Nov 23 2022

G. I. JOE Classified: Serpentor and Air Chariot by Hasbro

As someone who started playing with the Real American Hero toys back when the line was first released, I don’t think anything suitably prepared me for the bat-shit crazy rollercoaster that would envelop the toyline by 1986, when Serpentor arrived to take over the reigns of Cobra. Sure, Cobra Commander was portrayed as a buffoon in the Sunbow cartoon, but he sure looked the part of a serious terrorist leader in his smartly cut military uniform and terror mask. Silly snake lisp or not, he looked like a dude that you could take seriously. Then he got replaced by a freaking zombie-clone-military genius in a carnival snake suit, and somehow it all made sense. I’m sure part of it had to do with a bunch of Cobra agents getting so tired of being bested because of Cobra Commander’s hairbrained schemes, that they didn’t think they could do any worse. But a lot of it had to do with the way Serpentor was portrayed. Yes, he looked ridiculous in that suit, but he was so goddamn terrifying, that nobody was going to call him out on it. This was an undead warrior who could summon snakes and throw them like javelins. He was prone to rage, and not like the little tantrums that Cobra Commander had. When Cobra Commander got upset, he usually threw a chair into a TV monitor. When Serpentor got pissed, he seemed capable of twisting someone’s head off. And that’s why I love him and why I’m so excited to see him appear in the Classified line!

Unfortunately, Serpentor was released as a Pulse Exclusive, which I think was a pretty shitty idea on Hasbro’s part. Everyone was going to want this guy, and getting in on the pre-order was exactly the kind of white-knuckle affair that has been trying my toy collector patience as of late. Just the fact that he’s going for twice the retail price since selling out is proof positive that Hasbro needs to rethink its distribution strategy. But, with all that having been said… Boy did Hasbro go all out on the packaging here. There’s a corner-slipcase that slides off to reveal what looks like the Cobra Lab that engineered this big baddie, as well as the garage where his Air Chariot was built. Open up the slick hybrid DNA-Cobra Insignia and you reveal the figure and some cases containing his accessories. Pull out the entire tray and you reveal the unassembled Air Chariot. It’s some absolutely wonderful presentation that looks like a Convention Exclusive, and the character art absolutely kicks ass. Let’s start with a look at the figure first, and then we’ll check out the Air Chariot. Buckle in, Snakelings, this will be a long one!

And… Wow, what a gorgeous figure! I’m pleased to report that Classified Serpentor doesn’t deviate from his original vintage toy design. Indeed, this is a pitch-perfect update, which captures all the beautiful eccentricity of the snake suit we first saw way back when, only with a lot more detail and realism added to the sculpt. The scaly copper suit features a golden snake belly running up the chest, and a similar motif down on the boots. Green armor plates are added to the knees and thighs, as well as scaled green fingerless gauntlets on his forearms. His belt is a snake wrapped around his waist, with the centered snake’s head looking out with the most adorable little expression, which I will have to admit is kind of unintentionally hilarious. DOES ANYONE ELSE FEEL LIKE A HAVING A LITTLE CHORTLE WHEN THEY GAZE UPON MY CUTESY SNAKE FACE BELTBUCKLE??? SIR, NO SIR! Similar green snakes touch tails at the center of his chest and coil under his arms, and up around the tops of his shoulders. The ensemble is punctuated with a green cloth cape, complete with a quilted scale pattern. Classified Serpentor definitely takes this ridiculous design and absolutely owns it. This guy looks like the worst combination of crazy and terrifying, just like a proper undead snake emperor should be. As far as the suit is concerned, Hasbro nailed it and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Hasbro did something rather interesting with the portrait, which I didn’t know about until opening the figure. He comes out of the box with a fixed cobra headdress, which prevents any neck articulation, as it essentially fuses his head to his upper back. I’m not sure this was entirely necessary, as I think the alternative that we’ll see in a bit is every bit as good, but I guess it’s nice to have options. Either way, the sculpt is fabulous with some lovely detail in the Cobra hood, and the way the snake’s mouth opens to frame Serpentor’s face. And what a face it is! Serpentor looks like he’s eternally cross with whoever happens to be in front of him. He has a dour scowl on his face and narrowing red eyes. Hot damn, this is an impressive sculpt, only brought down a few pegs by the pudgy snake fangs that dangle in front of his brow. Yeah, those could have been done better, but that’s literally the only thing I can find to nitpick with this figure so far.

