Mar 6 2014

Transformers Cybertron: Quickmix with Stripmine by Hasbro

I woke up today, pondered some content for Transformers Thursday, and it just felt like a cement mixer kind of a day. I’m sure you know what I mean. That doesn’t leave me too many options… Mixmaster would be too easy and my G1 Targetmaster Quickmix is long gone, probably still at the bottom of a backyard sandbox in Northern New Jersey. Thankfully there is the more recent version of Quickmix to choose from. He was a Voyager Class released in the Cybertron line and he comes with a little Minicon called Stripmine. Let’s mix it up!

Like his G1 namesake, Quickmix is an Autobot, but that’s where the similarities dry up. Hasbro wasn’t going for a direct homage on this guy so the color scheme isn’t the red and white-grey that one might expect. Instead we get a lot of bright orange, which I will concede is often times the color of construction vehicles. Actually, now that I think of it, they’re usually yellow. Maybe Hasbro was going for an homage to that elusive set of orange G2 Constructicons. Or maybe Quickmix is just orange because he’s orange and I should shut the hell up about it.

Quickmix’s vehicle mode is a little rough around the edges. You can see a lot of hinges and gears and other transforming robot tomfoolery. But construction vehicles aren’t supposed to be pretty, so what’s here largely works for me. A good part of the back of the truck is made up of one of Quickmix’s arms and I have to say it’s pretty cool the way it’s all contorted like that to form the feeding chute for the mixing materials. On the downside, the arm doesn’t lock down very well so it’s not uncommon for the back of the mixer chute to unfold into a mess. There is undoubtedly a lot of detail to this vehicle’s sculpt and I really dig the jagged detailing on the mixing drum itself. The truck rolls along on six wheels and has a bizarre prow jutting out of the front. I have no idea what that’s supposed to be for, but then I know precious little about cement mixers.

While Cybertron figures were all about Cyberkeys, for some reason Quickmix came paired with a Minicon named Stripmine. You’ll hear no complaints from me because I love Minicons and Stripmine is definitely one of the better ones. His alt mode is a blue and yellow laser cannon that rolls on tank treads. Based on his name, I’m going to assume he’s a mining laser. He’s a very simple little guy, but he transforms into a clean robot mode that uses his laser cannon as an arm. Quickmix has Minicon ports on the top of his driving cabin and another on his rear bumper so Stripmine can attach to him and power him up. Yes, he still has a Cyberkey gimmick, but it’s only designed for use when he’s in robot mode, so let’s get him transformed.

One of the things that always cheeses me off is when Transformers have some huge part of their vehicular anatomy hanging off one of their arms. This is very often the case with crane trucks, but it should only take one look at Quickmix’s robot mode to see where I’m going with this. His right arm consists of his mixing drum, which is probably very useful for hitting other robots, but not so much so when you need to pick something up. He also has some pretty bulky truck kibble for knees. In the plus column, Quickmix features one good arm with a pair of guns on it, that look pretty cool. I do like the way he wears his wheels on his back, and you certainly can’t deny that this mold is absolutely packed with sculpted detail. Oh yeah, Quickmix has a pair of Minicon ports for nipples. Nipples are of course useless on a robot and to keep that line of thought going, these nipples are pretty useless as Minicon ports as well.

I’m not sure what’s up with Quickmix’s head, but it really strikes me as some kind of misguided Blaster homage. He’s got the same silver band running over his head that looks a bit like a flipped up visor on a helmet. He’s also got a microphone and earpiece, which granted wasn’t part of Blaster’s head sculpt, but Blaster was a communications officer, so you can see where I’m going with that. On the other hand, I can’t think of any good reason why Hasbro would make a cement truck an homage to Blaster, so I’m probably reading way too much into this.

In the Cybertron fiction that I know very little about, Quickmix was a native of the Giant Planet and hung out with Metroplex. As a result, he shares the same kind of growing gimmick as Plexy did. The only difference here is that Metroplex’s growing gimmick was pretty cool and Quickmix’s is garbage. You just pull down on his legs or push down his shoulders and it grows him all of about an eighth of an inch. If it wasn’t pointed out as a growing gimmick in the instructions I would have just assumed it was part of the transformation. It also doesn’t lock into place, which makes it all the more annoying.

I couldn’t find Quickmix’s Cyberkey anywhere, but that doesn’t matter because his gimmick is easily accessed without it. You just pull apart his mixing drum to reveal a missile launcher. It looks like a pretty powerful weapon, but I’m not sure I would want to go through life with a giant albatross for a right arm only so that I could launch a missile every now and then. For a construction vehicle, Quickmix seems just as dedicated to wrecking shit as he is to helping to build. There’s also a Minicon port on his left arm to give him some extra firepower. I dig that a lot as it’s a nice nod back to the original G1 Targetmaster toy.

In case you haven’t guessed, Quickmix does not impress me. I don’t hate him, but when you consider how many Transformers are vying for what little display space I have; poor Quickmix is never likely to earn himself much shelf time. The vehicle mode isn’t bad at all, but I tend to display my TF’s in robot mode and that’s where Quickmix falls short. His bot mode is just lousy with lazy design and poorly conceived gimmicks. I can certainly appreciate all the effort that went into his detailed sculpt, but in the end it feels wasted on what is a rather forgettable Transformer figure. Yes, Quickmix is bound for the storage tote. Hopefully in a few years when I discover him again he may have a little nostalgia working in his favor.

Mar 5 2014

Master Mini Series: Krank “Construction Engineer” (MM-1) by X-Transbots!

Today we’re checking out a third-party Transformer from what I thought to be an otherwise untested company. A little research, however, showed me that they’ve already dabbled in this kind of stuff a few times with upgrade kits. Nonetheless, the first project of X-Transbots that caught my eye was Krank, a transforming robot that some might say bears a slight resemblance to a certain G1 Autobot named Huffer. I’m sure that’s a complete coincidence. I was extremely excited for this release because Huffer was one of my favorite Minibot characters. I can’t remember much of anything from the old G1 Autobot Tech Specs, but I’ve never forgotten the line in Huffer’s that tells us he sees the world through sludge-covered windshields. I found that line to be oddly poetic for a bio on a toy box and on some level I must have related to it. Anyway, Huffer actually has two third-party homages shipping right now, the other being Cubex’s Huff, and both of them looked quite good. It was a tough decision, but I ultimately decided to go with this one. Let’s see if it was the right call…

Krank comes in a simple box that is most certainly designed to mimic Takara’s Masterpiece packages. The front has shots of the toy in both robot and alt mode and the layout sure looks familiar. The artwork is rather washed out and overall the package doesn’t pop like some of the stuff we’ve been seeing from other third-party companies, but it’s not bad.

