Monthly Archives: February 2024

Feb 28 2024

G. I. JOE Ultimates: Flint and Lady Jaye by Super7

What’s 2024 all about, folks? Unfinished business! And while I did jump ahead into Wave 3 of Super7’s GI JOE Ultimates with a look at Scarlett, as promised I’m now stepping back to Wave 2. And in the interest of getting caught up, I’m going to make it a double today. So let’s check out the JOE’s other power couple: Flint and Lady Jaye!

Wave 2 kept the same snazzy gloss finish to the box and sleeve as the first wave, but there’s not much new to say here about the packaging. The presentation looks great and the windows do a wonderful job displaying the figures. But we’ve got two figures to check out, so let’s hurry past the packaging and start with Flint!

Of course, these figures are done in the Sunbow cartoon style and I’d say they did a bang up job on Flint’s overall look. He’s got his green fatigues with popped collar, camo pattern on the trousers, high laced boots, sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and his short brown gloves. The Y-back shoulder rig and gun belt both look like they’re pulled right from the animation cells, complete with yellow buckles, as does his shoulder patch. I do not remember him usually being drawn with a holster, but Super7 has been doing some compromises here and there and I’ll admit it’s nice to have a holster for his pistol even if it isn’t exactly screen accurate. The sculpted details like the pockets are pretty soft, but I think that’s in keeping with the cartoon look. And yes, articulation has remained unchanged from the first wave. What’s here is serviceable, but certainly not as fun or dynamic as Hasbro’s Classified series.

You get three heads to choose from: One with the beret sculpted as part of the head, one with a removable beret, and one with a communications headset. But before we get into those, let’s discuss the big thing here. The first wave gave the only unmasked figure, Duke, a painted face, but here we have faces and arms using a bare, flesh-colored plastic. I preferred the painted faces, but I don’t think I mind these as much as a lot of collectors. What I do mind is changing horses in mid stream, and then changing back again. It’s true that there’s less chance for paint issues here, but under certain lights the plastic can look waxy, giving the characters a sweaty look. With that having been said, I really like both the stock head with the permanent beret and the one where it’s removable. The first is a more serious expression, the second offers a bit of a smile, and boy they certainly nailed the look of his cleft chin! And honestly, the removable beret fits the head so well, they could have just sculpted both heads without it and I still would have been happy.

The headset head is problematic, as they went with a super thin piece of plastic for the mouth piece, which was all twisted and practically falling off in the box, so I just yanked it out. Luckily, this is my least favorite of the three, as I just don’t think the expression works. Still, I don’t understand why they were able to give Duke a nice and sturdy mouth piece and make this one so fragile. Either way, this head is going in the accessory bin and will probably never be used again.

Flint comes with a backpack, which is similar to Duke’s in that it is actually worn by the figure using straps and it’s a nod to the vintage Real American Hero figure and not the cartoon. At least I don’t remember Flint ever really wearing his backpack in any of the episodes. This is a really nice sculpt with some black grenades and a canteen, with a few paint hits of silver on the buckle and canteen cap. It looks great on the figure, and despite not being something I associate with the character in the cartoon, I will likely display him with it on. OK, let’s move on to weapons!

Oh yes, I do love me that XMLR-3A laser rifle. It’s based on an accessory included with the RAH Snowjob figure, but it was standard issue to most JOEs in the cartoon. I just always loved this design and I’m always happy to see it included with the Ultimates JOE figures. I should note here that Flint comes with a bunch of hands to help him hold his guns and accessories, as well as a pointy left hand for directing JOEs into action!

And Flint also comes with a combat shotgun similar to the one included with the original figure. This strikes a nice balance between realistic detail and cartoon simplicity. I like the raised texture on the pistol-style grip and that the ejection port is sculpted in. Mine has a bit of a curve to the barrel, which I’ll have to address with some heat. It’s a common problem with Super7’s JOE weapons, but I’ve found that it’s usually an easy fix. Still, not something I’m happy to have to do with a $55 figure.

The final weapon is his pistol, and I don’t remember this design from the cartoon, but it certainly has that Sunbow aesthetic to it. It might be more accurate to say, I don’t remember Flint ever brandishing a silver pistol. Either way, it’s a nice piece and it fits pretty well into the holster. I would, however, recommend a modicum of care when holstering it because the front site on the barrel looks like it could be fragile.

Moving on to his standard equipment, we get a walkie talkie and a set of binoculars. The walkie is fine, the binoculars just look terrible. There’s no difference between the fronts and backs and it honestly took me a moment to figure out what the hell they were supposed to be. They really just look like two Stanley cups bolted together. This accessory is best left in the box.

The classic old school military flashlight is pretty cool. Sure it’s a very cartoony sculpt, but it’s also kind of charming. My father brought one of these military flashlights back after serving in the infantry and my brother and I used to play with it all the time.

And lastly for the equipment, you get a shovel. This one puzzled me for a bit, but then I remembered a scene in one of the cartoon episodes where Lady Jaye was hunting with a metal detector and Flint was digging. It’s a bit of a reach for an accessory, particularly since I can’t even remember the episode or the context of the scene, but for a shovel it’s pretty well done. I dig the silver paint on the business end.

The final accessory is the newspaper from the episode, Worlds Without End, Part 1. This one has a group of JOEs stranded in an alternate reality where Cobra has defeated GI JOE and taken over the world. It’s a very memorable two-parter and I’d rank it pretty high on my list in terms of how well it’s written, so this is a really appreciated accessory. OK, time for a commercial break, while I refresh my coffee…

AND NOW BACK TO GI JOE… and Lady Jaye! Like Flint, Lady Jaye is a really nice representation of her cartoon counterpart. You get the light green low-cut blouse with blue shoulder patch and sleeves rolled up past her elbows, darker green short gloves, dark green trousers, and high brown boots. She has a pair of belts, each with silver painted buckles, a knife sheath suspended vertically on a left shoulder strap, and the canteen on the back of her belt is pegged in and can be removed. The outfit and body sculpt look absolutely fantastic! As for articulation, you get the same stuff as we saw with Flint, with the main difference being Lady Jaye having a ball joint under the chest rather than an ab crunch hinge.

As with Flint, you get three head sculpts, and all three use the same unpainted flesh tone plastic: Two with different expressions and one with a radio headset. The first two heads are different, but it’s really hard to differentiate the expressions they were going for. I think the second is mildly more severe, but they’re still pretty close. I think they’re both decent sculpts, but the paint around her hairline is pretty poor, with some of the sculpted hair edges left unpainted. This is a huge example of why hair should be sculpted separately from the rest of the head and it’s something that Hasbro does regularly with their much cheaper Classified JOEs. Sure, it’s a lot more noticeable when you punch in close with the camera, but still unacceptable with collector grade figures at this price range, when other companies are doing it better for less at mass retail.

The headset portrait features a mouth piece that’s about as frail as the one that came with Flint, and yet this one managed to arrive unscathed and looks fine. All three heads have some crazy hot pink lipstick, which is actually pretty accurate to the cartoon. I’d question how that’s regulation, but half the JOEs fight in sports jerseys and take their pets to work, so I won’t bother.

Whether we’re talking Real American Hero or the Sunbow cartoon, Lady Jaye had some weird weapons. In the cartoon she had a bunch of javelins with a myriad of different tips, sort of like Scarlett’s specialty tip crossbow bolts. Here, she comes with two javelins with permanent tips and one with swappable tips. You also get a quiver of tips that she wears slung over her shoulder and across her back. The quiver has a variety of tips peeking out, but these are not removable.