To swap heads, the cobra hood and top of the snake head comes off as one piece and gets replaced as two. Thus, Serpentor’s head is no longer attached to the hood and can articulate freely. Again, I think this looks fine, and I can’t imagine ever again bothering with the other pieces. The face sculpt is the same, and to be honest, had Hasbro not included the fixed style headdress, I wouldn’t have missed it at all. All things being equal, I would rather have had a shouty angry face to swap out instead of the fused snake hood. Onward to the accessories!

First off, Serpentor comes with his extendable blades on his right arm, although they aren’t actually extendable, but rather create the illusion with two different pieces: One with blades retracted, and one with them extended. These simply tab into a slot in the arm. I remember my original figure having a sculpted silver thing on that arm, but I’m not sure I knew that’s what it was. It’s a cool weapon, but even the retracted piece is a bit cumbersome. I would have liked to have had a plain plug to pop into the socket as well.

Hey, remember in the cartoon when Serpentor would grab one of the snakes off his shoulder, make a javelin out of it and impale his enemies with it? Well, here you get one of those snake javelins! Can you imagine working at a place where your boss throws living snake harpoons at you when you don’t perform effectively? Yeah, no thanks!

Next up is this rather regal looking Cobra scepter. Because wearing an entire snake suit doesn’t quite drive the point home enough, right? This comes across as a bit much to me, and I may wind up giving it to Cobra Commander. It is a nice piece, though. I appreciate that Hasbro even painted the rubies at the base of the shaft.

How about a short sword? This bitchin piece of cutlery has a funky, futuristic-style silver blade and a gold hilt with yet another Cobra head sculpted on it. I love the fact that Serpentor carries a sword around instead of a gun, no doubt a callback to all that historic warrior blood he’s gut pumping through his undead veins. I kind of get a little bit of a Roman Gladius vibe off of it. Pity he doesn’t have a scabbard or a loop or something to carry it. OK, so we got a snake javelin, a snake scepter, a snake-hilted sword… what’s left?

An goddamned snake, that’s what! This is kind of weird accessory, since it doesn’t seem like it’s really made to interact with Serpentor, so I guess you just put it by him. Maybe it’s a pet? Or a distant relative? Maybe it’s transformed Cobra Commander? It’s a damn fine sculpt and I sure don’t mind getting it in the box, but it might have been cooler to have it sculpted so that it could wrap around his arm or neck, or allow him to wear it in some way. But hey… Bonus snake! And that wraps up Serpentor’s plethora of accessories, so let’s move on to his rather iconic vehicle, The Air Chariot!

Part of me was not absolutely sure that we were going to get this vehicle when Serpentor was first teased, especially since we didn’t get Zartan’s Swamp Skier, and boy am I still bitter about that! But it’s hard to stay mad when I’m holding this absolute work of toy art in my hands! The Air Chariot is big and beefy and absolutely packed with detail, and a few cool little features. The bulk of the toy is cast in gold plastic, but you do get some beautiful gold and copper paint applications to pick out the detail and make it shine. There are some panel lines and hatches sculpted in the hull, and the bolted panels on the wings give it a bit of a retro WWII vibe. I also love the hazard warnings and other practical markings that really harken back to the stickers on the original RAH vehicles. All it’s missing is a couple dozen NOT A STEP signs. These little touches give this crazy design a grounded sense of realism that sells it wonderfully. The massive guns can articulate indepentently of one another, and can also be removed and wielded by The Cobra Emperor himself, should the Air Chariot get shot down and Serpentor has to make a last stand.

Some fun features include three retractable landing gear, and a VTOL engine that can spin, but only by flicking it. It doesn’t have a trigger mechanism or anything like that. The cobra’s mouth even opens to reveal a gun and folding fangs. I think the only thing missing is a clear flight stand. I don’t want to complain too much, because I really am absolutely in love with this toy, but not including a stand similar to what Hasbro gave to the Star Wars Black Series Speeder Bikes feels like a huge oversight.