I find the back panel to be a lot more appealing as it recreates the style of Hasbro’s old G1 boxes right down to the Tech Spec. Very cool! You don’t actually get the red decorder strip for his attributes bar, so you may want to bust out one of your G1 decoders and see if it works. The bio tells us that Krank is a real downer, just like his G1 Hasbro counterpart. He’s also a brilliant engineer, which is something else they have in common!

Inside this collector friendly box you get a clear plastic tray with Krank in his alt mode and some parts off to the side. The extra bits include his weapons, his mirrors, and his exhaust pipes. The mirrors peg into the sides of the cab and there’s no reason to take them out again once they’re in. The toy will even fit back into the tray once their installed as you can see in the picture above. It’s a good thing too because they are very thin and I wouldn’t want to risk breaking them by pulling them out again. The pegs on mine required me to shave a little mold flashing off before they would go in. The exhaust pipes, on the other hand, do need to come out when you turn him into his robot mode. These were a total bitch to get in the first time. I had to do a lot of twisting and coaxing. Doing so stripped also stripped a little chrome from the pegs. Not a big deal, because the peg is always going to be concealed. I’m happy to report that it was only that first time where these pieces gave me a problem.

Krank also comes with a folded instruction sheet and a profile card. The instructions are quite good and feature not only illustrations but some notes to help you along. Chances are most experienced Transformers fans will be able to change Krank without the need of instructions, but I find it’s usually a good idea to consult them on the first go, especially when we’re talking about a $65 figure. The profile card has become a staple accessory for just about every third-party Transformer these days. The one that comes with Krank is not one of the better ones I’ve seen. But who cares about profile cards anyway? Let’s get to the toy…

As expected, Krank’s alt mode is an orange semi cab trailer and not a bad looking one at that. There’s very little paintwork here as the toy relies on colored plastic and the chrome… Oh, the chrome! It’s the first thing that struck me about this toy when I saw the initial pictures and in person it’s even more glorious. There’s no doubt that chrome parts have their disadvantages. I have an entire tote full of old Kenner MASK toys that will illustrate how it doesn’t tend to age well. Still, I love the way it looks and I lament the fact that Takara didn’t include at least some chrome parts where appropriate on their MP cars. And the beautiful thing about Krank is there’s even more chrome hiding away for his robot mode. I won’t be rough housing with this toy, so I’m not terribly worried about the chrome wearing.

As far as the design and sculpt go, Krank sports a great amount of detail for a toy this size. Some of those little details include the door handles, windshield wipers, and textured steps. Krank also features a working hitch that is slotted to carry MP-10’s trailer. Some day, if MP-10 ever creeps down below $300 again, I may get to test that out. On cursory glance, there really isn’t a lot to betray him as a transforming vehicle, unless you pick him up and look underneath and then you can see it all. One nice surprise for me was that the windows are all tinted clear plastic. Until I had the toy in hand, I presumed the windows were just painted black. They’re also tinted just enough to keep you from seeing what’s going on inside too clearly. As far as accuracy to the G1 toy or Sunbow character goes, X-T took the most liberties with the wheels. The original toy always had wheels that stuck out of the sides. X-T just prettied it up by adding shrouds over them. All in all this is an excellent looking cab.

The plastic quality here is good, but it’s not as solid as what we’ve seen used in recent efforts from Fansproject or MMC. I’d rate it closer to the plastic used by TFC for Uranos. It doesn’t feel cheap, but just a little closer to model plastic or Takara’s MP plastic than the hardcore rough-and-tumble toy stuff. QC in this mode is overall pretty good, although the passenger side rear wheel assembly is a little floppy. It’ll lock in fine when the truck is rolled along, but if you pick it up it has a tendency to flop about.

Transforming Krank is fairly straight forward. The bulk of the transformation involves unpacking the arms from inside the cab and manipulating the cab shell to lock into place onto Krank’s back. The original G1 toy’s arms were made out of his smoke stacks and obviously Krank’s are faked out to keep the aesthetic looking right. During transformation the stacks are removed and can be clipped onto Krank’s forearms, so while it’s technically cheating, it still maintains the spirit of the original design. The other thing worth mentioning about the transformation is the way the cab shell clips into the shoulders. When you do it right, it’s a secure connection, but a connection that relies on some very small pegs. Clipping it and unclipping it requires a slight bending of the plastic that makes me a little nervous. Keep in mind, I’ve transformed him a half dozen times already and there have been no stress marks in the plastic or other warning signs, so at this point it’s not really a problem, just something to watch out for.

I dig just about everything about Krank’s robot mode. It presents a nice amalgam of the G1 toy and Sunbow design without shying away from the goofy design elements that make the character so distinctive. Yes, Krank still has a huge truck cab on his back and shrouding his head. It’s cumbersome and awkward, but would it be Huffer if it wasn’t? No it wouldn’t. Besides, even with the cab behind his head, Krank is still a wonderfully balanced figure and stands quite well. The faked out arms still look like they could have come from his smoke stacks after some animation mass-shifting magic. And once again, the chrome looks just gorgeous.

I do have two little gripes about Krank’s robot mode. The first is extremely minor. The hinged caps on the tops of his shoulders don’t lay flat. I might be able to fix this by shaving some plastic, but since it’s on the chrome parts, I doubt I’ll try because it doesn’t bother me that much. The other is the fact that Krank wears his back tires on his legs. It’s accurate to the G1 toy but not the Sunbow cartoon. It doesn’t look bad at all; in fact I think it works to balance out the bulk of his top half rather nicely. Nonetheless, the fact that Cubex’ Huff was able to avoid showing the wheels on the legs was what made me have to think long and hard over which Not-Huffer to go for. Collectors looking for a truly Sunbow accurate figure may want to check out Huff or wait for a possible MP Huffer from Takara.

Krank has two portraits thanks to a face-switching gimmick. You get a G1 toy accurate face and a Sunbow accurate face. The Sunbow face was the one that was displayed on my figure when I opened him and that’s the one I’m going to stick with. Unfortunately, it’s also the only one we’re going to see here today. Flipping the face proved to be too stubborn for me to risk doing it without fear of scratching paint off his face with my thumb nail. I’m sure it’s doable, but the Sunbow face is fantastic and I don’t have any incentive to try.

In addition to being incredibly solid in his robot mode, Krank features a wonderful amount of articulation. You get ball joints in the neck, shoulders, hips, and ankles. His arms have double hinged elbows, swivels in the biceps and wrists, and four of his fingers are set on one hinge to grip his guns. His knees are hinged and he can also swivel at the waist. He is loads of fun to pose and I really dig the ball joints in his ankles which keep his feet flat even in wide stances.