There’s a selection of nine different tips for the one specific javelin and I’m not even going to attempt to decipher what these are all supposed to do. They have various configurations of points and barbs and all are painted with a snappy silver finish. One is clearly a flaming tip with a translucent red flame effect on the end and there are two grapple or harpoon style tips with some string attached. I’d say this is a pretty solid representation of her trademark weapon in the cartoon.

She also comes with a nod to her vintage figure’s weapon, which was some kind of javelin missile launcher. This is cast in all gray plastic and has a removable projectile for the front. I’m just not sure why it also looks like it has a projectile coming out of the back. Like Flint’s shotgun, it’s not something I ever remember her carrying in the cartoon, but I think it’s cool that Super7 is tossing in some references to the toys as well as the cartoon. Still, I think that Hasbro had a better idea of giving Classified Lady Jaye a weapon that actually fired her javelins.

The last two entries to Lady Jaye’s arsenal are the laser rifle and the knife that can be removed from her sheath. I won’t spend any time on these, as we’ve seen the laser rifle already with Flint, and a few times before that, and while I love that the knife is removable, there just isn’t a lot for me to say about it. I’m just glad she has a rifle for when it’s time to stop clowning around with javelins and get her head in the game.

Surprisingly, Lady Jaye does not come with a walkie talkie like most of the other figures, but she does come with a camera on a shoulder strap. This is another nod to the original RAH figure and I don’t think she was ever shown with a camera in the cartoon. It’s nothing tremendously special, just cast in all black plastic and has a pistol grip. But again, it’s a nice bonus accessory that bridges the gap between cartoon and toyline and I’m happy to have it.

I really love both of these figures, but at the same time I feel as if these are the first additions to the line that aren’t complete homeruns. The decision to go with flesh tone plastic instead of paint isn’t a total deal breaker for me, but it will always make these two stand out as a bit different from the JOEs released before and after. And getting the warped and mangled headset on Flint was a major bummer, but not a big enough issue for me to do an exchange. On the upside, both figures are excellent recreations of their cartoon counterparts and there are some great accessories included with each of these releases. These originally retailed at $55 each, but can be readily found at a bunch of online retailers for half that and I would definitely recommend them at that price. With how many figures in this line are turning up at deep discounts, it’ll be interesting to see if more collectors wait for sales. Then again, I’d wager Super7 will be producing a lot less quantities of future waves, so I’ll likely keep pre-ordering. The next time I check out this line I’ll be jumping back to Wave 3 and taking a look at the Cobra Trooper!

Feb 26 2024

Transformers: Masterpiece Trailbreaker(MP-56) by Takara

Me and Masterpiece Transformers sort of split ways some time ago. The last MP figure I bought and reviewed here was Ratchet and that was way back in 2018. And you’d have to go back two years before that for previous one, Ironhide. It’s crazy because I love each and every one of the MPs I own, but somewhere between the rising prices of the line and Hasbro getting much better at their own engineering, I just stopped buying them. I’m pretty sure it was Inferno clocking in at $150 that was the breaking point. I still love the look of that figure, but then Hasbro didn’t do too bad with their Kingdom release of Inferno and in the end I just couldn’t justify the cost. But fast forward to last week when a certain retailer was running a sale on MP Trailbreaker and I decided to get back on that cyber-horse one more time.

The packaging hasn’t changed much in the eight years since I’ve been away. Trailbreaker comes in a fully enclosed box that fits right in with all the other releases. The box is deceptively small, considering how big a figure this is, but that’s because he comes packaged in his vehicle mode and the transformation features some clever mass-shifting fakery. Like the past releases in the line, Trailbreaker’s alt mode is fully licensed, in this case from Toyota, and comes in a clear plastic tray with his accessories and a folded instruction sheet. Let’s start with the auto mode!

Trailbreaker’s auto mode is a Toyota N30 Hilux Pick-Up Truck with a camper-style cap on the bed, something that I did not know when I was a kid. I actually always thought he was a Suburban or something, but what do you want from me, I was just a dumb kid. It’s a nicely detailed little vehicle done in an all black body with a patch of colored diagonal strokes above the rear tires. You get a beautiful chromed out grill and wheels, plastic tires with sculpted treads, translucent red tail lights and translucent orange signal lights front and back. And I really dig having the Toyota brand sculpted across the tailgate. There are the unavoidable seams running through the body and I think Takara did a better job hiding these on some of the other Autobots. But, I will note that these pictures are after transforming him back into his truck mode, so some of mine may not have closed up quite as well as they did straight out of the box, as it was my first time.

You actually get two options for the front grill and bumper: The stock chromed one and the a matte gray version, which I assume is meant to look more like the cartoon. For me, it just looks out of place and it’s a shame to take off that beautiful chrome, so I won’t be getting any use out of the second grill and bumper.

The hood does open, showing off the engine compartment with some detailed components in there. It’s pretty impressive and reminds me of the Alternator toys.

And you also get an optional radar dish to clip onto the top. The dish is chrome and I could totally see myself displaying this on the vehicle most of the time. All in all, I think this is a great looking vehicle mode with some cool surprises and options. Getting the toy into this alt mode felt pretty intuitive, but it’s that very last step of getting everything packed in just right that felt a little trickier than normal for me, leaving a few gaps in the seams. I’m sure I’ll get better with practice.

And here are a few shots of the vehicle mode alongside Ironhide and Smokescreen. Overall, I think he scales pretty well and they look great parked side by side. Now, let’s move on to his robot mode…

I like to live on the edge and try to transform these guys without instructions, even on the first try. Sometimes it works and sometimes it ends in frustration. With Trailbreaker, it worked out pretty well. There was nothing here that felt all that scary or overly complicated and the resulting robot is pretty damn great, but worthy of a few nitpicks to call out as we go. Trailbreaker is a delightfully tall boy who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ironhide and Ratchet, but most of that height comes from his long legs, as his body is more or less the truck shell folded in half. You get the windshield making up his chest and the hood pointing down to form his lower torso. Meanwhile on the back, the canopy from the truck gives him a clean, squared off backpack. Yes, you can actually trim it down a bit more than I have it in the picture, but I kind of prefer the added bulk. Trailbreaker’s lower half proportions are kind of wonky with his pelvic region and legs looking a tad under-developed for that boxy bod, but it still works for me. Meanwhile, the deco is mostly black and gray, but the addition of the red knees and Autobot insignia do help to spice things up, as does the kisses of chrome on his shoulder mounted cannon and radar scanner as well as the blaster on his left arm.

So, the biggest nitpick I have here is in his sides, which are more than a tad unfinished and allow you peek in and see how the cyber sausage is made. Plus, if you line up your peek just right, you can see through to the other side. It’s not exactly cartoon accurate and makes that part of him look a bit unpolished. You need only look at MP Ironhide and Ratchet to see how much better the sides were handled on those figures. The engineering there is quite elegant the way the plates mesh to fill up the sides, and Trailbreaker here certainly lacks that. I can see the argument that it’s unacceptable for what is called a “Masterpiece” Transformer, but I just can’t get too upset about it.

You get three face plates to choose from, each of which is basically just the front half of the head that detaches. The faces include a neutral expression, a happy expression, and a shouty face. I find the sculpt around the mouth to be a bit soft on all three, but compensation comes in the visor, which has a gorgeous reflective blue paint that emulates light piping when under the right lights. Both the shoulder cannon and radar scanner are part of the transformation, rather than separate add-on pieces. Both look good, but I would have liked the scanner to be bigger, even if it meant adding it on after the fact. I will note here that I like the light frosted finish on the windshield that obscures the junk behind it.