Serpentor can mount his Chariot by using the foot pegs and grasping the steering column. It’s a perfect fit, and I imagine that he would stay put, even if I were to whoosh it around the room making pew pew noises and shouting THIS, I COMMAND! But I’m a 50yo dude, and I would never do that, so I can’t say for sure, riiight?

At $80, I confess that I balked at the price a little, even when I slammed that pre-order down, but from the moment I took this out of the shipping box I have been beyond impressed with what we got. From the first class packaging and presentation to the superb figure and the intricate detail on the Air Chariot, this set is an absolute winner and well worth the price to me. And seeing how well Hasbro executed the Air Chariot makes me excited for future prospects of the Trouble Bubble and perhaps the FANG. After coming off the high of reviewing Tomax and Xamot, and now this, I have to say that GI JOE Classified has been one of the most consistently impressive toy lines of this year. I’d say only Super7’s Ultimate ThunderCats have been given Classified a run for its money, and that may not be a fair comparison, since one is designed for retail and one is not. Which brings me back to the Pulse Exclusive thing. Hasbro, you gotta fix that and make Serpentor available as a wide release through online retailers. A figure this great, and a character this important, shouldn’t be hard to get.

Nov 21 2022

Marvel Legends (X-Men): Mojo by Hasbro

Welcome to another Marvel Monday! I’m still meandering about and having a look at some one-offs and multipacks before starting in on a new wave of Marvel Legends. This week, I thought I’d keep the X-Men love rolling along with a look at the Deluxe Mojo release. So grab your favorite carbonated beverage, have a seat, and whatever you do, don’t touch that dial! We don’t want to tank the ratings!

I love Mojo! Or to be more accurate, I love all the backstory that surrounds him and the Mojoverse. It’s just the kind of batshit crazy sci-fi and on-the-nose satire that I love to find in my funnybooks! So naturally I was excited to the Grand Poobah of The Spineless Ones drop into the new Marvel Legends! This is the regular retail release of Mojo, but it was preceded by a multipack, which I believe Hasbro was calling an SDCC Exclusive. That set came with Longshot, Dazzler, and a Baby Wolverine. I was close to pulling the trigger on that release, but the Dazzler looked a lot like the retro-packaged release I already have, the Wolvie wasn’t really impressive, and I decided to just gamble on Longshot getting a release later on down the road, because… C’MON, HASBRO, YOU HAVE TO!!! Honestly, if it had included Spiral, I probably would have jumped at it, but now we know we’re getting her as a retro-carded release. Anyway… Mojo comes in a fully enclosed box with all his pieces wrapped in tissue paper. Yes, there is assembly required on this one, making me wonder if he wasn’t originally designed to be a BAF, like the old Toybiz version. The upper body and belly come in two pieces, the chair is three pieces, and you get two heads, two cables, and two sets of hands. Actually, a couple of the pieces are pretty large, so I doubt it really would have worked as a Build-A-Figure. Well, let’s slap this slug together and see what he’s all about!

First impressions? Mojo is a big, satisfying figure, but the sculpt is a mixed bag and Mojo himself looks really bland and in desperate need of more paint apps. Where’s the sickly slime? Where are the bumps and pustules? It’s just a lot of smooth skin. Couldn’t even paint them nipples, Hasbro? All in all, the deco is so simple, he looks more like an animated version. Actually scratch that, because I re-watched Mojoverse from the X-Men animated series while I was opening him, and the cartoon version really had more detail than this figure. The deco comes up especially short when compared to the delightfully gross look of the old Toybiz Legends release. You get a little bit of reddish shading around the bottom edge where his body meets the chair, and a little more around the shoulders and elbows, but that’s really it. What a shame!

The chair, on the other hand features some pretty nice detail, even if it is mostly just left as bare gray plastic. A little wash would have been nice, but all we get is some blue and red paint hits for some of the simulated lights I really dig the exposed nest of wires at the back of the chair, and the rather gross machine elements that intrude their way into Mojo’s flesh on the sides. It’s also cool how his skin is pressed in where the clamps secure him to the chair. The chair rests on four clear plastic bumps to give it the illusion that the spider legs are holding it up. Each of the legs are articulated with rotating hinges where they meet the body and at two other points, but they clearly aren’t up to the task of supporting the weight of Mojo and the chair. And that’s fine, the effect still looks good. You also get two grabber arms coming out of the front with the same rotating hinges to pose them. One has a partially closed claw, which is good for grabbing onto X-Men arms and legs, while the other is open. The hoses that connect to the back of the chair and into Mojo’s shoulders hold fairly well, but they did pop out a few times when I was posing him. The scorpion-like tail that arches up over the chair with its brace of weapons is rigid and not poseable.

