Jan 14 2014

TW-H01: Hardbone by Toyworld

That’s right, Hardbone! If Transformers have porn stars, surely this would be a killer stage name. “Oh, Hardbone… your gun is soooo big!” But all kidding aside, today’s feature has been a long time coming. Hardhead was one of my favorite G1 Headmaster toys and I fell in love with Hardbone when he was first released. Alas, at the time my toy buying funds were being diverted to some pesky real life expenses. By the time I had money back in the kitty, I was also becoming intrigued with Fansproject’s own series of Not-Headmasters and considered keeping it in the FP family by waiting for them to do their own Not-Hardhead. But I got tired of waiting and many fine people in the know were telling me just what a great toy this was. And so sometime just before Christmas I tossed him into my Pile of Loot at BBTS and shipped it out. He soon arrived and I set him aside for a special occasion, when the madness of the holidays were behind me and I could settle down and really take the time to enjoy opening him up. And today is finally that day!

This is my very first figure from Toyworld so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the packaging and presentation. Hardbone comes in a sort of half-window box with the toy in his tank mode and the head-robot figure at the top center of the tray. It’s kind of weird since the gun isn’t mounted on the tank you don’t really get a good idea of what you’re looking at. The whole presentation seems to accentuate the tiny head-robot more than anything else and I just find that to be a strange choice.

The package deco is green and black with a grid motif. There’s some decent character art down at the bottom of the front panel and again on the left side panel. The back panel and right side panel have actual photos of the toy so you get to see him in both modes. The box is certainly sizeable. It’s just a tad smaller than MMC’s Feralcon boxes and falls right inbetween the boxes used by TFC for Uranos’ Blackbird and the rest of the team. The package is nice enough, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it feels a little amateurish when compared to what we’ve seen from from TFC, MMC, or Fansproject.

Naturally, the box is collector friendly. You just open the side panel and slide out the cardboard tray, which in turn holds the plastic tray that contains the goods. Hardbone is secured to his tray by three wire twisties and his cannon rests below him. The head-robot sits in his own compartment toward the top. Also inside you get a folded color instruction sheet and a profile card that doesn’t really tell you anything. Let’s check out Hardbone’s alt mode first!

Like his spiritual successor, Hardbone is a Cybertronian tank and a pretty cool looking one at that. The body is molded in green plastic with four sets of chunky black treads positioned all around him. He has removable guns mounted on the sides of his rear treads (which can also be pegged into the front treads) and one big mama of a cannon, which connects behind the cockpit and can be offset to the left or right side. The smaller guns can also be pegged into the cannon to create one giant Decepticon-busting mega-cannon. The cannon can swivel left or right as well as raise and lower and there’s a translucent yellow muzzle at the end that can be removed if you don’t fancy it. Beneath the sculpted treads, Hardbone rolls along on six translucent yellow wheels.

The heft on this guy is pretty nice and the quality of the plastic feels great. I’m also really happy with the shade of green that was finally used. Early promotional shots made him out to be bright neon green whereas the final product ended up a lot closer to the green used on the Hardhead that I remember. There aren’t a ton of paint apps, and I’m Ok with that. The mold itself includes enough sculpted detail to carry the day and there are enough different color plastics used to make him look exciting. I particularly like the hatch sculpted onto the back of the tank and there’s some effective detailing in the faked-out treads.

My only gripe here would be that not everything locks together as well as I would like. The side pegs for the rear treads don’t seem to go in deep enough and that sets the rear treads at an ever so slight angle. It can probably be fixed by shaving the pegs a bit, but I doubt I’ll risk it. The back plate behind the cockpit doesn’t lock down so when you move the cannon around it tends to flop up. On the plus side, the front of the tank is set on Hardbone’s waist swivel and doesn’t lock. Some might consider this a design oversight and it probably is, but to me it feels like part of the tank’s suspension and I think it’s pretty cool.

Hardbone’s tiny robot buddy, oh let’s just call him Not-Duros, is a very cool little figure. He’s a bit chunkier than Fansproject’s Not-Nebulons and his transformation is tad simpler than what we got with Q-U and Smart Robin, but he is an impressively solid figure absolutely brimming with tiny little details right down to his itty-bitty sculpted fists. He’s basically designed to look like a smaller version of Hardbone and even his tiny face is painted!

Hardbone’s cockpit opens to reveal a detailed driving compartment for Not-Duros who can sit inside. Unfortunately, because of his huge backpack, the cockpit won’t close with him sitting in there. It’s close, but not quite. If you absolutely want to put him in there you can make him fit when he’s in his head mode. Now, keep in mind, I love having the little bots pilot the Headmaster vehicles, so this is a pretty big strike against the figure for me. Fansproject was able to get their Not-Nebulons to fit and their Function figures are much smaller than this guy. Hardbone’s robot mode is going to have to be pretty damn incredible for me to overlook something like this.

Well guess what? It is! I found Hardbone’s transformation to be fairly straightforward. There are a few double-hinged panels that were a little tricky until I figured out what they were doing. While probably not necessary, I stripped him of his weapons, including the gun barrel and bayonet that are concealed in his tread panels. Unpacking his legs took a bit more force than I would have liked and unfolding his hands proved to be a challenge. Eventually I got them flipped out by inserting the handle of the bayonet into the socket and using it as a tool. But when all is said and done, this guy is absolutely gorgeous. He’s just the right amount of boxy to scratch my G1 itch and the head, while a little too difficult to turn, just looks fantastic. Hardbone is considerably larger than Fansproject’s Function figures, but I think he scales beautifully with them. He’s a tank so he should be bigger and chunkier and I find that the aesthetic matches perfectly. He even scales rather well with the Masterpiece Datsuns.

Hardbone’s cannon can be positioned to angle over either of his shoulders. Thanks to the swivel and the hinge in the connection you can position it a lot of different ways. You can also peg it directly into his back and just have it hang down and out of the way. The other big treat here is Hardbone’s lateral tilts in the feet. He’s a big guy that looks good in a wide stance and both his feet and heel spurs can support that and still be flat on the ground.

If you like customizing, Hardbone’s weapons should be right up your alley. He can wield his guns in both hands and the spare gun barrel that stores in his leg can be used on either gun to make it into a rifle and it can also be inserted into the big cannon as a scope. The bayonet, which stores in his other leg, can mount under either gun or it can be wielded by Hardbone as a combat knife. There’s plenty of fun to be had with this guy if you fancy experimenting with his weapons load out.

