Monthly Archives: August 2023

Aug 4 2023

DC Multiverse (Dark Knight Trilogy): Batman and Scarecrow by McFarlane

My DC Multiverse collection has been growing exponentially and there’s so many figures to choose from when it comes to deciding who’s turn is next here. But, there are a couple of waves that I’m particularly excited about getting to, so they’ll get the bump to the front. Today I’m kicking off what I hope will be just a two-part look at the four figure Build-A-Bane Wave based on The Dark Knight Trilogy, and I’ll probably throw an extra Gold Label figure in at the end. Let’s start with Batman and Scarecrow.

I’ve got nothing new to say about the packaging. It’s mostly collector friendly and it shows off the figures well. You also get the usual black disk stands and collector cards included. Batman comes with Bane’s legs and Dr. Crane comes with his arms, and boy is it refreshing to only have to pick up four figures in a wave to complete a figure, RIGHT HASBRO? I have to toss out my ubiquitous disclaimer that I’m not the biggest fan of this trilogy or Nolan’s films in general. They’re fine, I guess. The first and third tend to put me to sleep, while I like the middle one the most. With that having been said, I think the movies did a fine job imagining some of these characters. Certainly enough for me to want the figures. Let’s start with Batman…

To me this suit was 90% perfection, assuming you count the cowl as 10%. Yes, I like the Keaton suit better, but if you’re going for realism over comic in your Batsuit, than this is how you do it. The suit has a wonderfully tactical look to it and this figure pulls it off quite nicely. The sculpted gaps between the armored plates show the textured undersuit and the chiseled muscles in the abs are superb. The bat emblem is a little too subtle for me, but I get that was an artistic choice. The vastly diminished profile of the cape works well with this look too, as it hugs the body and only fans out at the end. The gold belt is just the chef’s kiss of the whole ensemble. I’m not well versed in the movies to pick out any inconsistencies or differences between the films, but for my money, this is a great looking Batman figure.

If there’s anywhere this figure stumbles a bit it’s the head, and I’m having a hard time deciding whether it’s actually the figure or just the design of this cowl which I have never liked. The overly round shape is just goofy to me and it’s amplified by the round cut out for the face. I think McFarlane did OK with what they had to work with here, but it remains the one thing I don’t like about this suit.

Articulation is everything you’d expect from the DC Multiverse line. I think I’ve covered enough of these figures where I’m not going to run through it every time. I will say that the range of motion here is all quite nice. The shoulder armor is the only place where there’s some inhibition, and even those are designed to flex as much as possible. I have to imagine that what we get is pretty comparable to what movement in an armored suit like this would be like. Batman only comes with the one set of hands, with the left hand balled into a fist and the right hand designed to hold accessories.

And those accessories come in two varieties. the first is his grapple gun, which is a really nice sculpt and cast in gold plastic to match the belt.

Next up we get three gold batarangs. Why three? Don’t know. I guess it’ll come in hand when I inevitably lose one or two. These are simple accessories, but they are made out of nice stiff plastic, which is nice. I probably would have preferred we only get one and they use the rest of the plastic to make a hand better suited to holding them, or just another fist, but now I’m nitpicking. How about some Scarecrow?

Scarecrow was pretty cool in The Dark Knight Rises, but if it weren’t for the C&B parts, I probably would have passed on this one. And now that I have him I’m kind of glad I didn’t, because McFarlane did an impressive job on this guy, especially with all the layering. Under the straightjacket trench coat you have a fully sculpted suit, but really it’s the detail on the straightjacket sculpt that just blows me away. The texturing on the threads is so intricate, along with all the straps and loops and the ragged edges look great. I also dig the way all the loops in the straps look like suckers on a tentacle. I especially love the way the arm straps just lash out from his arms. You also get a really nice black wash over the tan plastic, making it look extra shabby and dirty.

The head sculpt is great too, as it looks like there’s a whole head sculpt under there, even if it is probably just the eyes. Instead of just doing the whole head as one piece, this makes the eyes look really deep set and extra creepy and adds tons of credibility to the hood being an actual hood. And man, is that hood disgusting. I think the white stuff is supposed to be the maggots from one of the fear gas scenes, but either way it’s just so delightfully gross!

There are no accessories here, but you do get two pairs of hands with Scarecrow, and I honestly can’t understand why they bothered. I would have rather those hands went to Batman. The right fist and the left reaching hand are really all I will ever bother with.

Both of these figures turned out really nice. I think I have one of Mattel’s old TDK Trilogy figures around here somewhere and I can surely retire that one in favor of this release. Still not a fan of the cowl, but even still I think it’s a great Batman figure. Without the C&B part, I would have written off Scarecrow as one of those $12 clearance picks ups that I come across with this line, but it turns out he’s pretty damn cool. Next week, I’ll wrap up this wave with The Joker, Harvey Dent, and the C&B Bane… oh, and one extra Gold Label figure that I mentioned earlier.

Aug 2 2023

Metal Slug 3: Marco Rossi by Tunshi Studio

Much of the last half of the 90’s for me was being teased by pictures of the Metal Slug series in gaming magazines and knowing that I’d never be able to play it. Scratch that, I actually did get to play the first Metal Slug in an electronics store that had a NEO GEO AES demo unit on display. I played that and Cyber-Lip and then found how much they cost and that ended that pipe dream. About five years later my dreams came true, and by that I mean I got Metal Slug X for the PlayStation. It was a stripped down, tweaked and modded version of Metal Slug 2, but I didn’t give two shits because I was finally playing a Metal Slug game at home. Yeah, you kids with your emulators and digital downloads have no idea what it was like in the Gaming Dark Ages. Fast forward to now and I have close to a dozen legit ways to play the entire Metal Slug series in my Game Room. What could possibly be more incredible than that? How about Metal Slug action figures! Enter Tunshi Studio, a company I never heard of. They revealed a series of 1:12 scale figures based on Metal Slug 3 and despite them being pricey releases from an untested company, I pre-ordered the first two: Marco Rossi and a Rebel Soldier. I was originally going to look at both figures today, but by the time I got through all the stuff included with Marco, I decided to spit them up.