The two portraits are pretty good. I especially like the detail in the cybernetic hair and all the little probes and wires coming down to hold his eyes open. This first head is my favorite of the two, as it has his mouth open and his tongue licking out between his agape jaws. It’s an excellent sculpt, and while the paint here is a little better than the rest of the body, I still feel like it needed more. There’s a splash of gloss around the mouth to give it a bit of slimy look, but the figure needed a lot more of that to keep it from looking so flat. The tongue and teeth really could have used a gloss coat too. The few scattered pimples on his neck, just serve to remind me how little else there is in the way of body detail.

The second head just features a big toothy, dementated grin. It’s still an excellent sculpt, but let down a little by the sloppy paint lines between gums and teeth. Everything else here is just as good as the first head, but I doubt I’ll display this one much at all. The other one is just so much more dynamic and expressive. I should note that I found it exceedingly difficult to get this head onto the ball joint. I had to use a lot of force to get it on, which is all the more reason for me not to swap them out very often.

Mojo’s articulation includes rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps. double hinges in the elbows, and pegged hinges in the wrists. You get two sets of hands, one are sort of open-grabby hands, the other set includes a right pointing hand, and a somewhat closed grasp that can be used to hold a figure. The upper body is on a ball jointed stalk, and the neck is set on a kind of dog bone ball joint. He attaches to the chair via three pegs, a strong central one and two smaller ones, so he is incapable of turning his body in the chair. Overall, I have no gripes with the articulation. He can do pretty much everything I want him to.

In the end, I like this figure a lot, but I don’t love it. At $55, there’s a lot of plastic here, two excellent portraits, and a lot of good articulation. But the paint apps are severely lacking. I’m totally fine with the chair, but Mojo himself needed some more detail in the body. Ideally, I would have liked to see more sculpted detail, but I really think that a decent paint job alone could have remedied the blandness that I’m seeing. It’s worth noting that the SDCC Exclusive got a bit more paint on the body, and that would really piss me off if it wasn’t executed in such a half-assed manner. The SDCC deco basically just amounts to some gray spots, and I’m it’s kind of a toss up to me, whether it actually looks better or worse than this retail release. In terms of larger Deluxe figures, this one is passable, but not nearly as impressive as the MODOK release.

Nov 18 2022

J. Scott Campbell’s Fairytale Fantasies: Red Riding Hood by Sideshow

I’ve been working on getting caught up on showcasing the Fairytale Fantasy statue collaboration between J. Scott Campbell and Sideshow, when a brand new release hit my doorstep and I decided to bump her to the head of the line. This time we’re checking out Red Riding Hood! If you’re not familiar with this series feel free to get caught up by checking out The Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell, but basically these are polystone statues based on J. Scott Campbell’s take on famous ladies from timeless fairy tales! And while Red Riding Hood here will be the third statue I’ve covered here, I still need to double back to check out both Alice from Wonderland and Cinderella!

Red comes in the biggest box yet. I mean, I was seriously not expecting a box this big. I imagine that’s because the scale has been a little varied here. The Little Mermaid is only partially showing above the surface of the water, making her a bit on the small side and Tinkerbell is a small subject to begin with. But Red here is a full Sixth-Scale statue, measuring about 19-inches if you include the base and branches. Needless to say, this box is plenty big. It feature some really classy designs, as well as the actual art that inspired the statue on the front panel. Red was available in a Standard Edition and a Sideshow Exclusive, which is the one we’ll be looking at today! This edition was limited to 2,000 pieces and hand numbered on the box and the bottom of the base. Mine is number 704! Assembling the statue is pretty simple. She pegs into the base, her arms are attached by magnets, and the tree components of the display attach to the base by magnets as well. Let’s have a look!