In terms of articulation, Hardbone isn’t quite as agile as FP’s Function figures, but I’m willing to forgive that because he’s a hulking beast compared to them. As a result, you don’t get any double hinges in the elbows or anything fancy like that. You do, however, get full rotation and lateral movement in the shoulders, hinges and swivels in the elbows, and swivels in the wrists. The legs offer full rotation and lateral movement in the hips, swivels in the thighs, hinges in the knees, and those lovely lateral rockers in the ankles that I already mentioned. Hardbone can turn his head, but the plate that turns it seems to be a ratchet joint, which offers a bit more resistance than is comfortable.

With an original MSRP of about $100, Hardbone may seem a bit pricey especially when compared to the $60 Function figures, but he is a much bigger figure. Nowadays you can grab him for closer to $70 and that’s a pretty good deal for a third-party Transformer in this size. What Hardbone lacks in mind-blowingly clever engineering he makes up for by just being an ultimately solid, fun and functional toy. Yes, there are a few minor design oversights, all of which are confined to his vehicle mode, but I think Hardbone makes up for those with a lot of the cool customization options with his weapons. The inability to have Not-Duros sit in the closed cockpit does irk me quite a bit, but that one fail isn’t enough to torpedo this figure for me. I think the highest praise that I could give Hardbone is that I love him enough, that I doubt I’ll double-dip on the character even if Fansproject does do their own version of him.

Jan 13 2014

Doctor Who: “The Daemons” Collector Set by Character Options

2014 is slated to be a pretty slim year for Classic Who action figures, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at January, because this month two new sets have landed at my door. Technically released at the tail end of 2013, “The Daemons” and “The Claws of Axos” boxed sets didn’t make it to me until last week and it took me a few days to get the time to open the first of them up. This week we’ll take a look at “The Daemons” and I’ll save the Axos set for next week.

“The Daemons” set comes in the now familiar Classic Who window box with a timeline on the bottom pointing out that this is based on a Third Doctor story originally broadcast in 1971, the year before I was born. There are plenty of production stills of the characters and a little blurb about the story on the back. Inside the box you get the animated gargoyle Bok, as well as brand new versions of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and The Master. I make it no secret that Jon Pertwee’s portrayal as The Doctor is one of my favorites so naturally I’m going to be partial to this story. Nonetheless, it’s one that I usually only watch once a year, and always in October. Since 2005 we Whovians have become used to the idea of Christmas Specials, but if you’re ever hankering for a Doctor Who Halloween Special, “The Daemons” is most definitely the story you’re looking for. Let’s start things off with The Brigadier.

Character Options first gave us a figure of The Brig last year fully kitted out in his UNIT dress uniform. This time around we’re getting him in his tactical sweater and I’m thrilled because this is The Brig in action! He’s out in the field, and trying to blow the piss out of alien scum. The most surprising thing about this release is just how few reused parts that are here. The legs are the same, the hands appear to be repainted, but the rest of the figure is brand new. The green sculpted pullover features pads on the elbows and shoulders and a new web-gear style belt with a (sadly non-functional) holster.

You’ll note that I didn’t include the head sculpt as one of the recycled parts and that surprised me more than anything, particularly since both Brigs are wearing their officer’s caps. Now, I had no issues at all with the original figure’s head sculpt, but after putting these guys side-by-side I have to go with this new one as being considerably better. The uniformed Brig looks a bit more like a mannequin to me. The sculpt is not all that drastically different, but when you combine it with what is a generally better paint job, this new Brig just looks more lifelike.

Alistair features the same articulation as the last release. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders with hinged elbows and swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs have universal movement in the hips, hinges in the knees, and swivels in the thighs. There’s no torso articulation, but The Brig can rotate his head. Anytime CO works ball joints into their Classic Who figures I am a very happy camper.

Accessories! The Brig comes with three accessories. First off you get the same pistol that came with the original Brig; you get a swagger stick; and last up you get a set of binoculars, which can hang around The Brig’s neck. The binoculars are a tad oversized, but still appreciated because he can use them to observe just how little damage the air strikes do to whatever alien UNIT happens to be fighting. I’m also thrilled that we got a swagger stick for him to tuck into the crook of his elbow or to point menacingly at poor Seargeant Benton.

Next up is Mr. Magister… aka The Master. As much as The Brigadier figure is an example of a thoroughly fleshed out new version of his character, The Master feels more like a quick-and-dirty cash grab. He appears to be the same Delgado Master figure we’ve already seen twice only with soft plastic robes permanently attached over him. CO’s likeness of Roger Delgado is among their best so naturally the head sculpt is as good as ever, but the robes don’t look quite right. What’s more, because of the robes the figure features almost no useful articulation. His head can turn and his arms can move just a wee bit up and down but any other articulation is rendered moot by his plastic costume. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, because I’ll gladly buy any version of The Master that CO deems worthy of production, but there were other versions I would have preferred to see over this one.

Finally we get Bok, who is the only figure in this set that is one hundred percent new and he looks truly fantastic. As an animated stone gargoyle, CO combined a great sculpt with some cool paintwork to give this guy a really convincing stone finish. The head sculpt is quite accurate to the costume used in the show, right down to the tongue sticking out. For all you people who think the Weeping Angels are frightening, I don’t mind telling you that this little f’cker creeped me the hell out when I first saw “The Daemons” as a kid. It moved around like a demented monkey and the atmospheric lighting combined with the B&W picture just made him all the freakier. Oh yeah, and don’t bother not blinking because he’ll still freaking kill you even if you happen to be looking at him.

Naturally everyone wants their little stone gargoyles to be super-articulated and Bok delivers with some pretty damn good poseability. He has ball joints in his shoulders and hips. His arms feature hinged elbows and swivels in the biceps and wrists. His legs have hinged knees and swivels in the ankles. The tail and wings aren’t articulated but are made out of softer plastic.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this set since the day it was announced and now that I have it in hand I’m not at all disappointed. Sure, I think The Master’s robes could have been executed a little better but I’m not going to complain about getting another Delgado Master. Plus, The Brigadier and Bok are both such great figures that they alone easily justify the purchase of the set. It’s crazy to think how overjoyed I was last year to finally have a figure of The Brigadier and now I have two fantastic variants. And next week when I open “The Claws of Axos” set, I’ll have three! Of course, I’ll have to keep them on separate shelves to avoid setting off the Blinovitch Limitation Effect. And to anyone who got that joke… Cheers!

