs are out, making them perfect for holding her furry friend. And yup, you can use the two sets of hands that came with the other Carol if you want to. The jacket is pretty simple, but it looks great. There are sculpted elastic rings around the sleeves and waist, sculpted lapels, and there’s a printed image on the back

The biggest addition to the figure is the new head sculpt, which features Carol with slightly windblown hair and smiling. I’m really glad to see the expression on this one, since there’s been some criticism in the trailer of Carol not emoting much and just looking darkgrim or expressionless. Personally, I’m not worried about it. Marvel has never had a big problem with balancing their movies with levity and keeping them lighthearted. Of course, the heads are interchangeable between the figures, a great bonus for owning them both. The printing on the facial features doesn’t do it any favors in close ups, but it looks great in hand and with the naked eye.

Articulation here is identical to the other Captain Marvel, so let’s skip it and head straight to her accessory. It’s another version of Goose, and this time he’s not in creepy restraints, and instead just looking adorable. He’s a static sculpt, but the pose is versatile enough so that it not only works for being held by Carol, as he is in the package, but also standing on his own with one paw outstretched and the other drawn back as if he’s playing.

I’m a little surprised, but this figure quite possibly turned out to be my favorite in what was a pretty strong assortment of figures. I just really dig the costume with the jacket over it, and it’s definitely my favorite portrait of the three. It would have been just as easy for Hasbro to go with a repaint of Captain Marvel in the Kree Uniform colors, and while I’ll still happily pick that one up if they do it, it’s nice to see that they didn’t settle for the low-hanging fruit. And that wraps it up for the individual figures, come on back later tonight and we’ll check out the Kree Sentry!

Jan 19 2019

Marvel Legends (Kree Sentry Wave): Yon-Rogg by Hasbro

It’s the weekend! And it’s also nearly the end of this week’s Marvel Legends marathon. I’ve got two figures left to open and today I’m going with Yon-Rogg. I’m tired… it’s been a long week… let’s just get down to it!

So, obviously this is Yon-Rogg from the upcoming film, played by Jude Law. How much he’ll be based on the comic version remains to be seen. Sure, he’s still a Kree officer, but seeing as how much his character in the comics was defined by his rivalry with Mar-Vell, my guess is this may just be a name-drop for the fans. Of course, this is the MCU we’re talking about, so I’m not prepared to rule anything out. One thing that does get me all giddy is the fact that the copy on the back of the package names The Supreme Intelligence, and oh boy, do I hope we get to see him/her/it in the flick! That might be old news to some, but I’ve been avoiding spoilers like the plague.

One of the cool things about this figure is seeing the Kree Uniform in all its’ MCU glory, and I do indeed dig it a lot. OK, it may actually be specific to Starforce, but either way, there are some nice nods to Genis-Vell’s costume here, particularly in the black and emerald deco, and what a beautiful deco it is! The emerald paint is very striking and when contrasted with the matte black and some dark silver, it makes for a gorgeous action figure.

A lot of MCU costumes are all about the hyper-detail, and we certainly get that in this sculpt. The costume design features tons of these little details like cut lines, pieces of armor plate, and of course the starburst emblem on the chest. If you look really close, there are even subtle etched lines and patterns in the black portions of the costume. The boots are super chunky, the belt is sculpted separately from the buck, and Yon-Rogg has some nifty gauntlets on his forearms, which look like they may fire energy beams. Or maybe they’re just there to look cool.

If you were hoping for a Jude Law likeness, you’ll be disappointed to find that the figure only comes with one head and it’s masked. With that being said, the exposed facial features look so good that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a separate sculpt and glued into place. The rest of the helmet is just damned awesome, and it even retains a vestigial crest as a nod to the style of Kree helmet adopted by Genis in the comics.

Yon-Rogg comes with one accessory, and that’s his pistol. The sidearm is cast in gray plastic and features a sleek design with some sculpted details. My only complaint here is that he has no holster to carry it in, but that may be screen accurate.

The figure features the same articulation we’ve been seeing in most of the dudes this week, but let’s run it down anyway. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and have swivels in the thighs and the tops of the boots. The ankles are hinged and have lateral rockers for those wide stances. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. There’s a swivel in the waist, an ab-crunch hinge in the torso, and the neck is both hinged and ball jointed.

 

However the character turns out, I absolutely love this figure. The coloring is beautiful and the sculpt sports some amazing attention to detail. The only downside here is that I now instantly want figures of the entire Starforce Team, so we better be getting a boxed set or another wave from this flick. Either way, I just don’t want to have to wait for the inevitable Marvel Studios: The Next Ten Years sub-line to get them, because I don’t know if I have another ten years in me! I will probably still be around tomorrow, so come on back for a Double Feature as I open the last figure in the wave and slap together the Build-A-Figure!

By figurefanzero
0
Jan 18 2019

Marvel Legends (Kree Sentry Wave): Grey Gargoyle by Hasbro

It’s Friday, and that makes it Day Five of my push to get through the entire Captain Marvel-themed wave of Marvel Legends before the end of the weekend. It sure feels good to be talking about a brand new wave for a change, because next Monday it’s back to digging through that pile of old and unopened Legends in my Toy Closet. Yesterday, I looked at the first comic-based figure in the wave, Genis-Vell, and today I’ll check out the other one, Dr. Duval… aka The Grey Gargoyle!