Well, this is not the little Red Riding Hood that I remember seeing illustrated in my storybooks when I was a kid. If it were, I might have hit puberty a little earlier. Here Red cuts quite the shapely figure wearing a black and white corset, skimpy skirt, high black boots, and indeed a red hood with a short cape. She also comes equipped with a trusty crossbow and a basket of special goodies. I do love the pose here, as it’s fairly neutral while still evoking a bit of a story. While tracking through the snowy woods to Grandma’s house, she suddenly stops in response to a twig breaking, or perhaps a distant wolfy growl, (or maybe spotting the giant wolf tracks in the snow!) and readies her weapon for the first sign of trouble. All the while, the sinister woods snake around her like spindly claws waiting to strike. Wow!

As always, JSC knows how to bring the sex appeal with his art and the wizards at Sideshow have done a beautiful job recreating it in polystone. Red’s outfit is not overly complex, but it does show some lovely flourishes, like the sculpted red laces in the corset, and the red bow that secures her cape around her neck. You get sculpted ruffled finery around the top edges of her bodice and a sense of simple elegance to the buccaneer style boots and gloves. The short cape and skirt are sculpted to lick up behind her, agitated perhaps by the wind, or from a sudden turn as she investigates a noise. Not only does it add a little energy to the pose, but it also gives you a little glimpse of Red Riding Hiney. The colors are great and have a soft matte finish, with some shading to the red garment and some soft, worm tones to Red’s skin.

Red’s portrait is JSC perfection, and boy I don’t say that lightly. His distinctive style is not easy to replicate in three-dimensions, and while Sideshow seems to have it nailed down, I can think of a few other producers who have missed the mark over the years. But here, it’s unmistakable in Red’s large almond-shaped blue eyes, her perfectly parted lips, and her shapely little nose. Her high cheeks have a warm rosy complexion, and the way her hair falls about her face is poetry in motion. I could stare at this beauty for hours!

The crossbow is a nice piece of kit, with a traditional wood-style stock and a metal crosspiece. The design has a few flourishes, but for the most part it emphasizes function over flair. The weapon is clocked with a bolt ready to fly. And I’m going to go ahead and assume that’s a silver tip.

Red’s left hand grips her basket of goodies, which has a beautifully sculpted weave pattern and a red cover to conceal its contents. Well, most of the contents. She does have a brace of bolts for her crossbow peeking out. What else could be in there? Caltrops? Holy Water? Crude sulfur grenades? I guess we’ll never know.

Moving down to the base, we get a simple disk pedestal holding a slice of snow-covered terrain, and dominated by two large wolf prints. Is the wolf hunting her, or is she the one hunting the wolf? The white-blue snow is disturbed by the claw-like tree branches, which sprout up as if to encompass her in their grasp. I absolutely love the way these are designed, with one low and reaching up, and the other snaking it’s way as if ready to grab her from behind. Perhaps they’re evil spirits of the forest come to life, but mostly I think they’re simply the artist’s license to add a further sense of danger and dread to the piece. The bottom of the base is fully illustrated and hand-numbered, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not photographing it, but this statue is heavy, and I don’t want to disassemble her to get the shot.

The Sideshow Exclusive release comes with a metal art card and stand. This is similar to what was issued with the Tinkerbell Exclusive, but that card was more concept art and this one looks more like a finished piece. I wasn’t able to get a metal card with The Little Mermaid, and as for Alice in Wonderland, I opted to get a signed statue over the card, so right now only two of my Fairytale Fantasies have the metal cards to display with them. I did, however, pick up this art as a signed print.

Red is still available through Sideshow at $340 for the regular edition, but with the Exclusive priced at only $10 more, why wouldn’t you? The prices on these have been creeping up since the initial two releases, but I didn’t mind so much with Red because she is absolutely huge compared to the other two releases I’ve showcased here. Besides, I can’t get enough of J. Scott Campbell’s art and I’m happy to see someone making premium statues that really do his unique style justice. And with Red finally under my belt, I’ll make an effort to take a look at Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland before the end of the year, so I can be all caught up. The newest release, The Evil Queen is already up for pre-order and expected to ship sometimes next year!