Jan 11 2014

Batman Classic TV Series: Batman & Robin by Mattel

Yesterday we looked at the last Club Infinite Earths release, which happened to be a Batman figure. Well I really wanted to wrap up some unfinished business this weekend, and so at the risk of being repetitive today we’re going to look at the last two figures I have yet to feature in Mattel’s 1966 Batman series. With all the single carded figures already under my belt, this boxed two-pack is all that’s left of this rather brief run. Mattel were real bastards about making Robin an exclusive to this set. Any of us that were buying a complete assortment of the first wave wound up with two of the same Batman figures. I wasn’t going to bite, but when this set turned up on Amazon over the holidays for $13 shipped, I couldn’t resist completing my Dynamic Duo.

This two-pack comes in a sizeable box with the vintage Batman logo and a large window that lets the figures and base do most of the talking. The Caped Crusaders are carefully posed on the wall base against an animated background and they look great. I’m glad I took a picture, because it proved to be the last time I was able to achieve that look with the figures on the base. But I’ll come back to that in a little bit.

Mattel’s presentation for this line has been spot on from the get go, but I think the deco on this box drives it home even better than the carded figures. There’s no stupid and nonsensical overreaching quote from Robin and no extrapolated artwork of the villains, at least not any that’s prominently displayed. The artwork of Batman and Robin shaking hands on the back of the box looks like it was taken directly from the TV credits and really yanks at my nostalgia pole. The side panels feature the credit artwork of the Caped Crusaders running and it just looks awesome. Just about every iconic and animated trope from the series is on display here. Let’s get the figures out and take a look.

Batman should look familiar because it is practically the same as the carded figure I featured a few months back. The biggest difference here is the cape, which features wires running through the edges to help it fan out. I presume this was done to make the capes fall more realistically when the figures are “climbing” up the wall base. It also features a HUGE f’cking obnoxious mattress tag inside the cape, which I had to cut off. Why the hell did that have to be on this figure and not the carded one? I’m sure the real answer is ridiculous, but if anyone knows the I’d seriously be curious to hear why. The cape here isn’t really better or worse, just different. I’ll probably wind up displaying the carded one just because this cape seems to float a little higher around the neck. Otherwise, this is still a decent figure and he does come with a bonus batarang, which was excluded from the carded release.

Moving on to the real reason I bought this set… Robin. I’ve read some mixed reactions to this figure but in hand I have to say I think he turned out quite good. The head sculpt is a little soft but still a good likeness to Burt Ward. I’m not sure about the height, maybe he’s a little too tall, but he is shorter than Batman and that works fine for me. The build of the figure’s buck is good and the detail on the costume relies as much on original sculpting as it does on paint. Robin features the same style cape as Batman with the wires in the sides and the huge tag. I imagine the wires could be removed fairly easily if you wanted him to match the carded Batman a little better, but I’m content with leaving mine the way it is.

Since this is the first time we’re seeing Robin, I’ll run down his articulation, although it’s basically the same as Batman. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, hinged at the elbows, and have swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs have the usual DCUC style hips, Swivels in the thighs and hinges in the knees and ankles. Robin has a swivel at the waist, an ab crunch hinge in the torso and his neck is ball jointed. I’ll also throw it out there that while his legs are pretty thin, he can stand a lot better than my last DCUC Robin, so that’s a bit of a treat.

The rest of this set is represented by a base that looks like part of the side of a building with opening windows and foot pegs for the figures. The idea here is that you can recreate the iconic scene of the Dynamic Duo climbing up the side of the buildings. During these sequences various famous actors would make cameos by popping their heads out of the windows and hilarity would ensue. It’s a great idea that sadly doesn’t work at all. Despite having a socket to help you hang the base on the wall and a small hole to attach the included rope, I find it impossible to get the figures pegged in so that they will stay in place on the vertical base, let alone do so while appearing to be climbing. If you can’t tell the photo above was obviously flipped vertically. I suppose if you were willing to glue the figures into place you could get a satisfactory result, but even then the base isn’t really big enough to make the illusion work for me. The failed execution of this makes me all the angrier that Mattel didn’t just release Robin as a single carded figure.

This Batman and Robin 2-pack retailed at about $25-30, which isn’t all that bad for what you were getting. I was boycotting it on principal that we shouldn’t have to buy another Batman to get Robin. But as I mentioned in the opening, when the price dropped to $13 on Amazon I ended the boycott. I guess my principals are worth exactly $17. In all seriousness though, the sale price was about what Robin would have cost as a single carded figure and so I felt justified. Besides, it wasn’t until I got the Dynamic Duo together on my shelf that I realized the folly of not completing my collection with Robin. Thankfully I was never all that interested in the display base, because it just doesn’t work.

Jan 10 2014

DC Universe Signature Collection: Batzarro by Mattel

Here we go, folks, it’s the very last release in Matty’s Club Infinite Earths! Well, unless you count the four quarterly releases Matty will do this year. The Signature Collection had a pretty good run for two years and while I was still willing to sub for another year, the truth is that the waning months of the club in 2013 was starting to wear thin for me. Case in point, the last release we get is Batzarro. I’ve had this figure for a couple of weeks now and I still have mixed feelings about this guy. On the one hand, I don’t think there were many collectors out there who were asking for him and when you think of how many characters were vying for this slot, Batzarro is a ridiculous choice. On the other hand, if there was ever a viable venue for Batzarro’s release, I suppose a hardcore collector club like this one was the best way to do it.

There’s the packaging. We may see it again, as I will be buying Ice when she’s released this year, but who knows how Matty will package her. She could come rubber banded into a plastic sandwich baggie for all we know. I don’t have anything new to say about these Signature Collection window boxes. They were well designed, nice and compact, collector friendly, and mostly had great character art. If space wasn’t such a concern for me I would have saved them all. Farewell!

And here’s Batzarro out of the package. I have absolutely zero knowledge of this character other than what’s printed on the back of the package. Apparently he’s a clone of Batman as opposed to a legitimate Bizarro version of Batman. Does it matter? Not to me. What we have here is basically a pretty standard Batman figure in the grey and black costume with some fun tweaks. His “futility belt” is a newly sculpted piece with all the pouches upside down and opened. The bat symbol printed on his chest is also upside down. Also, I dig that the interior of the cape is grey as opposed to black. The head sculpt is new and it’s pretty damn creepy. There are no eye holes in the cowl and Batzarro sports a crazy rictus grin displaying fanged teeth. It seems pretty obvious that this was a figure planned for the Batman Unlimited line as he would look right at home on the pegs next to that ungodly Planet X Batman.