The articulation here is right in line with what we saw on Ironhide and Ratchet. The joints are smooth and strong and the legs have no problems supporting his weight, even in wide stances. I love the range of motion you get in the lateral ankle rockers, which give him a stable platform, and his overall balance is excellent. On the downside, I would have liked it if the head could look up a bit more.

You get three options for his right arm attachments. You can go with the standard blaster, a fist, or a forcefield generator as seen in the original More Than Meets The Eye miniseries. The standard blaster has a gray plastic midsection which allows the barrel to compact itself for transformation. Getting it to lock into the extended mode can be a bit tricky and if it’s not locked in it can flop a bit. The hands are articulated at the base of the thumbs and index fingers, with the final three fingers hinged as one piece. I love having these options, but I will likely use the regular blaster as my default display.

And finally, you get a blast effect that works with either of the left arm attachments, as well as the shoulder cannon. Heck, you can even plug it into the radar scanner if you want to turn that into a weapon. This piece if cast in translucent yellow plastic and pegs into the hole on the attachments. I think it looks best on the regular blaster attachment, as the forcefield projector should really have three beams coming out of it.

It was a real treat coming back to a Masterpiece figure after all this time and with Trailbreaker on sale for $100 down from $150, it seemed like a great opportunity to pull that trigger. There are definitely some areas of improvement to be had here, and I won’t deny he feels like a step down from the Autobot Vans, especially considering how much more expensive he is, but I can still find plenty to love here and I’m happy to have him in my MP Autobot lineup. He definitely made me want to start collecting this line again, but with the prices still being what they are, I will likely wait for another sale before adding any more. Both Grapple and Inferno never sold out at any of the regular places I shop online, and they’ve been around for a long time, so maybe I’ll get lucky in that respect. To be honest, the only figure that I wish I had picked up when he was available was Hound, but I got scared away from him with many of the QC issues that were being reported.

Feb 23 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series) Skeletor and Man-At-Arms by Mattel

In case you missed it, the vintage-based MOTU Origins line has now become a Mattel Creations online exclusive, and I’ve decided not to follow it there, because I’ve already got pretty much everything I want out of it. And if I wanted any reassurances that I made the right decision, Rokkon sold out in stupid fast when he went up a few days ago, and I’m done subjecting myself to those kind of shenanigans just to buy toys. Besides, most of the figures in this extended stage of the line I have as Classics releases, anyway. Of course, Mattel has re-launching the Origins line at retail as the Cartoon Series with new versions based on the Filmation cartoon, and god help me, I’m here for that! Last month I checked out He-Man and Beast Man and now I’m back to check out Skeletor and Man-At-Arms.

Oh God, these new card designs are gorgeous! The colors are so vibrant and you get the cartoon style Castle Grayskull in the background, along with the Cartoon stickers on the front of the bubble that mimics the Filmation logo. It’s a shame they couldn’t put Filmation on there, but again I’m guessing it’s some kind of copyright thing. The figures look so amazing in these packages, but I’ve got to tear them open. Eventually I’ll probably pick up an extra He-Man and Skeletor just to keep carded and hang on the wall next to the vintage-style versions. Let’s start with Skeletor!

It’s amazing that so simple a figure can put such a big smile on my face, but this Filmation Skeletor does indeed have me grinning ear to ear. We’ve seen animated versions of this bonehead a few times, both from Mattel and Super7, and they were all good, but I think there’s something about the simpler style and price point of this Origins version that makes it work so well as an animated style figure. The colors are beautiful with that one-two punch of pale blue and purple mixed with the black undies and yellow face making this a striking figure to behold. These cartoon versions feature new body bucks, which stand a bit taller than the vintage-style Origins figures, but are still modular in design and Skeletor borrows just about everything from the He-Man buck except the boots and the new armor pieces. I also like that we are getting two accessory holding hands, rather than the left slap-hand.

The head sculpt is a near perfect homerun to me. My only nitpick here is that I think the teeth are sculpted a little too soft, or perhaps the face could have used a wash to bring out detail like the line art. On the other hand, I’m not sure if that would have made the portrait look too complex and stray away from the simpler animated look. Still, in the end, I’m very happy with what we got here. The hood and face are both part of the head, which allows the whole thing to articulate together.

Skeletor comes with four accessories, the first of which is his iconic Havoc Staff. This piece features a purple staff and a white head, which looks great. The sculpting on the ram head is really nice. I did find that Skeletor’s grip is a little loose for all his accessories, but squeezing it closed seemed to do the trick.

Next up, you get his version of the Power Sword, which is kind of a weird inclusion for a figure based on the Filmation cartoon, but I’m still happy to get it. It’s the same accessory we’ve seen before and since a few of my vintage-style Origins Skeletors came with the half-sword, I’ll be giving this to one of them.

And finally, you get two of the Masks from the episode Masks of Power. These are the golden masks that baddies for hire, Aran and Oona, put on and get transformed into the evil sorcerers, Demos and Tyrella. Both masks are cast in gold plastic and are fully realized heads with sockets so they can be placed on any of the Origins figures. It’s a really cool idea and it kind of makes me hope we get an Aran and Oona two-pack somewhere down the line. With the modular nature of the line, that would be an easy release. OK, let’s move on to Man-At-Arms…

Duncan got a pretty big facelift for the cartoon, and despite my love of the vintage line, that figure always seemed kind of weird to me, because I was so used to seeing Filmation Man-At-Arms. This figure features the same body as Skeletor, including the boots, with an all green body suit, orange grieves, brown boots, a blue belt and brown diaper. On the other hand, he gets brand new chest armor, as well as armor pieces for his shoulders and forearms, all cast in orange to match the grieves. Like Skeletor, the colors on this figure are wonderfully vibrant and really evoke the colorful nature of the cartoon. I also dig the full armor on both arms more than the vintage style figure.

The vintage Man-At-Arms was an ugly cuss. Past figures slapping a mustache on him helped a little, but here we get the full on cartoon Duncan portrait and he looks great. The simpler sculpt makes it feel more like the cartoon than the Classics version and I love that the head and helmet are separately sculpted. You also get a nice pearlescent finish to his helmet and bright orange panels on the sides. This portrait is really well done.

Duncan comes with his giant mace, which I really don’t remember him ever carrying in the cartoon, but I could be wrong about that. It’s a lot more bulbous than the mace included with the vintage-style Origins figure, so it’s nice we got a newly sculpted accessory unlike Beast Man’s crappy whip. And while this may not be a weapon I associate with the Filmation cartoon, I’ll still likely display it with him, so he has something to bash Skeletor’s goons with.

And he also comes with the Stasis Ray, which is awesome. I love all the Eternian tech depicted in the cartoon and this thing was one of my favorites. The sculpt is detailed enough to make it look good, but doesn’t go overboard and torpedo the animated style. For whatever reason, this device really stuck with me and it’s cool to finally have an accessory of it.

Four figures in and I am absolutely loving this line! Skeletor looks as iconic as all hell and they did Duncan proud as well. I’m also chuffed to be getting all of these episode-specific accessories with these figures and I hope that’s something that continues throughout the line. At $20 a pop, the price on these has crept up a bit since the line was first introduced, but with additional accessories and lots of brand new sculpting, I still think they’re a pretty good value. How deep will I go on these? Only time will tell, but I’m definitely in for all the main characters at least. I believe Trap-Jaw and Teela are up next and due to arrive next month, so I’m definitely looking forward to them!