He may be an engineer, but Krank is still an Autobot warrior and as such he comes with two guns, which he can wield comfortably in each hand. I prefer to just give him the one and let Stax be the dual-wielder, but more on that when I do my feature on Stax. The guns are chromed and they feature tabs in the handles that peg into Krank’s palms to help secure them into place.

Like I said, choosing a third-party Huffer was a really tough decision, but ultimately I went with Krank for a few reasons. First, some in-hand impressions of Cubex suggested he might be overly complex and I’ve seen a few reports that say some of his tabs have a tendency to pop out. Second, I really like Krank’s chrome. I think you could argue that Huff achieves a cleaner and more Sunbow style look, but now that I’ve had Krank in hand and have been playing around with him for a week or so, I have zero regrets. He’s refreshingly simple and fun to transform and I can’t argue with how great he looks in robot and truck modes. I think he scales perfectly with the MP Datsuns, as I’m of the opinion that the MP-style Minibots should be about the same height as the regular Autobot cars. Of course, the fact that I was able to pick him and Stax up as a pair for about $120 made it all the sweeter. This is a quality effort on X-Transbot’s part and I’m looking forward to seeing some more releases from them in the future.

As for Stax, I’ll swing back around to check him out sometime next week.

Mar 4 2014

Masters of the Universe Classics: Modulok by Mattel

Hot damn, Mattel sure is bringing their A-game to the 2014 Sub! It’s only been a month since the incredible Two Bad graced my doorstep and now we’re getting the mind-blowingly amazing Modulok. This crazy figure was one I never thought would ever happen in the Classics line and I’m so very glad to be proven wrong on that. It’s still hard to believe I’m holding the box in my hands. But with two such heavy hitters lined up for the first two months of the Sub, and Glimmer thrown in there too, I can’t help but wonder… is Matty shooting his entire load too early? Why the hell did I have to go and put an image of Matty masturbating into my head? Arghh! Get out of my head! Quick, let’s jump straight to the packaging!!!

With Modulok confirmed, my first ponderings went to how he was going to be packaged. Surely he was going to be too big to fit into the regular card and bubble affair. And yet he wasn’t going to be big enough for a beast package either. The answer is he comes in a totally enclosed box and this made me very happy. I certainly have no complaints about the regular card and bubbles Matty uses for this line, but I’ll happily take any opportunity we can get for a box with some old school artwork. The front of the box has a great rendering of Modulok with all sorts of different combinations of him in the background. The back panel has his bio along with other figures in the line. The only gripe I have with this package is that the flaps are all glued shut and so I had to cut one of the flaps to get it open. I seem to recall a lot of collectors pissed about this with their Back to the Future Hoverboards. Tape, Matty! Ever hear of tape??? I know you have, because you used it on all your other MOTUC boxes. Anyway, this box sure seems rather thin to contain an action figure of Modulok’s bizarre stature.

And that’s because Modulok comes only partially assembled and with his various parts surrounding a core, humanoid figure. This was a great way to go because it makes you build him for the first time and really explore what Modulok is all about. Even if you just got this guy to stand on your display shelf, you’ll still get the fun of putting him together. It also gives a great sense of just how many pieces and combinations are available. Because of Modulok’s nature, this can’t be any kind of traditional MOTUC figure review because he really isn’t one figure. In fact, as soon as I got him out of the box I started having a ball mixing and matching his parts.

Of course, Modulok does have an official build, and there he is… creepy as all hell. I don’t remember being nearly this creeped out by him as a kid, but then that was before I was exposed to something called The Human Centipede. There are no instructions on how to build him into this form, but it’s not too hard to figure out if you use the box as a reference. I actually kind of dig the lack of instructions because it’s like Mattel saying, “there are no instructions because he’s whatever you want him to be. There are no wrong answers, kids!” The plastic used here is very similar to the regular MOTUC figures. For some reason I didn’t expect Modulok to fit well with the rest of the line, but he feels right at home on one of my Masters shelves. Building him in this form leaves some extra pieces, but it’s easy to throw on a couple more arms.

Modulok comes with a pair of guns that can be combined into one big gun. Or is that one big gun that splits into two little guns? Either way, he can hold it best with his regular fingered hands, but if you’re persistent it will also work with his clawed hands… sort of.

While Modulok’s official build is a great display piece for my collection, the real fun with this figure is found in experimenting. The other day I had a movie on and I spent virtually the whole two hours popping bits off and other bits on. With so many parts and so many combinations I found myself only limited by my twisted imagination. Playing with Modulok is very much like playing the PC game Spore only in action figure form. The fact that you can build him into two figures is pretty damn cool as well.

As a subber, Modulok set me back $40, which seemed rather high at the time. I think a lot of that was the sticker shock of seeing him plus Glimmer plus shipping and tax hitting $80+. As a result, it’s more accurate to say that I paid about $55 for him when all was said and done. A premium? Yes, but with re-sellers offering him at up to $100, it seems like a bargain in comparison. Even if my plan was just to display him on my shelf, I’d still be content enough with the price. He’s a great looking figure and manages to stand out even on a shelf populated by total freaks. But unlike most of my MOTUC figures that stand on display shelves and get moved around once in a blue moon when I dust or rework the display, Modulok is a figure that I’m going to be playing around with a lot. Like a Rubik’s Cube or a good Transformer, he’s a toy that begs me to fiddle around with him even if my attention is on something else. I was talking on the phone the other day and by the time the call was ended I was barely aware of the fact that I had broken him down into all his parts, and so I gleefully started building him again. FUN! He may be one of the most atypical MOTUC figures to date, but it also makes him one of the coolest!

Mar 3 2014

DC Comics: Aquaman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s been over a month since I last revisited Kotobukiya’s “New 52” Justice League statues from their ArtFX+ line. I haven’t forgotten about these! With Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash already under my belt, let’s pick up where I left off, this time with everybody’s favorite fish-whisperer, Aquaman. As some of you may know, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Aquaman, but I think he’s fared quite well since the whole reboot. He’s been a pretty integral character to the Justice League book and he’s been at the heart of one of my favorite JL story arcs so far. I’ve even gone so far as to pick up the first two collected volumes of his book and they’re waiting on my stack of vacation reading. That’s the first time I’ve ever bought an Aquaman comic, so that’s saying something.

Obviously, we’ve seen this packaging before. These statues come in clear plastic boxes with character specific artwork that makes for quite a striking presentation. The panel of character art is designed to link up with the art on the other boxes in the series to provide a nice backdrop for all the statues. The statue rests between two trays, and once you unwrap the surrounding plastic, the statue can display fairly well if returned to the box if you’re someone who prefers the mint-in-box look. On the downside, the packaging is rather fragile and probably won’t fare too well in storage. The stand is positioned just below the characters feet and the only assembly required is to connect the trident head to the staff and then slip it into Aquaman’s hand. Let’s get this guy loose and see how he looks.