Nov 16 2022

Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron: Jango Fett’s Slave-1 by Jazwares

While I’ve only gotten around to checking out the Micro Galaxy Squadron X-Wing and TIE Fighter here on FFZ so far, I have been picking up Jazware’s tiny Star Wars ships here and there, and now I’m trying to find the time to open some of them. This Attack of the Clones version of Slave-1 came in most recently, so I decided to bump it to the head of the line! As a rule, I don’t really buy any Prequel stuff, because I’m not into the movies at all, but I was having a tough time finding the Empire Strikes Back version of Slave-1, so I settled for this one for now. And that’s fine, because if there’s one thing I do like about Attack of the Clones, it was Jango Fett.

The package calls this Jango Fett’s Starship, because Disney is still enforcing the absolutely f*cking ridiculous practice of no longer referring to this ship by name. Please note in the title that I am, because “Prisoners-With-Jobs-1” is too long to type. Seriously, Disney made a joke out of how stupid it was to be afraid to say the word SLAVE in one of their Marvel movies, and now they are literally afraid to do that very thing. Welcome to Clown World… You can’t make this shit up. Anyway, the box is really nice with some snappy foil in the deco and a space scene printed on the tray backing. The window shows off the toy beautifully and everything is collector friendly. I especially love how the tiny figures are enclosed in their own separate tray and bubble, as it’s nice to have a place to keep them even if you don’t want to keep the entire package. Let’s free this Slave-1 and check him out!

These ships continue to impress me with the intricacies of each sculpt, as Slave-1 features all the panel lines, vents, cables, and other bits and bobs that I would expect to find in the larger 3 3/4-inch scaled vehicle. The plastic used here is pretty light, but it still holds the details of the sculpt very well. A good part of the ship is just bare gray plastic with a light wash, but you do get some instances of paintwork, including the dark blue, green, and yellow trim in all the right places. There isn’t as much convincing weathering on this ship as there was on the X-Wing, but Slave-1 looked a lot less battered in Attack of the Clones than it did later on under Boba Fett’s stewardship, so I’m thinking what’s here is appropriate.

Jazwares went absolutely nuts detailing the ship’s undercarriage! Here you get the thrusters painted in a sort of mustard color and lots more panels, compartments, and whatnot sculpted into the plastic. For a part of the ship you aren’t going to see most of the time, I’m really impressed with what they did here.

They also made an opening hatch to show where the seismic charges are deployed. I like that they thought to include this feature, but the execution is pretty piss-poor. There’s no paint on the charge at all, so it kind of just looks like another part of the ship’s machinery. I really think the charge should have been painted, or better yet, actually have one that could be removed from the compartment. And while we’re on the subject of paint, it feels like the whole bottom of the ship should have been painted darker gray. I’ll come back to that idea again in a bit.

The gyro scoping gimmick found in the original Kenner Slave-1 is recaptured here, so as you maneuver the ship from its horizontal landing posture to its vertical flight mode, the “wings” will remain parallel to the ground. The two laser cannon at the end of the ship’s tail can be rotated 360-degrees independently of one another. Let’s take a quick look at the figures and how they can interact with the ship!

The set includes Jango Fett in his armor and young Boba, and I am sincerely blown away by how much attention to detail Jazwares has been able to pack into some of these tiny figures, and I think this pair is especially nice. Even when you punch in this close, most of the paint and details hold up, which is beyond impressive. You could randomly hand me that young Boba Fett figure and I’d know exactly who its supposed to be, and that’s quite an accomplishment when dealing with figures so tiny that the Macro mode on my shitty camera can barely lock on to them. As usual, these figures only have articulation in their hips and shoulders, to allow them to either stand or sit in their vehicle. You’ll notice that Jango’s jetpack is slightly askew. I’m pretty sure it’s meant to come off, but I can’t budge it without applying more force than I’m willing to give it.

Like previous 3 3/4-inch Slave-1 toys, the cockpit opens and the pilot seat orients itself with the “wings” as the ship is moved. Amazingly, there are three seats in this tiny ship, with the pilot riding in the front and two passengers in the back. The seat designs are genius, as the arm rests act as clips to hold the figures in place and they do that very well! The interior of the cockpit has a lot of detail, including the segmented deck plating and even the contours of the seats. Like the bottom of the ship, I would have loved to see the interior cabin painted a darker gray, or at least the platform and seats.