Batzarro comes with a soft plastic batarang, which he can hold in each hand. The fact that the bio points out that he likes to use guns makes the absence of a gun accessory rather disappointing.

If today’s feature is brief, it’s because I don’t have a hell of a lot to say about Batzarro. A lot of collectors were pissed off to find that he was going to take the last slot in the CIE sub, but I will concede that I find him to be a fun release. Yes, he represents some pretty poor character selection by the powers that be over at Matty. The truth is that the final slot could have been much better spent on any one of a hundred characters. Nonetheless, I dig Batzarro a lot more than I did R’as Al Ghul or Red Hood, even if that’s a back-handed compliment. He is by no means the worst figure I received from the sub in its final year. Maybe that fact alone means it was time for CIE to shut down. It’s hard to argue that CIE wouldn’t still be going strong with better and more exciting character selection and Batzarro’s reception is a prime example of that.

Jan 9 2014

Transformers Generations: Rhinox by Hasbro

Hey, it’s the first Transformers Thursday of 2014! As promised last time, I’m going to start mixing it up on TFT with both modern and older stuff and today we’re continuing with the modern. Rhinox was one of the last Transformers to ship in 2013 and he was a nice surprise because he’s a Beast Wars Voyager! Holy crap! As a fan and collector I’ve always had an undying love for the Beast Wars TV series, but that love never carried over to the toys. Oh, I had quite the collection of Beast Wars figures, but they never really captured the magic of what came before and what has come since. I ended up unloading that collection (except for Megatron) during one of the Great Toy Purges and I can’t say as I regret it. Needless to say, I was excited to get a modern Rhinox in hopes that he could help me find some affection for a Beast Wars figure.

The package consists of a familiar window-style box similar to what we got for the other Generations Voyagers. This one still keeps some of the G1 inspired grid pattern, but also embraces the white granite look of the Generations comic packs. The box retains the “Thrilling 30” moniker, but it’s labeled as a 2014 figure and brandishes the Maximal insignia in several places. The wrap-around character artwork is absolutely killer and Rhinox himself is packaged beside it in his robot mode. I really can’t wait to get this guy out and transform him, so let’s start out with his beast mode.

Yup, Rhinox is a rhino, and a mighty fine looking one at that. Sure, there’s seaming situated all around him, but the plates all lock together quite well, minimizing any unsightly gaps that advertise him as a shell-former. The sculpt here is quite good and consists of leathery looking skin and a very convincing rhino head. There is some obvious, green robot kibble visible on the backs of his legs, but apart from that you’d need to pick this guy up and look underneath to see that anything really funky was going on. The rhino covering is mostly made up of hard plastic, although softer stuff is used for his hinder, ears, and horn. There isn’t a lot of paintwork on this aspect of Rhinox, but he doesn’t really need it. Overall, it’s a pretty good rhino disguise.

If you’re looking for a super-articulated rhino, however, you will be disappointed. Rhinox’s beast mode sports very limited articulation. His legs can move forward and backward a bit, but it isn’t really a natural movement and the more you move them the more you risk knocking the plates out of whack. He can, however, open his mouth and bite things. Honestly, I’m not terribly upset about the limited articulation in beast mode because this guy is going to spend very little time as a rhino. I’m mostly happy that he locks together so well and stands well and he does indeed capture Rhinox’s hilariously grumpy animal visage.

Of course, I didn’t buy this ticket for the Rhino Show. The rhino is just the warm-up band. No, I got this guy for loveable Rhinox in robot mode and let me tell you this is a glorious treatment of the character. The transformation felt a tad intimidating at first, but after going through it only once, it seemed really easy when I was done. In fact, it’s all rather obvious. Everything unfolds from Rhino mode in a logical manner, but even going back into Rhino mode is rather intuitive. Shell-formers have a habit of being frustrating, but Rhinox avoids falling into that trap. And it’s hard to argue with the resulting figure.

Rhinox is a fantastic representation of his animated counterpart. The proportions are great and the sculpt is gloriously complex, particularly in the chest and shoulder area where the mechanical hinges and gears mesh beautifully with the smooth rhino parts to create that amazing bio-mechanical aesthetic. I love the way the rhino mouth unfolds to form not only his chest plaste, but the plate over his pelvis as well. The subtle shift that positions the two plates that flank the chest piece is really cool too. The shoulders give the figure a properly hulking appearance and also allow for a wide range of movement in the arms. And the head? Hasbro really nailed Rhinox’s head sculpt. There’s a bit of mold flashing over my figure’s left eye, but I can probably clean that up with a razor.

The rhino head and rhino butt lock together on Rhinox’s back very similar to the way the nosecone and tail lock together on TFC’s Uranos jets. Maybe a coincidence, or maybe someone at Hasbro is paying attention? Either way it’s cool and effective. The only gripe I have about Rhinox is he his a tad back heavy and the hip joints are rather loose. It is possible to get him standing fully erect, but it helps to lean him forward a bit. Have I mentioned the paintwork? The gold and green look amazing and contrast beautifully with the drab grey rhino parts.

Naturally, Rhinox comes with his spinning hand cannons. The pieces clip together and serve to fill out his belly cavity when he’s in rhino mode and in robot mode he can wield them in each hand. There’s even a button on each one to make them spin. The sculpting on these guns is great, but the fronts are cast in the same grey rhino skin plastic, which is rather a bummer. Some silver would have made them look amazing. I’m guessing Hasbro ran out of budget for additional paint operations, which is understandable considering how amazing a figure this is.

After some dubious modern efforts at Classics-style Dinobot and Cheetor, I’m happy to say that Hasbro’s third time was the charm. This figure does for Rhinox exactly what many of the best Classics/Generations figures have done for G1 characters. The rhino mode may not be the most exciting thing around, but it looks good and it gets the job done. Rhinox’s bot mode on the other hand is as sexy as a giant robot-rhino can possibly be. The sculpt, the proportions, the coloring (mostly)… everything about this figure just gels beautifully for me. He was a wonderful surprise for the Generations line and a great first addition to my Transformer collection for 2014. The fact that I got him at half price with free shipping on Hasbrotoyshop was just the icing on the energon cake. Now I really need to find me a Waspinator.

Jan 8 2014

Masters of the Universe Classics: Strong-Or by Mattel

December was a month of endings. It was the end of 2013, but it was also the end of the DC Club Infinite Earths sub and the end of the Club Filmation sub. Both will be missed, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Filmation mini-sub pop up next year. Today we’re going to check out the final figure in the Filmation sub. He’s Strong-Or and probably the one figure that I was least interested in among the club’s excellent roster.