He looks fantastic! The composition here is quite similar to the one Koto used for Superman with the key difference being Aquaman’s right arm is held up to grasp his trident. While the pose is fairly passive and self-aware, the stance still manages to convey a sense of energy and excitement. The sculpted detail in the costume offers a wonderful contrast between the smooth lower half and gloves and the upper armor, which has every single scale sculpted. The leg fins are a bit understated and the twin fins in the gauntlets look rather vicious. Koto’s statues rarely disappoint on the sculpt, and Aquaman is no exception. At 1/10^th scale, these statues are in a league of their own. They’re notably larger than the DCUC and DC Collectible figures and yet a bit smaller than Koto’s Bishoujo statues. I think the scale works well as it allows for a good amount of detail, while not taking up too much shelf space.

The portrait bears the same anime influences that have carried through the rest of this line. Aquaman’s eyes have a certain Asian countenance, which may throw some collectors. I rather think it adds to the more youthful art styling of the “New 52” League members, so it doesn’t bother me one bit. Like Superman, Aquaman is holding his head slightly down and gazing up to the side. Because of the orientation of the heads, these statues are probably best displayed on a high shelf or at least at about eye level. Otherwise, the portrait sculpt is amazing, and I’m particularly impressed with the way the hair came out.

One of the most striking things about this line of statues is the high gloss metallic coloring. It’s been a selling point for me all along and I think it suits Aquaman the best of all. Besides the beautiful metallic gold on the scales, the slick glossy sheen on the pants and gauntlets makes it look like he just leapt from the ocean. Beautiful!

And that brings us to the Trident, which is the only point of this statue where I have some qualms. It’s a nice and simple accessory and he looks good holding it, but I do wish it wasn’t quite so long and I would have much preferred that it was designed so that the butt of the shaft rested on the display base, rather than far to the front. With all the other statues confined to their bases, Aquaman sticks out a little awkwardly on the shelf as a result of the trident, and you can’t really pose him without it because he’s designed to be holding it.

Other than the trident you get the same black metal base that came with the other statues, complete with the “Justice League” logo printed on the front. The magnets in Aquaman’s feet help him to cling to the base and you can position him on it as you like.

At about $25, Aquaman was the last of these Justice League statues that I was able to pick up at well under retail and that was a big reason why he was my next purchase. But even at the regular retail price of around $40, these statues feel like an incredible value. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I had no intention of getting into this line, but after seeing the reviews and pictures from a certain kool kollector overseas, I was immediately sold. Individually, they are gorgeous pieces and together they are building up to have the makings for an epic display. I’ve got three more to go and the one of those is already on his way to me. Next time we revisit this line, we’ll check out Batman!

Feb 28 2014

Marvel Legends Infinite: Superior Spider-Man by Hasbro

I’m continuing to cherry-pick this wave of Spider-Man figures, and while I started out a week ago by looking at the Amazing Spider-Man 2 figure, Superior Spider-Man was the figure I wanted the most. Dan Slott got me back into reading the Amazing Spider-Man on a regular basis. It wasn’t always my favorite comic, but it kept me coming back and I was glad it did, because it would eventually set up the events that lead to what has been one of my favorite comics in recent years: Superior Spider-Man. With a decidedly groan-worthy and clichéd premise of body swapping, in this case between Doc Ock and Peter Parker, Superior Spider-Man is wonderfully written and takes the premise in directions that make it feel like a totally original idea. It’s also one of the only comics I’m reading right now, where I couldn’t wait for the trade releases so I’ve been reading them digitally as they come out and getting the trades later for my bookshelf. And that brings us to today’s figure!

There’s the new Marvel Legends Infinite packaging and I’m still digging it quite a bit. It’s technically a window box so it’s totally collector friendly, but it’s compact enough to hang easily on a peg like the old Legends packages while still taking up less room. Spider-Man is positioned in his tray beside the BAF part and his extra pair of hands.

When Doc Ock took over as Spider-Man in Peter’s body, the suit was redesigned to reflect the new mind at the helm. Spidey’s new suit deco went from blue and red to black and red and with an emphasis on the black over the web pattern. The chest emblem also got a lot bigger and more intimidating. Hasbro’s new figure recreates the overall new deco pretty well. Unlike the Amazing Spider-Man figure from this wave, this figure doesn’t suffer from unpainted joint syndrome. It also doesn’t make any use of texturing either, giving the figure a cleaner look. The buck used here is very similar to the one used for the Amazing Spider-Man figure. He’s maybe a bit more muscular, but the height is about the same, and he scales much better with my other Marvel Legends than the Big Time Spidey, Future Foundation Spidey, or Scarlet Spider figures.

That having been said, the figure stumbles on a few little points. The head sculpt looks good, although the paint for the eyes is a strange choice. It’s either dark brown or dingy copper when it really should just be white or maybe pearlescent. The other missed opportunity is in the feet. In the comics, the Superior Spidey costume features Japanese style tabi boots, whereas the figure’s feet are just flat and don’t feature the split in the toes. Neither of these points ruins the figure for me, but they still seem like obvious details that shouldn’t have been missed.

As with the last Spidey figure I looked at from this wave, Superior Spidey includes an extra pair of thwipping hands. Oddly enough, the figure comes with a pair of griping hands that look like they were designed to hold weapons. I presume these were reused from another figure, but I would have much preferred fists and I doubt I’ll ever display the figure with this set of mitts. The thwipping hands even feature tiny barbs sculpted into the extended figures.

If you read my piece on the Amazing Spider-Man figure, than you’ll already be familiar with the articulation here as the two figures feature identical points. The shoulders feature ball joints as well as hinged crunches. The arms have swivels in the biceps, double-hinged elbows, and hinges and swivels in the wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs, double-hinged knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. Spidey can swivel at the waist, has a hinged ab crunch, and both a ball joint and hinge in the neck.

As much as I love the Superior Spider-Man comic, this isn’t my favorite Spidey Suit design, but it certainly fits the change in direction of the comic. It’s more sinister, but not overtly so. A major force in the comic is the ambiguity of Ock’s role as Spidey and the suit properly reflects that. That having been said, it’s always a beautiful thing when we can get a figure based on the character as he is currently appearing in the comics. It’s doubly sweet when it’s a comic as good as Superior Spider-Man. Oddly enough, this figure seems to be one of the more common and less desirable figures in the wave so he’s readily available at a lot of online retailers below the usual $20 that these figures have been commanding on the pegs. I’ve got one more figure in this wave that I’m actively gunning for and that’s Black Cat and I’m going to wind up paying through the nose for her, but I guess the money I save not buying the rest of this wave will help defray the costs.