Here’s the packaging and it is one inspired presentation! The box is made to look like the compartment on the Soldier Select screen with Marco looking through the window. It’s made of very heavy cardboard stock and has a magnet that secures the tri-fold front flap. Inside, the figure comes in a nested clear plastic tray with a little compartment up top for an instruction booklet that includes a rundown on the articulation under the softgoods outfit. YES SOFTGOODS! I actually swapped the heads before taking this packaged shot, so let me swap them back and we’ll take a look at Marco as he comes out of the box!

And, hot damn! This guy looks amazing! The super articulated body reminds me of the bodies that Storm Collectibles are putting out, and that is very much intended as a compliment. These joints are easy to work with, move fluidly, and include double hinges in the elbows and knees. The figure is dressed in a pair of baggy green trouser fatigues, a white sleeveless t-shirt and an orange vest with double pockets on each side. He’s got a belt, wrist bracers, and some absolutely phenomenal sculpted boots. Normally I would not have believed softgoods were a smart move for figures in this scale and license, but boy does it work beautifully here. The tailoring is pretty clean, but there are a few loose threads I may trim. I like that the pants are baggy so as not to inhibit his articulation.

You get two head sculpts, with the first being a somewhat neutral expression. I think the sculptors did a great job translating the rather unique 2D art stylings of the game to 3D plastic. Marco has a determined, downturned mouth, a pointy nose and eyes that look like they have seen some serious shit. And believe me… they have! The sideburns look great, he’s got a dirty white headband, and that ridiculous lock of hair that zig-zags its way over his forehead. There’s some nice shading on the skin and the yellow hair is bright and snappy.

With that having been said, this second head is the one I’ll be going with most of the time. The mouth is wide open showing off his teeth in an exclamation of joy at the sight of everything exploding around him. Marco looks like he enjoys his work and revels taking on this new threat in the game’s third installment.. Spoilers… it’s aliens… again.

In addition to the two heads, you get a passel of hands. These include fists, a pair of accessory holding hands, a left thumbs up hand, and a right trigger finger hand. All of these are super easy to swap out.

Marco also comes with a softgoods backpack as part of his outfit. This attaches using legit shoulder straps and looks great on him. It’s a fantastic bonus that really adds a lot of value to the figure.

If you guessed this figure comes with guns, you’d be right! You actually get two, which may seem light considering the number of weapons in the game, but most of the weapon upgrades you pick up just convert your rifle into firing something new. Also, I think Tunshi spread them out a bit as incentive to buy more figures. First off, Marco comes with his semi-automatic pistol, which is his default weapon in the game offering unlimited ammo. It’s cast in black plastic and has some excellent detail in the sculpt. There is no articulation or removable magazine.

Next up is HEAVY MACHINE GUN with the multi-purpose under-the-barrel tube. This is another great sculpt with some sharp detail. The pump actually slides and the stock and pump are both cast in brown plastic and you get a little more brown on the grip. Marco comes with a wide grip left hand so he can cradle the pump in it.

You also get a HEAVY MACHINE GUN effect piece that plugs into the barrel and looks really damn cool! I should note that the HEAVY MACHINE GUN is a power-up in the game, activated when you pick up the container marked H, and as you can see you get the power up icon as well. This is actually a blank with a magnetic H included for each side. It definitely gives it a more premium feel than just printing or a sticker.

Marco’s secondary attack in the game is his stock of grenades and you get a lovely potato-masher style stick grenade to toss at those enemy bosses. Luckily he gets more than just one in the game.

The final weapon in Marco’s arsenal is a combat knife, which is his default attack when he gets close enough to an enemy to shed blood. Or white sweat if you’re playing the US version. Once again, this is a beautifully detailed piece with a painted silver blade and a serrated back edge.

Moving into some basic equipment, Marco comes with a walkie-talkie and a field canteen. Both of these work well with the left open grip hand.

You also get a whole pile of other extras and a box to keep them in. The biggest item here is the rocket for the RAWKET LAWNCHAIR upgrade. I think Tunshi missed an opportunity here because the blast effect part isn’t compatible with the tube under the gun and it isn’t removable, so it’s hard to really incoporate this piece into the display. Other bits include a magazine, an ammo belt, a medal, a lump of shit (no really!), and eleven metal cartridges.

And finally, you get a really nice display stand with a bendy support post and a waist clip. The base has a sculpted wood planking cover that can be slid in and out and there are clips so it can be attached to the bases of other figures for one continuous display.

At $145, Marco was certainly not cheap, but I can definitely see where the money went. The body is excellent, the softgoods look great, and there are just a ton of goodies in this box for play and display. Plus, when considering price, I think you probably have to factor in the limited appeal of this niche market. Metal Slug has definitely reached a wider audience in the last ten years or so, but it’s way past its heyday, so I have to imagine that the production on these figures isn’t huge. The first assortment included Tarma Roving, who’s outfit is mostly a palate swap, a Rebel Soldier and a Rebel Soldier two-pack with some exclusive accessories. I’ll be checking out the Rebel Soldier in a week or so. I haven’t picked up Tarma yet, but I probably will. I might even go for the Soldier two-pack, since it has some exclusive extras. I do have the two ladies, Fio and Eri, on pre-order.