The cargo compartment also opens up and there’s a loading ramp and a hatch that opens and tucks into the top area to hold it open. This whole design is better implemented than some of the 3 3/4-inch versions we’ve had in the past. The cargo compartment contains a hinged weapons rack with sculpted grenades and guns. There’s a peg hole in the center and I can’t help but think that if I could get Jango’s jetpack off, it might be meant to peg in there, or perhaps that’s for a feature used in the ESB release. And once again, some darker gray paint on these areas would have gone a long way! I should note that there are no electronic features on this ship, and I’m fine with that.

There’s no doubt about it that Jazwares is pouring some wonderful design elements into these tiny ships. I absolutely love everything they did with this version of Slave-1, and with the exception of the rather cheap looking seismic charge hatch, the features here go above and beyond what I was expecting. Indeed, the only nitpicks I have are how much more could have been done with some added paint to the interior and undercarriage. My customizing skills aren’t the greatest, but even I would be tempted to pick up another one of these if it goes on sale, and add a little matte gray finish to the interior. In the meantime, I’m still on the hunt for the ESB version of Slave-1!

Nov 14 2022

Marvel Legends (X-Men): Excalibur Set by Hasbro

I’m between waves of Marvel Legends, and I’ve given more than enough time to HasLab Galactus, so I thought I’d knock out a look at some of the multi-packs and one-off Legends releases populating my backlog. I do have a couple of new waves to get to soon, as I did finally decide to complete The Controller Wave and The Bonebreaker Wave, so I’ll likely be jumping into one of those in December. Today, let’s have a look at this wonderful Excalibur three-pack, featuring Meggan, Shadowcat and Captain Britain… oh, and Lockheed too!

I was pretty damn excited when this set got revealed, but it finally shipped and arrived right before I was preparing to move, so it got lost in the shuffle, and I found it in a box after I was moved and unpacking. So, don’t misconstrue the fact that I’m only getting around to opening it now as any kind of disinterest. Indeed, I remember talking in the Comments Section of the last Legends Captain Britain review about how cool it would be to finally get Meggan in this line. And holy shit, that was almost six years ago! The window box is colorful and shows off the figure well, even if some of the character art doesn’t reflect the actual versions of the costumes in the box. Either way, the presentation looks so good, I will be returning to the package for display after I’m done! Let’s start with Captain Britain!

Rule Britannia! As mentioned, we last saw Captain Britain in Legends as part of the Abomination Wave back in 2017. It was a different costume, and I’m still a bit torn on which one I dig more. These are both excellent figures, but I’m leaning toward the earlier release just a bit. This costume is a bit cleaner and simpler, with the red, white, and blue pattern confined to his upper body and terminating to all white at the gauntlets and down to the knees. The bold red X on the chest looks nice and sharp, and his blue boots have some cool sculpted flares where they meet the knees. The paint quality here is excellent, but you do get the mismatched red pins showing on the inside of his elbow joints, which is a big bummer to a lot of collectors, but I can’t get too worked up about it.

There are two heads to choose from, with the main difference being the beard. The mask here is more of a hood and cowl, rather than the helmet that we got on the last Brian Braddock figure, and while I find the previous style more familiar, I actually like the look of this hood quite a bit, especially the rather prominent chin guard, and the way his facial features can be seen through the top of the mask. It definitely gave the sculptor a little more to work with. All in all, this is a great portrait!

The bearded head has some issues with the beard itself, where the paint looks like it was rubbed off on the mustache. It also looks like he has crumbs in the beard. It’s definitely a QC fail, but luckily I don’t have any attachment to the bearded Braddock. I’m guessing this is a modern thing, maybe from X-Men Gold? This head will not be getting a lot of display time.

As with his last release, Brian is built on one of the larger Legends bucks, making him an absolute bruiser. You get all the usual points of articulation, and the joints are all solid and strong, making him loads of fun to pose and play with. He also comes with two sets of hands, which include fists and his sword holding hands. And that leads us to…

Excalibur! This is a really nicely sculpted sword with some inlay patterns in the blade, a ribbed black grip, and a disk pommel. I would have really liked to see the blade painted silver to give it a little extra pop, but the bare gray plastic works well enough. The grip is extended to allow for two-handed use, but I think it looks just fine in one hand. OK, let’s move on to Meggan!