Feb 27 2014

Transformers Cybertron: Ransack and Crumplezone by Hasbro

It’s Transformers Thursday, folks, and today you get two for the price of one! I’m in the process of paring down some of my Transformers collection. I can’t bear to part with many figures, even many of the ones that don’t excite me anymore, so some of these guys are going to be sealed into totes and put away into storage, possibly not to be seen again for quite a while. I decided that I might as well at least feature some of them here before I send them off to storage oblivion, so today we’re going to look at a pair of Decepticons from the Speed Planet… Ransack and Crumplezone. This is a pair that I have very mixed feelings about.

Since I didn’t watch much of the Cybertron cartoon I don’t know a lot about this pair, other than they liked to hang out together and that’s why I’m looking at both of them today. I’ve always pictured them as a kind of Lenny and George double-act, which may be far from the truth, but the idea still makes me chuckle. Or that could be the three Jamesons I’ve had tonight. Let’s start out with Ransack who was a Basic or Scout or whatever the hell they used to call the smaller size assortment back then.

Ransack’s alt mode is a red futuristic motorcycle. Transformer motorcycles are pretty interesting to me because they require extra clever engineering to make them work and they almost always fail to look decent in robot mode. To date I still think the best motorcycle transformer of all time wasn’t a Transformer at all, it was the Go-Bot Renegade Leader Cy-Kill, but I digress. [Note to self: Pick up a Cy-Kill figure someday. He was really cool!] Ransack’s bike mode has just the right amount of Tron Lightcycle vibe to make me appreciate what Hasbro was going for here. This super-sonic crotch-rocket looks sleek and speedy and the mix of opaque red and translucent red plastic, along with the silver and gold paint does make for a striking deco. The wheels are chunky enough so that Ransack can stand upright without toppling over. That’s more than I can say about his robot mode, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

As with most Cybertron figures, Ransack comes with a Cyberkey that unlocks his gimmick. In this case if you plug it into the back just above the seat a pair of what I presume is either a set of guns or thrusters deploy out the back. Ransack is a Decepticon, so I prefer to believe they’re guns for shooting at anyone following him. But even my great imagination can’t save this gimmick from being pretty boring. Oh well, he is just a little guy so maybe I’m expecting too much.

Unfortunately, Ransack only goes downhill from there. When I first got this figure way back when, it literally broke right out of the package. One of his heel spurs snapped off. It’s a piece that doesn’t affect the alt mode at all, but the lack of it makes it impossible for him to stand in his robot mode. As a result, I have to keep the two halves of his rear wheels folded down to stabilize him when they are supposed to be tucked alongside his legs. It’s not a total loss… I like to think of them as hover turbines.

I know I should cut this guy some slack because he’s a pretty small figure and he’s a motorcycle, which isn’t a particularly easy mode to work with. On the other hand, a good piece of his motorcycle bulk detaches to become his gun so as clever as a few things about his transformation are, some of it still feels like a cheat. And it’s not like the end result is all that great to look at. A lot of Cybertron figures featured some really cool engineering, and given that context Ransack’s robot mode just feels primitive. Of course, the Cybertron line gave birth to another motorcycle Transformer that makes Ransack here look like a Masterpiece figure, but I’ll get to Lugnutz another day. For now, let’s just move on to Crumplezone.

Now, this is a bitchin alt mode! While I could never get behind Cybertron’s whole idea of differently themed planets, I have no problem taking many of the Speed Planet figures and considering them to be native Cybertonian forms. Crumplezone fits that idea perfectly. He’s a big, mean looking three-wheeler with a jet-style cockpit and two huge engines hanging off his ass. This guy would look great tearing down the streets of Iacon City and blasting away at Autobot fools. The detailing on this vehicle is really nice, and if you aren’t a fan of the two-tone green deco, which admittedly doesn’t feel very Decepticon, you could always go for the Dark Crumplezone repaint, which I believe also featured some remolded parts and extra weapons too.

Crumplezone’s Cyberkey gimmick unleashes his two massive spring-loaded engines and flips them forward to mount on each side of his cockpit and serve as missile launchers. It also deploys his spoilers like wings. I was also surprised to find that the accompanying electronics on mine still worked and the toy unleashes a bitchin symphony of synthesized mayhem when his weapons are deployed. I think this is the first Cybertron figure I’ve played with in ages that still has working batteries in it! Either way, with weapons deployed, Crumplezone is one bad ass looking vehicle.

Crumplezone’s transformation isn’t terribly complex for his size and in robot mode he feels more like a jet Transformer what with his cockpit landing right on his chest. With his giant upper body and diminished legs, he has the same wonky but loveable proportions that would be later adopted by Bulkhead in both Transformers Animated and Transformers Prime. Yes, despite him being a Decepticon, I get a very strong Bulkhead vibe off this guy mixed with just a jot of Beast Machines Tankor. The only thing about this robot design that I don’t like is the fact that his wings just flop around on his forearms.

“But Crumplezone has no weapons,” you say? Fortunately, his Cyberkey gimmick works in robot mode too and you can deploy his missile launchers onto his shoulders, accompanied by the same glorious fanfare of electronic sounds. This configuration reminds me of the Armada Seekers with their shoulder cannon deployed.

And that wraps up today’s Transformers Thursday. Honestly, I could take or leave Ransack even if mine wasn’t broken, but I’ve always considered Crumplezone to be a solid figure and I think he still holds up pretty well. Unfortunately, he takes up a lot of room and he doesn’t really fit with any of the other Transformers that I’m going to be putting out on display right now and so he’s going to get put away with his buddy Ransack. But the nice thing about putting toys into storage is you get to rediscover them again someday.

Feb 26 2014

Masters of the Universe Classics: Glimmer by Mattel

It’s Matty Collector time again, and this month’s Sale Day came and went without me even noticing. Why? Because I have a subscription this year so I no longer have to fight to get my figures or try to order them with my phone under the table during staff meetings. It sure paid off in February as both Glimmer and Modulok were must-haves for me. Will I still think the Sub was justified at the end of the year? Well that remains to be seen, but so far I have no complaints. Both of these figures just landed on my door a couple of days ago and I decided to feature Glimmer first because exploring the possibilities of Modulok is going to take a lot more time.

There’s the Greyskull inspired packaging and it is as awesome as ever. I don’t remember anything in particular about Glimmer from the She-Ra cartoon, but the package identifies her as “The Guide Who Lights the Way.” I was planning on queuing up an episode with her in it before doing this feature, but I’m currently out of Jameson and I can’t tackle Filmation cartoons without a some booze in me.

The back of the package has the usual bio blurb on the bottom and a bunch of figures pictured. I’ve got a fair share of these, but I still need to go back and pick up Bubble Power She-Ra and Bow. I am also missing Shadow Weaver, but she sells for well over $100 so she can go f’ck herself.