There’s the packaging and there are no surprises here. Fans of the cartoon will note that he was originally named Strong Arm, but has been redubbed Strong-Or, probably because of some kind of copyright gobbledygook. Hey, at least he was spared the name Fisto. Flip the package over and we get a bio, which inexplicably mentions the name that they couldn’t give him on the front. Weird. Also, I’ll note that the only figure I’m missing on the back of the card is Fang Man, who I believe is another Filmation character. Fang Man is crazy expensive now, so I may never get him. There’s not much else to say about the package and since my Jameson is getting low, I’d better just dive right in to my next unpleasant task. I’m off to watch “She Demon of Phantos” and I’ll be back in about 25 minutes.

Ok, so that was um… an episode where some stuff happened. The Eternian Palace has a standing deal to buy ~~vibranium~~ ~~adamantium~~ photanium metal from Queen Elmora of Phantos to make their weapons, but Skeletor takes over the planet and secretly sells them shit metal instead. Meanwhile he takes over Phantos, turns Elmora into a crazy old hag with a wonky eye, and it’s up to He-Man and gang to set things straight. What’s missing? Strong-Or. He’s hardly in it, other than just being another one of Skeletor’s goons. It makes him an odd choice for the sub, since all of the other one-off’s were at least pretty central to the episode they were in. That’s not really a complaint, because I’m just as happy to get another Evil Warrior for Skeletor’s brood. I also need to confess that I fast-forwarded this one a lot. While the premise showed promise, this episode just bored me to tears. Thankfully, the bio makes this guy a lot more interesting. Ok, so let’s check out the figure.

He may be from another planet, but Strong-Or is a dude who fits right in with the crazy freaks of Eternia. He’s got the head of a bulldog-jowled cyber punk-rocker, a giant mechanical arm and a miss-matched bright yellow glove. Nothing about this dude is subtle. And yet the bulk of the figure is comprised of a pretty standard MOTUC buck cast in orange with metallic blue boots and spiked belt and a soft plastic piece of armor that rests around his neck and on his shoulders. Oddly enough it’s the yellow glove that bothers me the most about this guy. Yes, it’s animation accurate, but it’s just so out of place. I think if it matched his armor or boots it would have tied the figure together splendidly. Sure, it’s a rather unfair critique, as it says more about Stong-Or’s poor fashion sense than the figure itself, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway.

Obviously, the portrait here is pretty distinctive to say the least. Strong-Or’s mask has a crude, hammered and chiseled look that I think works in the character’s favor. The soft rubbery spiked mohawk is the pinnacle of lazy 80’s design, and yet somehow it’s still passable on Eternia. The giant triangular ears are only made more bizarre by the fact that they’re painted to be real ears and not part of the mask. Speaking of paint, the paint on Strong-Or’s head is a little rough. There’s a lot of slop between the ears and the mask and some obvious brush strokes on the face. It’s nothing terrible, but the paint apps on my MOTUC figures are usually so well done, I thought it worth pointing out here.

Strong-Or’s big gimmick is his mechanical right arm, which can extend by swapping it out with a larger piece. It really seems like he’s infringing on Fisto and Jitsu’s own private freak flags, but he is from another planet, so I guess we have to let that slide. Plus, I don’t own either of those figures and that makes him more unique in my collection. The arm is very nicely executed with individually sculpted segments and and bolts running down the front and back. The swappable part is attached just below the elbow so you don’t lose any articulation when giving him the extended arm.

As if his mechanical arm wasn’t enough, Strong-Or also comes with one of the coolest guns released in the line. Check this thing out! It’s an awesome retro sci-fi gun that looks like it would be right at home being wielded by Buster Crabbe. The gun is designed to be held with both hands, which puts it at odds with Strong-Or since there isn’t a peg hole in his mechanical fists. Then again, it isn’t really intended for Strong-Or as I’m told by one of my He-Man fanatical friends that it’s a weapon used by Evil-Lyn in another episode. I have to say it’s really cool that Mattel is tossing in Filmation-style accessories with figures just to get them out there.

Strong-Or is my least favorite of the entire Filmation Club run, but that does not in any way mean that I don’t like him. This mini-sub has produced some amazing figures and I’m happy to have every one of them standing on my shelves. Ranking last in a collection of six great figures should not be taken as a mark of shame. The best compliment that I can pay to this little sub is that it convinced me to sub Club Eternia this year and as I play around with Strong-Or right now I am in no way regretting that decision. I mean, holy shit in just a couple of weeks Two-Bad will be landing on my doorstep and I can’t wait!

*Image of Filmation Strongarm taken from Greyskull Wiki.

Jan 7 2014

DC Comics: Superman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Anyone who’s kicked around FFZ for a while knows that I have a long standing love of Kotobukiya and their Bishoujo statues. Well, late last year I started to branch out thanks to some irresistible pics of the Justice League ArtFX+ statues posted by this konsummate kollector of all things kool. I’ve already pre-ordered the first offerings in their Avengers line, which is due to start hitting later this year and now I’m busy piecing together the Justice League and some of the other DC statues. I’m kicking off my look at this line today with the Man of Steel himself, Supes!

The packaging is artsy and gorgeous. While the Bishoujo statues come in proper boxes with windows, these pieces come in a box made of windows. Yes, the entire package is made of clear plastic with printed graphics, all surrounding a set of plastic trays with the statue nesting inside.

This packaging definitely has its ups and downs. On the upside, it’s a beautiful presentation, complete with art that links up with the other boxes to make for a great looking backdrop behind your statue display. Also, if you take the plastic wrap off the statue, you can return it to the package and still get a pretty good look at it while it’s inside. It practically makes its own display case.

On the downside, the thin plastic packaging is fragile and very susceptible to scratches and whatnot. Statue boxes are among the few packages I hang on to, and I worry about how durable these will be to store over time. It also means that if you’re buying these sight unseen from an online retailer, you better make certain that they’re known for their careful packing. In the end, I think the good outweighs the bad here. I’m prepared to go the extra mile to be careful with the boxes in exchange for what is a truly fantastic presentation.