Feb 21 2024

Super Cyborg (Transformers) Good Bye Megatron by Super7

By now we all know that Super7 has struck deals with Hasbro to make toys from their original properties. We’ve seen both Transformers and GI JOE released as Ultimates and ReAction figures. But Super7 has also crossed these franchises over to their rather unique, and kind of bizarre, Super Cyborg Series. According to Super7’s own write up, these “highly articulated” 12-inch figures are inspired by Takara’s Henshin Cyborg figures, which had transparent bodies to show off their inner workings. For the Transformers we got Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, as well as the Megatron I’m checking out today. Megsy here is supposed to be inspired by Takara’s re-release of the original toy as Good Bye Megatron, commemorating his death (and rebirth) in the movie. It all sounds pretty cool on paper, but a lot of these claims don’t really hold up in execution, and at least one is an outright fib, so let’s dig in and see what Super Cyborg Megatron is all about!

I do really love this packaging! Megatron comes in a beautiful window box. You get a G1-inspired grid pattern with the classic Decepticon purple and black deco. There’s a nice piece of art of the original toy on the bottom right, alongside the Super Cyborg logo and The X-Ray Action Figure! exclamation. The window has Good Bye Megatron printed across it and displays the figure really well. The box is sort of collector friendly, in that you can open it and remove the toy without damaging anything, but once you cut the ties, there’s no real easy way to display the chest panel the way it is before it’s taken out. I’m OK, with that, as the figure displays in the box really nicely with the panel on, but it’s something to consider before opening it. Oh, and what’s that up in the top? “7 Points of Articulation!” Really, Super7? Is that what you would call “Highly Articulated?” Because that’s what you call it on your website. Yeah, that’s the blatant fib I was talking about, and I really don’t know why they would put that in the product listing when it simply isn’t true. At least they are honest about it on the box. Anyway, Megatron comes out of his package nearly ready for display, you just have to attach his fusion cannon to his arm, and we’ll slap on that chest plate to start out with.

The figure presents a really crisp and clean animated looking Megatron and I dig that a lot. There’s definitely a bit of stylized design going on here, as the head seems like it’s intentionally oversized. The painted finish on this figure is extremely nicely done with satin silver sheen mated with some matte blue for the insides of the legs and arms, and some red, yellow, and blue on his ab panel. The fusion cannon is left as bare plastic and has a glossy sheen to it, while the bare plastic fists are matte finished. The sculpted detail is confined to some panel lines and vents in keeping with the simple animated look, but there’s lots of cool stuff going on in the back. I don’t really get much of a Henshin Cyborg feel off this toy, if anything it gives me more of an understated Shogun Warriors vibe. But hey, either way this is a beautiful looking figure!

The head looks good, but again is a bit too big, which I’m pretty sure was an intentional style choice. The face is a tad soft in the sculpt, but I still think works well for the figure. You get a pair of bright red eyes and the “helmet” is bang-on for the animated look. The Decepticon logo on the chest is a perfect print.

The seven points of articulation include a turning head, arms that rotate at the shoulders, fists that swivel at the wrists, and the legs swivel at the knees. The swivels in the fists are really only useful to turn the right hand sideways when he raises his fusion cannon to fire. And yeah, it’s not quite correct, because Megatron usually swivels his arm so that the cannon is on top rather than on the side. It would have been cool to sculpt that arm straight and give it a bicep rotation. The knee rotation is nice to angle the legs away from each other a bit so that he doesn’t look quite as rigid in his stance. But yeah, Highly Articulated this figure is not, and that goes a long way to undermine the Takara Henshin Cyborg inspiration, because those figures actually were highly articulated.

The gimmick here is the removable chest, which reveals the gorgeous sculpted interior of Megatron’s inner workings. I love how they executed the look of this with the clearly defined gears that would move his arms and legs and all sorts of other bits and bobs that make Megatron function. There’s a lot of purple and blue here, along with more of that sumptuous satin silver and some red and black paint hits thrown in for good measure. The whole thing is a cool balance between high detail and stylized animation. But again, does this really invoke the Cyborg Henshin line for me? Nah. Apart from letting you see inside the figure, it’s a tenuous connection at best.

For me, Super Cyborg Megatron doesn’t really live up to what its designers intended, but that’s not to say I don’t like the figure. I actually do! It’s a really unique display piece, and I’m always down for adding an animated style G1 Megatron to my collection. But I don’t think the Cyborg Henshin homage works and I don’t appreciate them calling this highly articulated on their website. Another sticking point for me is the retail price of $85, which is kind of steep. Thankfully, I picked up mine during the holidays off of Amazon when it was already discounted, had an additional $20 off coupon, and I had some points to throw at it. In the end, I brought him home at about $40 and I’m glad I did. Since then I’ve also been able to get Bumblebee for the same price, so I’ll have a look at him here at some point in the near future.

Feb 19 2024

ThunderCats Ultimates: Reptilian Reinforcements by Super7

In my effort to get through all of Super7’s Silverhawks, I purposely set their ThunderCats and GI JOE lines on the side burner. But now that I’m caught up with them, I’m going to spend a lot more time with the other Ultimates lines. I already started digging back into the JOE Ultimates and now it’s time for the ThunderCats! And while I’m anxious to get to the recently arrived wave of ThunderCats, before I do, I thought I’d double back and take a look at Super7’s trio of Evil Reptilian Mutant troop builders!

Yeah, how cool is it that Super7 took the took the Ssslithe body and created some army builders off of it! Of course, Ssslithe alone represented the Reptilian Mutants in the bulk of the cartoon, but the race as a whole made appearances in several episodes. Not to mention we got to see the ThunderCats demolishing a whole army of mutants in the intro before every episode. Super7 represents these nameless Reptilian from Plun-Darr as The Warrior, The Guard, and The Brute. These figures were released as their own wave and came in the same style packaging that we’ve been seeing all along, so basically window boxes with sleeves that lift off the top. There’s some original character art on the backs along with a little blurb about each one. Let’s unleash these raunchy reptiles onto Third Earth, and start with The Guard!

As already mentioned, each of these figures are repaints of the Ssslithe body, but accessorized with different outfits and heads. This body was great the first time around and it still holds up incredibly well. There’s sculpted scales over every inch of his skin and I just love his stocky build and hunched stature, as well as how the head just juts from the center of that hump. The crest of fins running from his head down his back is really cool too. The Guard features a dark olive colored skin with blueish white paint on his chest, palms, and the undercarriage of his tail. He wears a yellow tunic that’s actually made of softgoods and hangs off his left shoulder and is tied around his waist with a crude rope. It’s not the first time we’ve seen cloth in this line, as it was used on Jaga’s cape and on Pumm-Ra’s cloak, but it’s cool to see it again here, especially on a lowly army builder. He has mismatched cuffs on his ankles and a bracer on his left arm.

Super7 completely re-sculpted Ssslithe’s head three times to offer different expressions and these new noggins are spread out with two different heads included with each of these figures. Gone is their leader’s head piece and instead of the fin-like ears, we get simpler pointed ears. The Guard has one head with the mouth closed and the one with it opened up all the way and the eyes a little wider, and both look really nice. The head’s deco matches the two colors used for the body, and you get some bright yellow paint and sharp black irises for the eyes, and some bright red for the exposed tongue.