Out of the package and Glimmer certainly is the spitting image of her animated counterpart, as opposed to the vintage doll. Her outfit is pretty simple, which really conveys that unmistakable Filmation style with a bit more detail added to her belt and arm bracers. The bulk of her dress is layered onto the figure, which is something I’ve always loved about the MOTUC females. If there is a heavy reuse of parts here, I’m not picking up on it. I thought the skirt looked familiar at first, maybe it’s Adora’s but when you stand Glimmer beside her fellow sisters of The Rebellion she certainly holds her own.

The head sculpt here is also quite good. Glimmer features an attractive portrait that leans a bit toward the exotic, although the nose and cheekbones remind me a lot of the She-Ra sculpt. Glimmer’s head piece is part of her head sculpt and behind it flows her copious mane of purple hair. The hair sculpt inhibits the neck articulation a bit, but you can still get some movement out of her noggin. The paint used for the face is all clean and crisp.

Speaking of paint, I really applaud Matty’s use of coloring on this figure. The combination of speckled metallic blue and matte purple certainly makes for a striking deco. The edge striping of the blue and purple areas with darker shades of those colors also adds a lot to the outfit. Glimmer’s skin tone is slightly darker than most of the other ladies in the line, except maybe Netossa, but I don’t have her in my collection yet to do a direct comparison.

Glimmer offers no surprises in the articulation, at least where female MOTUC figures are concerned, but it’s been a little while since I’ve looked at a Princess of Power figure so let’s run it down. You get ball joints in the neck, shoulders, and hips. The arms feature swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinges in the elbows. The legs feature hinges in the knees and ankles and also lateral rockers in the ankles. The rockers on my figure were painted shut, but a little finesse got them going. Glimmer can also swivel at the waist.

You get two accessories with Glimmer. First off, you get her staff. You aren’t anyone in Etheria unless you have a staff! Glimmer’s is cast in metallic purple and features a yellow crystal in the center of the head. I really dig this piece as it feels more like a vintage PoP accessory than anything else I’ve seen with this line, probably because of the shimmery plastic or the flowery sculpt.

You also get a crystal ball, which is as simple an accessory as it sounds, it’s just a clear marble, and yet so very cool. Glimmer can palm it in her left hand and she looks great holding it. Forget Hordak, Glimmer, you’re going to have to spend most of your time fighting my cat to keep him from taking this away from you.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I absolutely love the Princess of Power figures in this line. It’s probably because they actually present these characters as proper action figures, rather than dolls, and they blend so seamlessly with the Masters characters. Glimmer is a great addition to my PoP shelf. Matty was pretty savvy to release her on the same month as they opened enrollment for the Club Etheria Add-On Sub. If I wasn’t already sold on it, playing around with Glimmer would probably have gotten me there.

Feb 25 2014

Ghostbusters: “Ready to Believe You” Egon Spengler by Mattel

I’m interrupting my regular planned feature today for this little special. Sure, it was spur of the moment and I wound up having to stay up pretty late to write it and do the photo shoot, but considering the occasion I think it was worth it. If you follow me on Facebook, I posted a short piece yesterday about Harold Ramis passing. Being a child of the 70’s and growing up in the 80’s Ramis was involved in so many of the movies that I loved during that curious transition from adolescent to teenager. Whether behind the camera or in front of it, Ramis was a genius at writing, directing, and even delivering comedic dialogue. He knew what was funny and yet the often crass comedy of his films almost always hid a message of inspiration for the underdog. I loved this man’s work and it had a huge influence on my formative years, helping me to grow into the smart-ass that I am today. But this blog isn’t about movies, so I thought it fitting to give him a tribute FFZ style by looking at one of his action figures. While the bulk of Harold Ramis’ work did not dabble in science fiction, the nerd and geek community nonetheless adopted him for his role as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters, and so let’s check out that character today, immortalized in plastic.

It seems oddly appropriate to point out today that Egon was actually the very first of the Ghostbusters to get the 5-inch treatment from Mattel. He appeared as a Slimed Variant Exclusive released at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con. Later he would get a wider release without the slime and yet again he was released as the figure we’re looking at today. While this line has had its share of critics, it’s hard to knock the presentation here. Egon comes packaged, along with the Library Ghost, under a huge bubble against a carded backdrop of the Stay Puft Marshmallowman. The Ghostbusters emblem is on the top and the bubble is flanked by the Keymaster and Gatekeeper. The whole package is big enough to sit right on your shelf and it looks good enough to leave in the package and display it as is. But y’all know me… let’s rip this baby open.

The “Ready to Believe You” variants come from the commercial shown during the original Ghostbusters movie. All three of the original Ghostbusters got the “RtBY” treatment, but none seem more at home in their lab coat than Egon here. I own all three of these figures, but if I were only going to pick up one it would certainly have been Dr. Spengler. The underlying buck is the same used for the Ray Stantz figure that I featured here last year. It’s a solid enough figure, complete with black slacks, belt, and white dress shirt. The tie is even a separate piece, sculpted in soft rubber. It’s a pretty lean body, which works much better for Egon than it did for Ray. The lab coat is the usual vest-style overlay with sculpted arms to look like sleeves and the illusion of this being a full coat works fairly well. Egon’s coat features a newly sculpted pocket computer, attached to his pocket, and white painted buttons, besides that and the blue tie, this figure is identical to Ray from the neck down.

The portrait is the same sculpt used for the previous Egon figures. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of personal taste. I think it’s a decent likeness of Ramis although it definitely errs more toward being a caricature than a straight up likeness. A lot of that comes from the ridiculously high bangs that were so gloriously emphasized in his Real Ghostbusters animated counterpart. The glasses are rather thick, but they are sculpted as a separate piece, include plastic lenses, and are permanently attached to the figure. I give Mattel props for the glasses. No, they don’t look perfect, but they can’t be easy to get right in this scale, so I’m willing to be rather forgiving.

The articulation here is pretty standard for the line. The arms feature ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinged elbows. The legs have the DCUC-style hips, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the knees and ankles. Egon can swivel at the waist and he has a generous ball joint in the neck. Egon is by no means super articulated, but it’s not exactly crucial to the character and I think what’s here is fine. He’s at least limber enough to hold a Twinkie while using it as a metaphor for the frighteningly elevated levels of supernatural activity within the Greater New York area.

Egon comes with three PKE meters, each one in a different stage of detection. You get one with the arms all the way down, one with them partly up. “Listen! Do you smell something?” And one with them at full on ball-to-the-wall “Oh shit, there’s a ghost here!” mode. The inclusion of even one PKE meter was a very nice accessory, considering it was conspicuously absent from the first Egon release, so getting three really made buying this figure worthwhile.