So, obviously we’re dealing with “New 52” Superman and that’s perfectly fine with me. While I do have some issues with a few of the character re-designs of the current DC Universe, I have no problem with any of the core Justice League. In fact, I’ve really grown to love Supes’ new costume, particularly when it’s presented as well as it is here. Superman stands at about 1:10^th Scale, which makes him smaller than Koto’s Bishoujo pieces but a little bigger than your average DCUC or DC Collectibles action figure. I’ll be honest, I would have probably liked to see these in the 1:8^th Scale, but it’s a trade off because the smaller scale doesn’t gobble up as much space and yet they’re still big enough to host plenty of detail. Clearly Koto knows what they’re doing, so who am I to argue?

The sculpt is truly excellent. One thing DC did brillaintly was design the new costumes with 3D modeling in mind. If you look at the early “New 52” comics there are explicit notes about how everything should be raised and three-dimensional. As a result, every detail of the figure is sculpted in rather than just painted. You not only get all the musculature, but a great 3D effect in the boots and cuffs as well as the belt and the S-logo. When you add that to the sculpted panel lines of the outfit you get a detail that really stands out no matter what angle your looking at. The cape is sculpted in stiff plastic and hangs down off his shoulders perfectly. It can be seen from the front, but it isn’t obtrusive, nor does it flare out to the sides to take up extra space on the shelf. It’s a nice compromise. As for the pose itself, the statue assumes what is mostly a traditional “museum-style” pose, but his fists are clenched and his arms slightly bent as if he’s poised for action. The stance allows him to stand among his fellow Justice Leaguers with a degree of uniformity, while at the same time offering a feeling of excitement and kineticism.

The portrait maintains a great deal of the character’s comic feel but there are also some heavy anime overtones in the portrait. I’m really happy with the pose that Koto went with here. I know a few collectors who have taken issue with the Asian overtones of the portrait, but I’m not one of them. I don’t think it’s at odds with the some of the Jim Lee line art and quite frankly I think it works quite well in conveying the more youthful look of the “New 52” Superman. Either way, the expression is great. Superman looks determined and resolute and there’s a lot more detail in the facial sculpt than my poor camera can adequately capture, particularly in the brown and the cheek bones.

As nice as the sculpt here is, I have to say it’s the paintwork that really makes this statue pop on the shelf. The high gloss metallic paint gives Supes’ costume that luscious new-car shine that begs to be admired under the light. The tones of red and blue, with a hint of gold, complement each other splendidly. Naturally the glossy outfit contrasts beautifully with the matte flesh tones used for the head and hands, as well as the matte red plastic used for the cape. I still take this statue off the shelf at least once a day just to turn it over in the light and admire the beauty of the paintwork.

Superman includes a square black base with the “Justice League” logo on the front. It’s a metal base with some heft and the statue uses magnets in the feet to help connect him to the base. It’s not a very strong connection, not enough to pick up the stand with, but it does keep him from toppling over. It also allows for you to move him about the base or even pose two statues on one stand. It’s a clever system that Koto has used for many of their ArtFX+ statues and it allows for multiple options when displaying the team.

I’ve frequently remarked that Koto offers some of the best values in statues and that’s certainly the case here as well. While Superman’s MSRP clocks in at around $40-45, I was able to pick him up for just under $30, which is a pretty comfortable price for such a striking display piece. If you aren’t quite prepared to make the jump from collecting action figures to pricier high end statues, this would be a great way to go, as I really think this is one of the finest portrayals of this version of the character in statue or action figure form. He’s a great stand-alone piece, but I wasn’t been a big fan of Superman’s stand alone book last year, but I have enjoyed the character in the Justice League book, so the real draw for me is going to be displaying him with his comrades. I’ll try to be checking out one of these beauties each week until I’ve run through them all!

Jan 6 2014

Star Wars Black: Boba Fett by Hasbro

All the Holiday nonsense is finally over and I’m thrilled to be back in the saddle for a brand new year. While I’ll still be pretty busy with work for the next couple of weeks, my schedule has loosened up enough so that I can start digging into some of the figures I’ve been holding off on during the crazier times of last month. I’ve been itching to open up Wave 2 of Star Wars Black ever since they landed on my stoop last month and now I’ve finally got some time to relax for a moment and do just that. Today, I’m kicking it off with a full-on six inches of rock hard Fett. LET’S DO THIS!!!

After a few weeks of seeing the SWB deco misused on the smaller carded (and mostly shitty) figures, it’s nice to see it again used on the more appropriate collector style window boxes. Wave 1 left me with a real love for this packaging and I’m still displaying those figures packaged for the time being. Needless to say these boxes are totally collector friendly and are just the right size to show off the figure without taking up too much room. Boba is displayed in his tray with his weapons and jetpack spread out beside him. The back of the package has a monochrome shot of Boba talking to Vader and Lando. Man, I can’t wait until Vader and Lando get the 6-inch treatment! Ok, enough about the packaging, it’s time to whip out my Boba.

Ok, so… WOW! We actually have a 6-inch Boba Fett figure from Hasbro. It’s still taking time for this to properly sink in. Boba Fett is a character that has seen some pretty exceptional 3 ¾” figures over the years, so I had little doubt that his 6-inch treatment would be amazing. And you know what? It is. Yes, when you consider the scale upgrade there are a few missed opportunities here, and I’ll point those out, but it’s important to remember that Hasbro is still working within the confines of a $20 retail budget. There was certainly a give and take with 6-inch Fett’s design, but I think the end result balanced out quite well!

With that having been said, I think the first thing that strikes me about this guy is the intricacy of the sculpt. The jumpsuit is beautifully rumpled in all the right places and the armor plating is pretty convincing as separate pieces even though they are part of the same sculpt.The pouches all look great and even he even has the tiny sculpted tools peeking out of the pockets on his pants. The waist belt is a separate piece but it blends seemlessly with the figure. It has pouches and a functional holster for his pistol. I’ll get to the pistol in a bit, but suffice it to say it was a cool surprise. I love functional holsters on my figures so getting one incorporated into a Boba Fett figure really rings my bell. I’m also very pleased with the detailing on his left arm bracer where you can see his dart as well as the keypad. I’m not fanatical with my knowlege of Fett’s design and I’m sure the hardcore could pick apart all kinds of little details on this guy, but he certainly does just fine by me.

Following hot on the heels of the beautiful sculpt is the deco. I’m not just talking about the coloring of the armor, but rather the weathering. Fett’s armor is dinged and scraped in all the right places and the dry brush abrasions look fantastic. Finally, the whole deco is punctuated with some great tampos like the Mandalorean symbol on his shoulder to the insignia on his chest armor. The figure fits beautifully into the “used future” design that makes the Original Trilogy Star Wars Universe such an interesting place to me.