Each of these figures comes with one weapon and two sets of hands. The hands offer tight grips and looser grips, although the looser ones are kind of like grasping hands as well. The Guard comes with a gray club that looks like it’s meant to be fashioned out of bone, and it fits really well into the tighter gripping hands.

Next up is The Warrior and he’s been repainted in a sort of hunter green with a blue belly, palms and under-tail. He has a sculpted furry diaper with a gold belt and a shoulder strap holding a piece of armor on his left side This whole rig is sculpted as one piece and fitted onto the figure. He also has mis-matched cuffs on his wrists and ankles, all of which are different from what we saw on The Guard. The shoulder armor does have a habit of sliding down his arm, so I will likely pop a bit of blue tack under it to hold it in place a little better.

The Warrior has a repaint of the closed mouth head we saw with The Guard, but he also introduces a second head with the mouth only slightly open and wide eyes. He looks surprised, like he’s about to get a beatdown from one of the ThunderCats. Once again, you get the same deco on the head as on the body and this fellow’s eyes are painted a lighter shade of yellow.

The Warrior comes with a spiked flail with the ball connecting to the handle by a piece of bendable wire. Chain would have looked better, but the wire does allow for a bit more dynamic posing as it will support the weight of the ball at certain angles.

The Brute has a dark green, almost grey skin with gray for his chest, palms, and undertail. He’s wearing a sculpted furry diaper similar to The Warrior’s, but with a shoulder strap going over the right shoulder and no shoulder armor. He’s got the same arm bracer as The Guard, but now on both forearms, and he has recolors of the mismatched ankle cuffs that we saw on The Warrior. I think I like the coloring on this one the best, but I also think his outfit is probably the least interesting of the three.

Here we get a closed mouth head and a one with the mouth slightly agape and the eyes just a smidge wider. I really love the slight spectrum of expressions on the three heads provided for this wave. They all have some wonderful personality for a bunch of nameless goons.

The Brute comes with a spiked club, which is fine and all, but I would have preferred an axe or something else since we already got a club with The Guard. I suppose I could always give him one of Ssslithe’s extra weapons if I want to.

These three reptiles were a nice surprise for me when they were revealed and for what they are I think Super7 did a really nice job with them. Sure, they’re really milking the sales out of that body for all it’s worth, but I like that we got new heads and outfits with them all, rather than just straight repaints with a few minor tweaks. The only downside of these guys is, like Ssslithe, they take up a lot of shelf space and my ThunderCats display is getting pretty congested as it is. I’m interested to see if they do something similar with Monkian and Jackalmen, but I guess that will depend on how well these guys sell. Either way, it’s great to bolster the Evil Mutant forces a bit, because I’ll need plenty of them to attack the giant Cat’s Lair when it eventually arrives!

Feb 16 2024

DC Multiverse (Rebirth): Supergirl by McFarlane

Holy shit has Todd been busy this year! It seems like every other day we’re getting more reveals of DC Multiverse figures as well as some amazing Super Powers stuff. For the most part, I tend to play the waiting game on this line, as many of the figures do wind up on deep discount, but there have been quite a few releases that I’ve been pre-ordering as of late and Supergirl here was one of them!

This is at least the third version of Supergirl released by McFarlane in this format. We also got an Injustice 2 version based on the video game and a version from The Flash film. Neither of those interested me at all, but I’m definitely down for anything they do from the Rebirth comics. Kara Zor El comes in the standard DC Multiverse window box. She’s a Gold Label release, which I originally thought made her a Target Exclusive, but I’m sure I’ve seen her pop up at some other online retailers since. As usual, the box displays the figure really well and the side panel calls her out as the Rebirth version. And, it’s sort of collector friendly packaging. You can get the figure out, but if you want the stands and the collector card, you’re going to have to rip them off the cardboard backer.

And here she is out of the box and there’s a lot to like here, but I do have some quibbles. The biggest one is the decision to go with what look like boots going up all the way to her skirt. The Supergirl that I remember from Rebirth had boots that went up past her knees and then you got a little flash of bare thigh before the skirt. Maybe she adopted this look later on? I don’t know, but I’d prefer the look that I associate with the character more than what we got here. With that having been said, I think she looks pretty good for what she is and the rest of the figure looks pretty close to the Rebirth character design. I like the shade of blue they used for her top, the S-Shield is printed very sharply, and the red looks great. The sculpted belt is painted gold and the cape is actually softgoods, which is a welcome treat.

The portrait looks good, although I don’t really think it depicts any specific artists’ style from the book. The hair is sculpted really well and I like the way it curls down at her shoulders. Obviously, it impacts the neck articulation, but not as bad as I expected. The facial printing is sharp, she’s got pretty blue eyes and a cute little smirk. McFarlane can be really hit and miss on their comic based portraits, but I think this one is pretty solid.

The articulation follows the standard DC Multiverse formula, which is mostly excellent, but is held back here by the skirt. There are no slits in the sides, so it really hinders her hip articulation and keeps her from achieving any wide stances. And as always I will bemoan the lack of thigh swivels and those bulbous ankle joints, which tend to look really bad on the ladies. As you might expect, her hair gets in the way of looking up for those flying poses. Everything else is fine and her double hinged elbows and knees can get some really tight bends. Kara only comes with one set of hands and those are fists, which is fine by me as they work for flying or for punching.

In addition to the standard black disk stand, you also get the clear flight stand that turns up every now and then. These have an adjustable grabber to wrap around the figure’s waist. A lot of people seem to like to rag on these, but I’m always happy to find it included. It is a little flimsy, but still a decent bonus for a $20 figure, and it works just fine to display the flyers in nice hovering pose. You can also remove the grabber and just use the base as it has a peg hole to stand the figure.

If I had to level one major nitpick against McFarlane’s comic figures is they tend to take liberties when translating the artwork into action figure. And granted, Kara here gets the look about 80% right, if I’m using my highly precise, and not at all arbitrary, scientific scale of deducting 10% off for each thigh that should have been bare. Again, maybe this was the leg look she adopted at some point during the Rebirth run, but it wasn’t in any of the books I read. No, seeing a flash of plastic skin isn’t that important to me, but why not stay accurate to the costume, eh? Either way, I dig this figure a lot and I’m glad I picked her up. Even if she is a far cry from the absolutely fantastic DC Icons Rebirth Supergirl figure, which I should never have let leave my collection. Yeah, always going to regret letting that one go…

Feb 14 2024

G. I. JOE Ultimates: Scarlett by Super7

It’s taken me a long time to get back to Super7’s Sunbow cartoon-inspired series of GI JOE Ultimates figures. So long, in fact, that a new wave has arrived before I even got to spotlight any of the second wave here. The right thing to do would be to go through all of Wave 2 before tackling the new wave, but man I was just too excited for that. So, I’m jumping ahead to check out Scarlett from Wave 3 and then I will double back and hit some figures from Wave 2, and alternate like that until I’m all caught up. Savvy? Good, then let’s check out Scarlett!

Here she is in the very stylish Super7 Ultimates packaging with some minor changes from the last two waves. The slipcase is now more of a flat, satiny finish as opposed to the glossy premium stock. This change carries over to the box itself, where Scarlett’s dog tag under the window also looks flat and less premium. It’s not a huge departure, but it’s definitely a tiny step down from what we were getting. You do still get some nice printed weathering on the sleeve and some character art on the back panel of the box. I should also note that these are no longer coming in brown cardboard mailers, but rather just plastic wrap. On the plus side, the window shows off the goods as great as ever, and oh boy am I thrilled to see a Sunbow-styled Scarlett in my collection. I remember that as a kid, cartoon Scarlett was the cause of some pretty funny feelings down in my government issued undies and somehow Hasbro’s figure, as cool as it was, never reached those heights for me. So, let’s get her out and see what we’ve got!