What else made this figure a very worthwhile purchase was the inclusion of the Library Ghost, or Eleanor Twitty if you prefer, from the beginning of the original film. This free-roaming vaporous full-torso apparition is beautifully recreated in partially translucent plastic. The face sculpt is awesome right down to the swept back grey hair and messed up ghoul teeth. I really dig the paintjob on this figure too. The mix of matte purple with the translucent parts makes for a pretty eerie effect. She features three points of articulation, which includes a rotating head and rotating shoulders. Twitty also comes with the same clear plastic stand that all of the ghosts featured. So far, this is easily my favorite of all the bundled ghosts in the line.

All in all, this set is a well-rounded package. The causal collectors can probably do without Peter or Ray in their lab coats, but as I said earlier, it seems a must to have Egon in his “doing science” outfit. The inclusion of the PKE Meters and one of the most iconic minor ghosts in the franchise makes this deal all the sweeter and I definitely recommend anyone collecting this line pick it up. It may seem trivial to some to honor Harold Ramis’ passing with a look at one of his action figures, but the fact that this figure exists celebrates part of the legacy he left behind and a character that lots and lots of people loved. I know I’ll be celebrating his life for the rest of this week with some of his movies and trying to remember him with smiles and laughter because I think that’s what the way he would have wanted it.

Godspeed, Harold Ramis… and thanks for all the laughs!

Feb 24 2014

Suicide Squad: “New 52” Deadshot by DC Collectibles

Last Monday, I checked out the first of DC Collectibles’ Suicide Squad figures. It’s Monday again, so let’s just keep this little tradition rolling along with a look at the next figure… Deadshot! Floyd Lawton is, of course, one of the common threads between my beloved Secret Six comic and Suicide Squad and he also happens to rank pretty high on my list of favorite DC villains. The pre-reboot Deadshot got a great figure in Mattel’s DCUC line and now it’s up to DC Collectibles to deliver unto us the “New 52” version.

The box is the same as we saw last week with Captain Boomerang. It’s a little more exciting than most of those bland white boxes we’ve been getting from DC Collectibles. For example… oh, look! Bullet holes! But in the end it really just serves to show off the figure at your local comic shop, whether it be sitting on the shelf or hanging on a peg. There’s no blurb about the character or the comic or anything. The back panel does, however, have images of the three figures released so far and if you do decide to hang on to the box, it is completely collector friendly. Let’s open him up and check him out.

The character design of pre-reboot Deadshot is pretty iconic to me, but I’m not adverse to Floyd’s new look. It’s worth noting that I’m also pretty fond of the Arkham City re-imagining of the character too, so apparently I’m not terribly picky. The Suicide Squad Deadshot is a far grittier and he sports a lot of strategically placed armor over his segmented body suit. Most of the armor plates and straps are part of the body sculpt, but executed so as to offer a lot of credibility and depth to Deadshot’s combat ensemble. The shoulder armor pieces are separate from the body and mounted on hinges so that they can work with the arm articulation and the four magazine pouches running across his chest are also additions to the body. Naturally, Deadshot features his wrist guns mounted on his gauntlets. They look good, but I’m not as keen on these as I am his old fashioned rotating bracers. Those were downright awesome!

The helmet on the other hand is pretty incredible. Deadshot retains his iconic monocle, complete with tampo’d crosshairs. The panel lining on the helmet is beautifully done and I love the way the neck of the segmented body suit disappears into the bottom of the helmet. A swappable head would have been really cool, but it’s omission is understandable at this price point. Still, if DCC were to produce an unmasked version featuring Floyd’s handsome mug, I would buy this figure again in a heartbeat.

The paintwork on the figure is high quality and really supports the excellent sculpt. All of the little straps for his armor plates are neatly painted brown. The dark maroon suit and dull gold and grey metallic paint conspire to make a far less colorful looking figure than the pre-reboot DCUC version. Like I said earlier, this is a grittier Deadshot and the darker colors work well with the realism of the design. I’m thoroughly convinced that WB could basically bring this costume straight to the big screen without any tweaking at all. If I were going to nitpick anything on the paint it would be that the artwork from the comic often suggests to me that Floyd’s armor be a bit shinier. Still, I’m not sure a high gloss metallic would have worked on the figure as well as what we got.

While old Deadshot was just fine going into battle with his wrist guns, this version comes with a big and beautifully detailed assault rifle. I love the sculpting on this piece. The scopes alone are ridiculously complex and every little panel line and screw are reproduced right down to the textured grips. Deadshot can hold the rifle perfectly in his left hand, and can even loop his finger around the trigger, but his right hand is sculpted in a fist. Here’s where a swap out right hand would have been great. I get why the fist was used, as it looks good when Deadshot is aiming his wrist gun, but it would have been nice to get him to hold the rifle in both hands.

As with Captain Boomerang, Deadshot’s articulation is a pleasant surprise. You get ball joints in the neck, shoulders, and hips. The elbows, knees, and ankles all have hinges. And lastly, there are swivels in the biceps, gloves, and at the tops of his boots. It’s not quite the same level of articulation we saw in Digger. There’s no waist swivel here and Boomerang had ball joints in the elbows, but what’s here is still pretty good and offers a lot better poseability than I got in most of my DC Direct figures.

While this new version of Deadshot will never replace the old one as my favorite, I still dig the design and this figure does it and the comic art justice. The sculpt is super detailed and pretty much flawless with a paintjob to match. He’s beautifully proportioned, well-articulated, and looks quite stunning on the shelf. What’s not to like? Well, he set me back $21.95, which still seems a little steep but the addition of his amazing rifle helps cushion the blow and I’m not going to quibble about a couple of dollars anyway. Truth be told, I DCC probably could have squeezed a few more bucks out of me because I wanted Suicide Squad figures so badly. Next week we’ll finish off this troublesome trio with a look at the Squad’s femme fatale herself… Harley Quinn.

Feb 21 2014

Batman (1989) Quarter-Scale Figure by NECA

Uh oh! It’s time to make a lot more room on the shelf because the latest in NECA’s gloriously giant Quarter-Scale figures has shown up at my doorstep with a resonating thud. With my space limitations being what they are, I have to be batshit crazy to be collecting a line of figures in this scale, but I was so impressed with NECA’s Cap and Iron Man that there was really no turning back. I also got a crazy good deal on this figure, but more on that later. Some may think this one an odd pick-up for me as I have frequently confessed to not being the biggest Batman fan around. I grew up watching Adam West in the role, and I like Batman as part of an ensemble cast in the Justice League comics, but I’ve never taken to any of his own books. Even stranger, I absolutely hated the 1989 Batman movie when I first went to see it. I found it was too dark and really boring. Well, something happened along the way because sometime in the early 2000’s, I happened to watch it again on DVD and I warmed up to the flick quite a bit. I think Keaton did a great job playing a role that first seemed like a prime example of egregious miscasting. Plus, this version of the Dark Knight’s costume has long been my favorite. Buy a giant figure of it? Why not!