In case you missed it, Hasbro has changed up the window boxes a bit by now making the window a cover over the tray, rather than integrated as part of the box. Does it matter? Not to me! These boxes go right in the trash, because I have no room to keep them.

Originating all the way back in the 60’s Grey Gargoyle is one of those rare characters to pick a look and pretty much stick with it. Hell, even when he’s shown up in animation, his appearance remains rock-steady. And from neck to ankles, this figure makes use of a grey generic buck with some speckling to achieve that stony look. His clawed feet are new sculpts and they use a glossy blue paint with black stripes to make up his boots, and the same deco is painted on his hands and forearms for his gauntlets. And what else can I say, other than it works really well. It may not be the most convincing stone effect on an action figure, but it certainly gets the job done. And when coupled with that bright blue, this figure looks surprisingly good!

Additionally, Grey Gargoyle features a sculpted cape, which has a high collar, under-the-arm rings and pegs into his back. It features the same grey and speckled finish as the rest of the figure. I think it looks great from the front, but not so hot from the back.

The head sculpt is excellent and features plenty of personality. Hasbro loves to go heavy on the cheese with the villains, and that’s pretty evident here. Gargoyle has a big toothy grin, a thin mustache and a domino-style mask. On the downside, the head has a glossy finish to it, which is at odds with the matte stone look of the rest of the figure. Not really a deal-breaker, but it does mess with the stone illusion a bit.

 

Once again, I’m going to defer the articulation talk, because there are no surprises and no issues here. Gargoyle has lots of poseability and he’s fun to mess around with. Furthermore, the cape is short enough so as not to really mess with his range of movement. Also, there are no accessories here, other than the BAF part. I guess that’s fair enough, because off-hand I can’t think of anything to include with him.

If I’m being honest, I think there are quite a few better choices for this slot in a Captain Marvel wave, but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy about getting this figure. One of the things that I love about Legends is Hasbro’s willingness to dig deep on villains, and I think Grey Gargoyle is another fine example of that, even if he’s more likely to wind up displayed on a Thor shelf, than with any of my Captain Marvel-themed figures.

Jan 17 2019

Marvel Legends (Kree Sentry Wave): Genis-Vell by Hasbro

Here we are at Day Four of this week-long Captain Marvel Legends marathon and I’ll admit, I’m starting to feel a little punch-drunk. It’s funny, because when I started this blog almost nine years ago, I could rattle off seven reviews a week and think nothing of it. Now it feels like an endurance contest. Anyway, after opening three figures from the upcoming film, I thought it was time to take a break and look at one of the comic-inspired figures in this wave, so let’s check out Genis-Vell!

While I wouldn’t have guessed it before hand, in hindsight giving us Genis in this Captain Marvel wave is kind of a no-brainer. Obviously, they could have gone with a number of versions of Legacy, Photon, Mar-Vell, etc, but oh boy am I glad they went the way they did and gave us Genis in his Kree uniform-styled costume. For the more casual Legends collectors, the blurb on the back doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of Genis-Vell as a character, but then again I can’t imagine getting handed the job to sum him up in a single sentence in an effort to get kids to want to buy him. I guess it’s fortunate there are enough middle-aged nerds like me who are happy enough to do so.

And this is such a cool design! I’ve always been a sucker for these cosmic speckled starfield characters, whether it be DC’s Thom Kallor or Marvel’s own Captain Universe, I just think they make for great action figure fodder, especially when they’re done with a combination of speckling and translucent plastic like Genis here. And yet, this is arguably one of the budget figures of the wave, as his costume gets by mostly with a generic buck. Indeed, from the neck down, the only newly sculpted bits are his shoulder armor, the hip holster, the cross-strap, and his Nega-Bands, but that doesn’t stop him from looking fabulous! In addition to the smoked-translucent parts fortified with glitter, Genis features a black and metallic emerald deco that would make any Kree (or even Green Lantern) proud! The paint applications are pretty sharp, and you also get a little bit of gold thrown into the mix for his Nega-Bands and gun.

The head consists of a medieval-style barbutte helmet design with a simple crest on the top giving it something of a Grecco-Roman flavor. And yes, it just so happens to be all the fashion in the Kree Navy. It’s painted green to match the shoulder pads, and within it is Genis’ smoked-translucent noggin with white, pupil-less eyes. His expression looks pretty serene, and no an alternate anguished, insane portrait isn’t included, although that would have been pretty damn cool.

Because I’m going through extra reviews this week, I’m going to abstain from running through the articulation on every figure. What’s here is pretty typical, but if you need to know the particulars, just have a look back at this buck when it was used for Wonder Man. Otherwise, the only things worth noting are the shoulder armor is fixed in place and limits the articulation there a little bit, and the neck joint on my figure is really loosey-goosey. And while the articulation is good, sadly he’s not really able to clang his Nega-Bands together.

Genis-Vell comes with one accessory, and that’s the Kree sidearm, which fits into his holster. It’s a cool sculpt and cast in the same gold plastic as his Bands.

 

Hot damn, I love this figure! Not only does he give us a link in the chain of Captain Mar-Vell’s history, but the design is so distinctive that adds some great flavor to my Cosmic Marvel shelf. And hey, maybe if Hasbro can squeeze another themed wave out of this flick, we can get some other versions. Digging out the previous Mar-vell figure has me realizing how badly it’s in need of an update. I’ll keep this train rolling tomorrow, when I will knock out the other comic-inspired figure in the wave, Gray Gargoyle!