Sunbow Scarlett’s outfit came pretty close to the original figure’s design, with a tan one-piece, gloves and high heeled boots along with green sleeves and leggings. The figure sports a fairly minimalist look when it comes to detail, and that’s in keeping with the cartoon style. She has her familiar red recoil pad on her right shoulder, some silver shuriken and edging on her gauntlets, a wide silver belt, and some sculpted pouches on her boots. I would have liked a little more definition in her caboose, but all in all I really like what we got here when it comes to the body and outfit.

You get three different head sculpts, and while there isn’t a huge difference between them, I think the one that came on the figure is the best. She has a pretty determined look with downturned eyebrows and mouth. This is probably the face she pulls when she catches Duke making out with Selina or other random Cobra slavegirls that he rescues. The eyes are printed very nicely, and while her hot pink lipstick doesn’t quite fill out the mouth sculpt, I still think it looks pretty good. The fiery red hair and ponytail are both pitch perfect, But now is about as good a time as any to point out the ugly seam running up the sides of her neck. Yeah, that’s a shame.

The second head is a bit of a smile and some less severe, more rounded eyebrows. This one is OK, but I don’t think it has as much personality as her battle face. The third is pretty close to the first but with the addition of a headset and I do like this one. I’ve heard some people argue that it’s too specific, as the headset is meant to be used while she’s flying a Skystriker, but I think it works for just battlefield communication. Suffice it to say the first head is the one that will be displayed on my figure most of the time and it’s the one I used for the bulk of the pictures in this review.

Unless you’re new to this line, you should know by now what to expect when it comes to articulation. Love it, hate it, or just accept it. But if this is your first rodeo with Ultimates, don’t expect anything as good as the Classified line. Rotating hinges is the name of the game and you get them in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. There’s a swivel in the waist and a ball joint under the chest. The hips and neck are ball jointed, and you get some lateral rockers in the ankles. I don’t mind this articulation so much, but I do wish you got better range in the elbows. Scarlett also comes with three pairs of hands: fists, karate chopping, and gun/accessory holding. Swapping the hands requires a little more force than I would like, but other than that it works just fine.

As for accessories, well it wouldn’t be Scarlett without her trademark crossbow and you get two to choose from, along with an assortment of arrows and a quiver with a shoulder strap. The first crossbow is a short pistol-type and is similar to the one released with the vintage RAH figure. It’s an excellent sculpt and has a deep groove so that you can load it with an arrow using the fletching to anchor it in place. It works pretty well for display on the shelf, but they will fall out if you move it around a lot. Her ammo includes three normal arrows, one bomb arrow, one arrow with a really broad point, and a grapple arrow with a yellow string attached. You can comfortably fit the three regular arrows and the bomb arrow into the quiver all at one time, but the broad tipped arrow is too big and the grapple arrow takes up most of the room. Otherwise the quiver works pretty well, but I might put some blue tack inside to help hold the arrows in place.

The other crossbow is more of a rifle design with a skeletal stock and a scope. This one had some serious warping in the plastic strings, but much to my surprise a little heat straightened them out immediately. I seem to recall Sunbow Scarlett’s crossbow being a bit in between the pistol version and this, but I definitely like this one a lot. It’s not going to be an easy choice as to which one to go with most of the time.

And for when Scarlett needs a little more firepower, she comes with an M16, and I’m not sure why because I don’t remember this being a thing in the cartoon and it definitely wasn’t included with the RAH figure. It is a pretty nice toon-ified version of the iconic infantry weapon, although the barrel is very prone to bending and I had to heat it up as well to get it even close to straight. And yes, it is a little irksome that Hasbro can deliver most of the weapons in their slightly smaller scale Classified line at half the price and have them come out straight most of the time, not to mention also have detachable magazines and occasional blast effect parts. To be honest, I will likely never display Scarlett with this weapon, and I would have much rather just gotten another one of the XMLR-3A Laser Rifles that most of the JOEs used in the cartoon and that came with Snake Eyes, Duke, and Flint.

Scarlett’s final accessory is a walkie-talkie, which seems to be a popular pack-in for most of the Ultimate JOEs. Not that I’m complaining, it’s a good accessory for infantry to have. This one looks pretty cool and retro with it’s boxy design and it’s classic design speaker. The left hand that can cradle her weapons can also hold the walkie pretty well, but the elbows won’t let it get too close to her face.

Scarlett was one of my most hotly anticipated figures in the Ultimates line and she didn’t disappoint. Yes, I had a few nitpicks here and there, but certainly nothing to diminish my happiness with her. She really captures the look and spirit of the cartoon and that’s something I’ve wanted ever since I was a kid. I’m very curious to see how Hasbro’s Scarlett do-over for the Classified line turns out as that one will be a lot closer to this classic look than the figure that shipped way back in that first assortment, which had something of a Fortnite flavor to her. In the meantime, when I next visit with GI JOE Ultimates, I’ll be flipping back to Wave 2, before coming back to this third wave.

Feb 12 2024

The Sheriff (Bravestarr) by Dasin Toys

“One day, a lawman appeared. With powers of hawk, wolf, puma and bear. Protector of peace, mystic man from afar. Champion of justice, Marshall Bravestarr!” As if to carry the baton for the aging Masters of the Universe line, Mattel introduced their new toyline, Bravestarr, to the scene in 1986. And just like MOTU, it was accompanied by a Filmation cartoon to help sell those toys the following year. The Native American Space Marshall and his equine companion, 30-30, helped protect the good citizens of the planet New Texas and its rich deposits of Kerium Crystals, which had amazing healing powers. Both the toys and cartoon were something of a short-lived endeavor, but still fondly remembered by many 80’s kids. Despite so many toy revivals from the time, Mattel hasn’t resurrected the battle between Bravestarr and Tex Hex, so some industrious (and perhaps unscrupulous) third-party companies have decided to do it themselves, namely Ramen Toys and Dasin Toys. I have a little bit of nostalgia for the cartoon and toys, but maybe not enough to go for Ramen’s $90-ish figure, so I decided to go with Dasin’s $40-ish.

The figure has been officially solicited as The Sheriff, but what’s the point of pussy footing around when you’re literally branding the box with Bravestarr? Forget about the powers of Hawk, Wolf, Puma, and Bear… Damsin Toys had better hope that Bravestarr doesn’t call upon the power of copyright attorneys, because this is about as ballsy as intellectual theft gets. There’s some fine print on the bottom panel of the box, but other than that there’s just the window to let the contents do the talking. And the minimalist approach certainly works, because I was impressed before I even opened the box. As for scale, he’s pretty damn close to 6-inch scale, but he’s slightly smaller when compared to Marvel Legends and a lot smaller than McFarlane’s DC Multiverse.