Hasbro packed some really useful articulation into this figure. The head is both ball jointed and hinged, so you get a nice wide range of motion there. His arms feature ball joints in the shoulders, elbows and wrists, and he has swivel cuts in the biceps. His legs are ball jointed at the hips and double hinged at the knees. His ankles feature hinges and rockers. Lastly, Fett is ball jointed at the waist, just above the belt. It’s a well hidden joint that lets him swivel as well as giving him a little range of forward and backward motion in the torso. Nicely done!

Is Fett perfect? Nope. And here’s where that give and take comes in. The wookie braids are a little chunky and unconvincing. It seems like they should have been fashioned from softgoods like the cape. At the very least one of them shouldn’t have been left the same color plastic as his jumpsuit. I know what they’re supposed to be, but they look like they’re tacked on like an afterthought. I’ll also throw out there that it would have been cool if his rangefinder had been hinged. Sure, it looks fine as it is, but that seems like it would have been a good opportunity going from the 3 ¾” to the 6-inch scale. Finally, while the double joints in the knees are welcome, taking advantage of them makes the figure’s legs look unnatural, especially the way the knee caps just float. None of these nitpicks seriously detract from the figure, but since Boba Fett has had some truly excellent 3 ¾” figures, I think it’s worth pointing out some areas for improvement on this 6-incher.

Boba comes with three accessories. First off, you get his trusty jetpack, which pegs into his back. It’s just a solid molded piece of plastic that pegs into a hole on his back. There are sculpted straps to make it look like it’s held on with a harness. I suppose you could argue that Hasbro could have done a little more with it, particularly in this scale. It doesn’t fire a rocket and the little thrusters aren’t articulated, but it looks fine and I’m very happy that it is removable. Somewhere in the delusion center of my brain I am reasoning out that Hasbro made it removable to accommodate the 6-inch scale Slave-1 which is surely coming any day now. Right? RIGHT??? Ok, maybe not.

Next up is the pistol. Again, this was a total surprise for me because I don’t ever recall any previous Boba Fett (and I’ve owned most of them) coming with a pistol. Did he even use one? Is it one of his dad’s? I really don’t know, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at a pistol with a functional holster. It’s a simple enough piece, but he looks damn cool holding it and when I see my Boba Fett quick-drawing his pistol and wearing the poncho-like cape, I can’t help but get a wonderful “Man With No Name” vibe off of him from the Sergio Leone westerns.

Lastly is Fett’s iconinc carbine. It’s made of bendy plastic which helps get the stock positioned into the crook of his arm. You can also just about get his trigger finger into the trigger guard. The carbine has some exceptionally cool weathering and I like the sculpted detail in the stock, but the barrel doesn’t seem quite right. It seems like it should be thicker, at least that’s based on the prop replicas that I’ve seen.

This Boba Fett was a hotly anticipated figure for me and now that I have finally opened him I can confidently say he’s a great piece. Yes, some might argue (myself included) that Hasbro could have done more with him to take advantage of the scale change, but I keep reminding myself that this is not a $50 Figma or an $75 Play Arts figure. For a $20 figure off the peg at Target or Walmart, he’s just a great figure and pretty hard for me to put down. Boba will definitely be spending some quality time on my desk before getting relegated to the display shelf in the other room. It’s worth noting that he’s the very first figure I’m looking at in 2014 and I can already tell he’s going to be a strong contender for my Favorites list at the end of the year. Even if you aren’t collecting this line, Boba Fett is the first release that I would recommend people pick up as a stand-alone figure. After all, you can never have too many Fetts.

Jan 3 2014

FigureFan’s Disappointments of 2013, Part 2

And we’re back to finish off the week with a look at the items featured in 2013 that left me shaking my head and reaching for a bottle of Jameson. Some of the stuff we looked at yesterday was passable and yet still disappointing, but today we’re getting into some of the things that really pissed me off good. And so without further ado, let’s look at 2013’s Final Five stinkers.

Marvel (Iron Man) Legends: Ultron by Hasbro: While no Marvel Legends figures made my Favorites List this year, 2013 still saw some solid figures added to the collection. Alas, there were also some questionable releases. I was really pumped about getting Ultron, and while the sculpt was not at all bad, the wonky plastic Hasbro used put me off this figure in a big way. Cheap looking, swirly grey plastic did not match the beautiful silvery finish shown off in preview pics. With Ultron scheduled to be a major player in Avengers 2 Hasbro will no doubt be taking a second crack at the figure in the near future, but who knows what he’ll look like. And so my wait for a decent Legends scale Ultron goes on. Maybe I’ll try picking up the Select version.

DC Signature Collection: Red Hood by Mattel: Yes, Mattel makes the list again with more DC stuff and before you cry foul, Wonder Woman was DC Unlimited and this one is from Matty’s own Signature Collection. Anyway, Red Hood gets a spot on this stinker list for a couple of reasons. Besides being a ridiculous and uninspired figure, it was one that I don’t think should have even taken up a slot in the Sub. Even many fans of the character seemed to be peeved that Mattel went with this version. Even if I had gotten around to featuring Batzarro in 2013 (I should get to him next week), Red Hood would have still beaten him out as Club Infinite Earth’s biggest turd of the year. PS. Hey Red Hood, I even hate your f’cking guns.

Transformers Generations: Blitzwing by Hasbro: I realize that Bruticus already made the list and he was a Generations figure, so here’s where I’m bending the rules just a smidge. If it makes you happy, I’ll point out that Bruticus was a combiner and part of the Fall of Cybertron series, whereas Blitzwing is a single release and just a regular Generations figure. Either way, Blitzwing earns a spot on this list for some unfortunate technical design blunders that ruined what could have been an excellent toy. With shoulders that just would not lock into place, a stupid and unnecessary face changing gimmick, and a soft-bendy nosecone that couldn’t properly fit over the head, this guy pisses me off every time I look at him on my shelf. Blitzwing has always been one of my favorite Transformers and this figure could have been one of the high points of the year instead of landing in the muck.

Doctor Who: 11^th Doctor (3 ¾” Scale) by Character Options: Let’s be honest, so far changing scales has not been kind to the Doctor Who figure line. A few of the figures have been ok, but most have been merely passable or total garbage, and it doesn’t help when the figure of the main character is the worst one of the lot. The 11^th Doctor is poorly sculpted, poorly painted, and not even articulated all that well. He almost makes me long for the days of those terrible Dapol figures. There was always a potential for advantages in the scale change, but so far it seems like a total loss. We haven’t gotten any more characters out of the deal, no playsets or vehicles worth speaking about. Other than being able to troop build some Daleks and Cybermen for relatively cheap, there’s been no positives to this trade off. CO either needs to step this shit up or bring back the 5-inch scale.