As one might expect the box for this figure is huge. That having been said, it doesn’t waste a lot of space and it doesn’t bother with a lot of high end frills in the presentation. It’s a simple window box with a nice Batman inspired deco that really invokes the movie. If you were around in 1989, you’ve got to remember this deco on every single goddamn thing you can think of. It was down every toy aisle and on every fast food cup. The entire country had gone Bat Crazy! But one thing we didn’t have was no eighteen inch Batman figure and now we do! The accessories are stored in an enclosed tray attached to the side of the cardboard insert. It’s all collector friendly so you can keep the box to store your figure if you want, but it’s like they just decided that the figure is so impressive, we’re not going to spend a lot of time on the box it comes in. I imagine it helped keep costs down too, which lends itself to the fact that at under $100 retail, these figures feel like a pretty great value.

Have I mentioned this figure is big? For the record, Batman stands at about 18-inches tall to the tips of his bat ears. He comes out of the box with his copious cape partially stuffed into a clear baggie. The problem is that it also adds a lot of rumple to the cape. You see the cape on the figure pictured on the back of the box. Yours will not look like that unless you do something about it. I am going to have a go at ironing at some point, but to do that first I need to borrow an iron so I couldn’t do it for this feature. The cape is connected to the figure so that it can be worn over the shoulders or swept back off the shoulders. The former makes for a nice shrouded and spooky look, while the later is great for action poses. Anyway, the figure itself is quite well done. The chest features sculpted muscles and there’s a ton of detail in the gauntlets and boots. The belt is actually a separate piece, so it can slide up and down a bit, but it does not appear to be removable. As expected, the deco here is mostly black on black with a little black thrown in. Joking aside, I really dig the mix of high gloss black and matte black used for the suit. The bulk of the suit’s matte finish makes it look really close to the rubbery material used for the on screen costume, while the glossy paint on the gloves and boots add a little something to jazz it up. Even the tiny gripping points on his palms are individually painted silver. I’ll concede that the ’89 Batsuit doesn’t offer as much opportunity for paintwork and detailed sculpt as say the Captain America or Iron Man figure, but what’s here is pretty damn good. For some reason I expected the matte black plastic to have a lot of scuff marks, but there isn’t anything like that.

What’s even better than good is the cowl and head. The cowl itself features a very cool and accurate texture and has the bat symbol attached and neatly painted. The seams on the back of the hood are also part of the sculpt, which I found to be a very nice touch. The head itself is actually a fully sculpted Keaton portrait with the hood and cowl placed permanently over it. The exposed lower half of the face is really spot on Keaton and the eyes feature black paint and look every bit as good. I was really blown away by the portrait on NECA’s Quarter-Scale Captain America and I have to say that while this figure’s costume shows a little less, the end result is still every bit as good.

The other figures that I own in this line weren’t really big on accessories, but Batman here bucks that trend. I’ll confess I don’t really look for a lot of accessories with these bigger figures, but let’s see what we got. For starters, he comes with three extra hands to replace the fists that come on the boxed figure. One set is designed to hold the two posts, which are used to pose Batman with his cape spread apart. The posts, which look like police batons, slide into tiny holes in the cape’s lining and the effect is fantastic. When I first heard NECA was engineering this I didn’t think much of it because I knew I’d never have the space to display him like that. Now that I’ve seen it in action, I’ve decided I really need to find the space because it looks too amazing not to make use of it. I have to blame this display option for the makeshift studio setting I had to cobble together to accomodate how freaking big he is with his cape spread.

Next up, you get a batarang that actually folds up into a neat little package via three hinges. It’s a very nice piece and the cape hands also double as a way to hold it.

Finally, you get the grapple gun, which comes with a deployed grapple, a string to attach to it, a harness to attach the gun to the back of the utility belt, and a hand for holding the gun. The gun has a folding handle and looks pretty good in Batman’s hand. NECA probably should have stopped there because the rest of this ensemble is either useless or just crap. You can break the down into two pieces to attach to the belt rig, but the belt rig snapped in half the moment I tried to attach it to the belt and honestly, based on the way it’s designed, I don’t see any way it could have done anything other than break. Ok, so no big deal. I was only attaching it to shoot a picture for the review and I doubt I would ever have used it otherwise, but it’s still no fun to have a piece break right out of the box like that. So, Boooo… Boo, NECA… BOOOOO!!! The deployed grapple also seems like a waste because it doesn’t interact with the gun at all. What am I supposed to do? Tie it the ceiling and hang my Batman figure, which weighs the same as a small toddler, from it? I shouldn’t complain about useless extras because they are just that… extras. At least they don’t impact on the quality of the figure.

Batman features some useful points of articulation. I was particularly happy to see some rotation in the cowl, as I didn’t expect there to be any head movement at all. All in all, he seems a bit less poseable than the other two Quarter-Scale figures in my collection, but then the suit has its limitations. What’s here is pretty good and you can indeed choose from a number of different display options.

I hemmed and I hawed about which Quarter-Scale Batman to get. On the one hand the Adam West Batman looked more interesting and tugged at my nostalgia strings. On the other hand, the Keaton Batman looked like pure badass. It was a sale at Entertainment Earth that nudged me toward the Keaton Batman and I was able to pick him up for $65 shipped as part of their Deal of the Day. For sixty-five bones I’ll buy these figures all day long. If I paid the $100-120 he’s going for at a lot of online retailers, I would have gotten a lot more up in arms about the broken piece or the rumpled cape, but with the money I saved, hell I can go buy me an iron to smooth that shit out. Maybe this figure doesn’t have the wow factor of my giant Iron Man or Captain America, but it’s still a great display piece, so no regrets here. Now, NECA, you have to do a Nicolson Joker to go with this guy. I mean it… YOU HAVE TO!!!

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Transformers Cybertron: Quickmix with Stripmine by Hasbro

Master Mini Series: Krank “Construction Engineer” (MM-1) by X-Transbots!

Masters of the Universe Classics: Modulok by Mattel

DC Comics: Aquaman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Marvel Legends Infinite: Superior Spider-Man by Hasbro

Transformers Cybertron: Ransack and Crumplezone by Hasbro

Masters of the Universe Classics: Glimmer by Mattel

Ghostbusters: “Ready to Believe You” Egon Spengler by Mattel

Suicide Squad: “New 52” Deadshot by DC Collectibles

Batman (1989) Quarter-Scale Figure by NECA

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