Bravestarr comes out of the box sans hat and looking like he just jumped out of one of Filmation’s animation cells. There was a fair amount of differences between Mattel’s original figure and the animated version, and Damsin has clearly chosen to embrace the animated look over the vintage figure design. And I’m happy they did, as it isn’t just updating an old figure, but rather giving us something we haven’t had before. The coloring here is really nice, although the differences between the orange and the yellow can be subtle in most lighting. I like the deep chocolate brown they used for the boots and the red and blue on the chest and back really make the figure pop like the cartoon. The silver hits on the badge, belt buckle and gauntlet accents are sharp and snappy. Comparing this to the original animated character model sheet shows that these guys did their homework. But besides getting the details right, I cannot overstate how impressive the quality on this figure turned out. The colors are vibrant and the paint is super clean. The plastic feels great in the hand and the joints are all easy to work with right out of the box. Every bit of this toy feels like a professional and polished product, and that was quite a nice surprise considering this is my first experience with the company, and I had no idea what to expect.

For the portrait, you get five different heads and two different hair pieces, both featuring his stylish ponytail. One hairpiece is full and intended for display without the hat, while the other plugs into the hat to complete the head when he’s wearing it. It’s a clever system that’s easy to swap out and by making the hair and hat separate, it allows you to display him holding the hat if you want. The expressions on the heads include neutral, neutral with side eye, smirk, open mouth smile, and full on battle yell. Neutral and smirk are my favorites, while the shouty face feels out of character for The Marshall. I get a bit more of an anime vibe to the portraits, so I don’t feel they are a very close match for the cartoon, but from a technical standpoint they still look good. Filmation style portraits all have similar characteristics and I feel like Mattel and The Four Horsemen are among the few who have been able to get them right.

The hat scales really well for being a separate piece and sits perfectly on the figure. I think it’s worth paying a bit of caution toward the tiny antenna that juts up from the side. I will say that at one point I accidently bent it in my hand and was sure it was going to snap off, but it just bent and returned to normal without even leaving a stress mark. Still, I wouldn’t test that too much.

The articulation features ball joints and rotating hinges in the shoulders and hips, double hinges in the elbows and knees, rotating hinges and pegs for the wrists, swivels in the thighs and biceps, rotating hinges in the ankles, hinges and lateral rockers in the feet, ball joint in the neck, and ball joints in the waist and under the chest. All the joints on this figure are smooth as butter and he is crazy fun to pose and play with. The tolerances are solid and the shoulder joints are designed to pop out if overstressed, rather than break. But, I will throw out a few nitpicks. The elbow bends are impeded by the muscle sculpt, so about 90-degrees is as good as you get. Also, the design of the shoulder hinges do show more gap than I’m used to seeing. Neither are a big deal to me, but still worthy of note. You do get a total of five pairs of hands which include sets of fists, OK gestures, grippy hands, trigger hands, and relaxed hands. All of these are easy to swap and come on a clear plastic sprue.

Bravestarr comes with two weapons: His pistol and some kind of space bazooka. The bazooka has a cool pearlescent aqua-green finish and features minimalist detail to the sculpt, which I suppose is in keeping with the animated look. I don’t remember this weapon from the cartoon, but it’s pretty cool and Bravestarr can wield it with one hand or two. With that having been said, I would have much rather they included an updated sculpt of the scoped rifle that came with the original figure as I find that one to be pretty iconic. I doubt this one will get much display time.

The pistol, aka The Neutra-Laser, on the other hand is awesome and to me this is one of the more iconic cartoon weapons of the 80s. The original toyline focused quite a bit on this pistol with special figures designed to use battery backpacks and infrared beams to shoot each other and they released a full size Neutra-Laser toy that could also be used to shoot down figures, so I think they knew they had something special with this design. This accessory is a nicely detailed sculpt with some added paint hits and even some tiny western-style scroll work patterns that you sometimes see on vintage lever actions. They really put some love into this little gun and it looks so iconic in the figure’s hand!

And even with all of those goodies, in the box you also get a stand, which can double as storage to keep your extra pieces. The black storage box is even branded with the Bravestarr logo! There’s a very Figma-style hinged arm that pegs into the top of the base and can grab the figure around the waist to help with action poses or just to keep him standing. And if you don’t want the added elevation of the storage box, you can just use the top as a stand all by itself. Yeah, the ingenuity of the design on this stand really blows me away and it’s something that I’d love to see more toy lines embrace.

Damsin Toys did an amazing job on this figure and I really can’t stress what a polished and high quality toy this is. I’ve had Bravestarr on my desk ever since I got him and I find myself constantly picking him up and playing around with him. Everything in this box is excellent right down to the innovative storage stand and I couldn’t be happier with this purchase. Even better, the going price seems to be around $42-45, which feels like a great value for such a well produced figure. The only downside here is the uncertainty as to whether we will see any more figures in this line. Ramen Toys is already showing off a prototype for their 30-30 and I would really like to see Damsin at least give us Bravestarr’s partner. But I’d certainly be down for Tex Hex and Judge McBride! Both Damsin and Ramen Toys figures seem to be getting a lot of buzz in the collector community, and while I don’t expect Mattel to revisit this line, maybe if these sell well, it will inspire another company to work out a deal with Mattel to use the license.

Feb 9 2024

G. I. JOE Classified: Breaker with Ram Cycle by Hasbro

There was a lot of GI JOE Classified content here leading up to Christmas, so I tried to give it a rest for at least a couple of weeks and I guess that turned into a whole month. But truth be told this line has been one of my absolute high points for collecting right now and there’s so many goodies to cover, so here we are again with another vehicle from Classified. Sure, that HasLab HISS Tank is going to be hard to beat with a mere motorcycle, but the GI JOE line has some truly iconic smaller scale vehicles that are so totally doable as retail-friendly releases. And the Ram Cycle is certainly one of them! Also, this was only the second vehicle to release in the line, so it was a pretty big deal when it did!

Yup, this one has been out for a while. So long, in fact, that it’s even been re-released as a Tiger Force repaint. But, as I’m sure you’ve heard a lot by now, a big part of 2024 for me is going to be taking care of unfinished business. FFZ has never really been about being cutting edge. I leave that to the people willing to pay triple on Ebay for stolen toys to get that FIRST IN reputation. Anyway, this set comes in a beautiful window box that shows off the toys very well. It also has the dreaded Cobra Island moniker, signifying that it was a Target Exclusive. Remember how much fun that was kids? It was actually a lot worse with the Baroness and Cobra COILS set, which I never actually saw at a Target and quickly became scalper feed, but there were eventually shelves full of the Ram Cycle, so I guess lessons were learned. Let’s start with Breaker.

Breaker dips all the way back to that initial first year of Real American Hero figures. On the one hand, I’m not sure I dig Hasbro taking figures that were originally carded releases and bundling them with vehicles, but Hasbro’s model seems to require figures with all the vehicles, so I can dig it. Also, the 2008 version of the RAM Cycle was released with a Corporal Breaker, so at least Hasbro is being consistent. The JOE Communications officer was a pretty simple figure, and this release really reflects that. You get plain green fatigues, granted with a lot of sculpted detail, black boots, rolled up sleeves, black gloves, a green wristwatch, and an absolute slab of a combat vest with sculpted pouches and black shoulder straps. The vest adds some crazy bulk to the figure, which surprisingly to me looks less obtrusive when viewed from the side than from the front. Some may balk at the relative vanilla look of this guy, but personally, I enjoy the more traditional military looking figures, and Breaker here has that in spades.

The head sculpt is really solid and presents a very classic JOE look. I’m talking classic 12-inch JOE look! You get the black beard with some back-swept hair, a prominent nose and a stoic, slightly determined stare. He definitely lacks the sleepy, dead eyes of the original RAH figure, that made me think Breaker was a stoner. On the downside, the seam that bisects his hair is kind of ugly, especially by Classified standards. Still, if Hasbro ever wanted to give this guy a camo paintjob and release him as an Adventure Team exclusive, I’d definitely be down for that.