Star Trek Starship Legends: “Wrath of Khan” Enterprise by Diamond Select: I originally said that these lists weren’t in any order. But the truth is I’ve been counting down to this ultimate stinker the whole time. The poetic irony of having Starship Legends kick off my Favorites list and conclude my Biggest Disappointments was too much to resist. One of my most anticipated purchases of the year also turned out to be akin to getting two photon torpedoes fired right into my gonads. This incarnation of the USS Enterprise has always been my favorite and I couldn’t wait to have a beautiful display piece of it on my shelf. What I got was a dog turd that had been rolled in the grass and tossed into a box. This re-release of the WoK Enterprise is a total piece of garbage on every conceivable level and I still can’t understand how it got released in Diamond’s otherwise excellent Starship Legends line. It totally broke my heart. On the whole, FFZ is a positive place with very few overwhelmingly negative features and yet I find it ironic that this feature remains one of the most viewed articles on my site.

Ok, Toy Hounds, that’s going to wrap up this automated week of content. I will be back at the helm on Monday with the first new content of the year! Bring on 2014!

Jan 2 2014

Figurefan’s Disappointments of 2013, Part 1

Tuesday and Wednesday we looked at the good stuff, now it’s time to wade into the dark, stanky underbelly of 2013’s offerings. While my Favorites List is tough to compile because there’s so much to choose from, my Disappointments List is tough for just the opposite reason. Everything I feature on FFZ is here because I bought it with my own hard earned monies, and naturally I don’t buy stuff that I think I’m going to hate. As a result, this list is NOT indicative of the worst releases of 2013. You won’t see a Jazwares World War Z figure here because I’d never buy that garbage. And with remarks like that, they sure as hell aren’t going to send me one! No, this is the stuff that I wanted in my collection, but once I got it, it just didn’t live up to my expectations… hence the name Disappointments! Sure it might be more fun to rag on all the garbage that clogged the shelves and pegs this past year, but that’s not what this list is about. I still tried to stick to my one slot per toy line rule, but in a couple of cases here you’ll see a fudged it a bit.

DC Unlimited “New 52” Wonder Woman by Mattel: When I embarked on collecting the “New 52” figures I needed to decide whether I was going to go with Mattel’s extension of the DCUC format or the DC Collectibles versions. I went with Mattel mainly because I have something like 150 of their DCUC style figures and I wanted the “New 52” stuff to fit in. Now, keep in mind, most of Mattel’s “New 52” figures are actually quite good and some are excellent, but Wonder Woman here was merely passable. She’s too small, the paintwork isn’t very good and the waxy sculpt is nothing exceptional. And just to rub salt in the wound, Mattel abandoned the DCUC style before even completing the Justice League let alone other “New 52” characters. now I’m faced with the prospect of having to rebuy these characters as DC Collectibles versions so I can amass a more complete collection.

Star Wars Vintage Collection: AT-ST by Hasbro: Technically released as a K-Mart Exclusive in 2012, I didn’t get mine until last year and that’s why it lands on this list. Even in 2012 this was a re-release of an older toy that I have wanted in my collection for a long while and unfortunately the pay-off wasn’t at all worth it. While I appreciate the bigger scale and the ability to fit two figures in the cockpit, the bland sculpt takes a step back from even the original Kenner toy. Add to that sub-par paintwork, the fact that it looks like it’s been trudging through mountains of Ewok shit, and a virtual inability to stand on its own and this thing sadly turned out to be a lemon. At least the box looked good, but even that is marred by the obnoxious K-Mart Exclusive bubble. The only saving grace here is that I got a really good price on it.

Batman Classic TV Series Catwoman by Mattel: I was pretty torn on this figure when I featured her back in November, but the following weeks haven’t done her any favors. Maybe it’s because she’s shelf dived too many times and caused too many figure avalanches in my display case. Maybe it’s because I just can’t get past her weirdly disproportionate arms. Either way, she’s been drawing a lot of attention to herself and pissing me off. She’s a decidedly average figure that should have been so much better. None of the 1966 Batman figures were stellar efforts, but Catwoman arrived last and maybe, in retrospect, drove home just how much better things would have been if someone like NECA or even DC Collectibles had gotten the license to do this line.

Star Wars Black (3 ¾” Scale) Stormtrooper by Hasbro: I’ve already pointed out that most items on this list are here because they were more disappointing than truly terrible. Well, here’s the exception because this Stormtrooper is just a piece of crap that I bought on an impulse because he was cheap. I have since dubbed him Derpy Trooper. He’s a recent feature so I won’t waste a lot of time here recapping just how terrible he is. Suffice it to say I got him for half off his MSRP and he was still a disappointment. How many f’ing years have you been making Stormtrooper figures now, Hasbro? You’d think it would be impossible to screw it up this badly. P.S. Your new Biker Scout sucks too!

Transformers Generations: Fall of Cybertron Bruticus by Hasbro: It pains me to list this figure here because I genuinely do appreciate Hasbro releasing a proper combiner again and doing it as a wave of individual figures was clever and fun. Nonetheless, while some of the individual figures were decent enough, combined they made for a rather poor and terribly proportioned effort. What makes it worse is that it seems like the figure was salvageable, as some third-party companies have proven with the help of add on kits. Maybe a couple more passes on the drawing board could have made this guy a win. You also might have considered going with what worked in the past and making Onslaught bigger than the limbs. I also wanted to include Bruticus here for Hasbro’s inexplicable decision to release retail versions of the Combaticons in obnoxious colors at odds with those those seen in the game. It was a ridiculous decision that seems to serve no purpose other than to piss off collectors. In other words, me!

Ok, that’s enough heartbreak for one day. Join me tomorrow as we wrap up this crap with a look at my Final Five Biggest Disappointments of 2013.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

TW-H01: Hardbone by Toyworld

Doctor Who: “The Daemons” Collector Set by Character Options

Batman Classic TV Series: Batman & Robin by Mattel

DC Universe Signature Collection: Batzarro by Mattel

Transformers Generations: Rhinox by Hasbro

Masters of the Universe Classics: Strong-Or by Mattel

DC Comics: Superman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Star Wars Black: Boba Fett by Hasbro

FigureFan’s Disappointments of 2013, Part 2

Figurefan’s Disappointments of 2013, Part 1

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