Breaker is definitely light on the accessories, which some may blame on him being bundled with a vehicle, but in fairness the original Breaker didn’t come with a whole lot. He had a helmet, radio headset and backpack radio. Here we get the helmet and headset all in one, with the helmet repurposed as a motorcycle helmet with a visor. The helmet looks great and includes a microphone. The lack of a backpack still kind of bugs me, although a radio backpack would be kind of outdated for Classified. Maybe they could have given him a SINCGARS unit. That would have been cool. At the very least, he should have come with a pistol and holster, even if the original figure was released unarmed. Heck, Baroness got a ton of extras and she was bundled with a motorcycle as well.

Moving on to the RAM Cycle and this is an absolute beauty. As with a lot of what Classified is doing now, it takes the original design and just injects a dose of modern realism into an updated sculpt. The body is mostly cast in an olive green, which is a lot duller than the RAH toy, but adds to that more realistic look. You also get some black and gray in the mix, found in the engine, wheels, tires, exhaust, seat, and other little bits and bobs. There is some wonderful detail in the engine, a few panel lines, and some sculpted bolts. This bike looks great!

The RAM features a lot of the same markings as the original toy, this time all printed on. The MG 1027 can still be found stenciled in white on the gas tank (although I could have sworn it was MC 1027 on the original), along with the updated JOE star emblem. Other insignia and markings are present, including the American Flag.

The dash is very well detailed. I was surprised to see the gauges were actually sculpted and painted, rather than just stickers. I like the bit of added sculpting in the handlebars and you even get some extra detail on the gas cap.

The side mounted minigun adds the Rapid Fire in this Rapid Fire Motorcycle and the sidecar-type attachment also stabilizes the motorcycle so it can stand fine for display purposes. As a kid, I remember the idea of attaching a chain gun to a motorcycle sidecar was about the coolest thing I’d ever seen. I remember even my Dad being pretty impressed at the concept. Somehow I don’t think it’s real world practical, but boy is it an amazingly toyetic concept.

As we saw in the packaged shot, the minigun pod is not only removable from the cycle itself, but it can also be opened up and the gun can be removed and wielded by hand, which is so awesome. There is a flip down kickstand to stabilize the bike when the weapon pod is not attached. And yeah, I guess this would make up for the fact that Breaker doesn’t come with a pistol. About three thousand rounds a minute? That’s what I call communication!

And Breaker does indeed sit quite nicely on the bike and looks damn good on it! His hands can grip the handle bars and his feat peg into the pedals. His butt does hover a bit off the seat, but that’s fine. There’s even enough room for a second rider if they don’t mind getting cozy.

One of the cool things about the Real American Hero line was the wide range of vehicles and playsets. For every wallet-busting USS FLAGG there was a small and affordable toy like The RAM Cycle that let kids actually save up allowance and add to their toychest. Granted, the Classified version is bigger and pricier, but it still feels like a decent enough value when you bundle in the figure. The sculpt here is excellent and the added feature of the removable minigun adds tons of play value. It’s a little tougher to find at a decent price these days, but well worth it if you can hunt one down.

Feb 7 2024

Marvel Legends (Void Wave): Crystar by Hasbro

Y’all remember Crystar? Goodness and Light! Evil and Might! …the winner is up to you! Well, nobody really won, because the comic book only lasted 11 issues and the toyline by Remco fizzled out pretty quickly. Not even a cartoon! I never owned any of the figures, but damn that commercial made me want them and I did have a couple issues of the comic, picked out of 25-cent milk crates at the used bookstore downtown. For a failed toy franchise, it sure left a big impression on me. If someone told me that we were getting a modern Crystar figure, I would assume it would be through a company like Nacelle or Zica, but nope… it’s Hasbro accessing the license through their Marvel Legends line. And I wouldn’t get too excited, because this is almost guaranteed to be a one-off, like that Matt Tracker Hasbro released through the GI JOE 25th Anniversary line.

Even stranger, Crystar was not released as a single store exclusive, but rather as part of a regular wave created around The Void Build-A-Figure. To the uninitiated, Crystar is a Prince of Crystalium and fights against the chaotic forces of Moltar and his Magma Men. It’s a classic good vs evil toy premise, but with some pretty hardcore stuff like people shooting out each other’s eyes and the body horror of Crystar himself having to be rended from death by merging his body with The Great Prisma-Crystal. It was an imaginative line and the toys looked great, so getting a modern updated Crystar figure like this definitely scratches a very old itch.

And wow, did Hasbro go full-on crystal with this guy! The bulk of the body is cast in a gorgeous translucent blue plastic with crystal-like facets sculpted all over the place. The gauntlets, boots, and undies are all cast in red plastic and he has a blue crystal embedded right where his belt buckle would be. This is an absolutely beautiful update to the vintage Remco figure! And while the original Crystar had to get by with just old school 5 POA, plus hinged knees, Hasbro’s new release conforms to the Marvel Legends standard. And since the body is entirely new, they went with pinless joints. You also get two sets of hands, which include one pair of accessory holding hands, a right fist and a left hand with splayed fingers.

The portrait also falls pretty closely in line with the original figure. The head and helmet are both sculpted in more of that sumptuous crystal blue plastic while the front crest and the side wings are cast in the same red plastic used for his boots and gauntlets. The original figure had a red connecting band between the crest and wings making it more like a complete crown (it was also removable), so I’m not sure if that was an oversight or an intentional stylistic change here. It might be fun to get an extra figure to make that simple change with some red paint. It looks like there’s some added face printing in there, but it’s kind of hard to tell as it gets lost in all that blue crystal.

The vintage Remco figure came with three accessories: A sword, shield, and prism looking-glass. These looking-glasses were color coded and included with each of the original figures. Hasbro nixed the prism, which is honestly totally expected, but he does get his trusty sword and shield. The sword is cast in transparent blue plastic and hits all the beats of the original sword design while smoothing out the proportions and giving it a bit more detail. The hilt has a ribbed grip, the crossguard hooks toward the blade at the ends, and there’s a diamond-like swell near the base of the blade.

The shield is also cast in translucent blue plastic and is a nice homage to the original figure’s shield. There’s a octagonal central boss with arrow like designs connecting the corners of the hexagon with the outer ring of the shield. The inside of the shield has a grab bar which works well with the figure’s grippy hands. I love how immaculate and clear this shield is, as it offers very little distortion when looking through it.

Crystar is a really cool figure and a beautiful update to the original Remco release. The only downside for this guy is that now I obviously want more, and I think it’s a safe bet this will be a one-time deal. I don’t know what the appeal of this fellow will be at retail, as both the comic and action figure line lean toward the obscure these days. I doubt there’s a whole lot of love for the original comic series, and the character only appeared in a handful of other Marvel books. I’m actually still pretty surprised that Hasbro included him as part of a Build-A-Figure wave rather than just a one-off store exclusive. But even if you are buying him just to get that Void BAF piece, I think he’s a fantastic figure and definitely worth a place on that ecclectic corner of the Marvel Legends shelves that all of us collectors probably have. ironically, the only two figures that I pre-ordered in this wave was Crystar and Power Princess, although I’ll agree that this wave is pretty damn strong, and I may wind up grabbing some more if they turn up on sale here and there.