Even six years ago, Legends was turning out a lot of varied characters, but I don’t think I ever really expected Meggan to get the figure treatment, but all bets have been off long since then, and now I don’t think character is truly off the table! I dig the more mystical flavor of her powers and I’m always going to love a fellow Doctor Who fan! Meggan uses a pretty standard female buck and gets by with paint for her costume details. The hunter green bodysuit with black deco looks great, and the paint lines are even used to complete the bare shoulder look. Likewise, we get paintwork extending the her anklecuffs down the tops of her feet and between her toes. I think the bare feet are new sculpts, as I can only remember seeing some male figures sans shoes.

The portrait just oozes character… and hair! I think this is the first Marvel Legends figure to actually have dimples, which is a worthwhile achievement for Meggan. Overall, I like her smile and the way it even translates to her eyes, but I suppose a case could be made that the expression straddles that line between delighted and crazy. The flowing copious coif of hair isn’t quite enough to make Medusa jealous, but there is a lot of it. Luckily it hovers up off the shoulders a bit so as not to impede the neck articulation too badly at all. The hair is also positioned so as to showcase her cute pointed ears.

Meggan has the standard female Legends articulation, which means we trade bicep swivels and double hinged elbows for rotating hinges in the elbows. It’s never a good trade, but it is what it is. She does not have any accessories, but she does come with two sets of hands, which includes fists and the mystical spell-slinging splayed-finger hands that we have seen many times over, and they work well with her character. All in all, the joints here feel good, and while her hair is composed of a great deal of plastic, I was surprised at how little difficulty was involved in getting her to stand up… at least in neutral postures. Moving on to our last stop… it’s Shadowcat!

We last saw Kitty Pryde in Legends way back in 2016 as part of the absolutely smashing Juggernaut Wave and wearing her traditional black and yellow X-Men suit. Here we get her as Shadowcat in her Excalibur garb, or at least a fairly close approximation of it. The costume is mostly vibrant blue, with a slightly lighter shade of blue used for her tights and sash. We get some new sculpting here in the poofy-sleeved top, complete with stylish popped collar. We’ve certainly seen the belt sash more than a few times, but it works pretty well for the costume. One thing i am glad to see here is that Shadowcat is a little more reasonably sized than her Kitty Pryde release, which was rather tall.

I am very pleased with the portrait here! She’s pretty and is offering a beaming smile, as if she’s about to tell the readers that some of the content of this issue may be offensive to natives of Alpha Centauri. The mask is part of the face sculpt, which is always nice as it adds a little depth. The hair could have been a bit more curly, but I’m really nitpicking now. The hair rides a little bit over her shoulders, but it still gets in the way of neck articulation a little bit.

Shadowcat’s articulation is right in line with Meggan’s, and yup that means that we get the rotating hinges in the elbows instead of the better articulation that the dudes get. Hasbro appears to be chainging this up a bit with some recent releases, and I’m hoping that they will eventually phase out their terrible practice of articulation discrimination. You get the same two styles of hands here as we saw with Meggan, so fists and splayed finger hands.

Shadowcat comes with Lockheed, and he’s a cool little sculpt cast in soft plastic. The tail is coiled a bit, and I assume that’s intended to wrap around her neck so he can sit on her shoulder, just like the Kitty Pryde figure. Unfortunately, Shadowcat has more hair and less shoulder, so it doesn’t work quite as well. Still, there are some fun ways to display the two.

Wow, is this a wonderful little set! I remember pre-ordering this one the moment it went live, and it’s one of those instances where it paid off. The set sold quite well, and while you can still get a number of the other X-Men multipacks at or below retail, this one seems to be only available now at higher prices on the second-hand market, or sellers are piecing out the individual figures. Yes, there are some costume inconsistencies, but I’m still thrilled to have this trio on my shelf! I am a bit surprised and disappointed that we haven’t had Rachel Summers turn up in a wave since this release, but here’s hoping that happens sooner rather than later.

Nov 11 2022

G.I. JOE Classified: Tomax and Xamot by Hasbro

Hasbro’s Classified GI JOE line continues to fire on all cylinders and churn out some absolutely fantastic figures. Sure, Cobra seems to be getting the most attention, but when the figures are this great, I’m not going to complain. Today, I’m checking out the Crimson Guard Commanders: Tomax and Xamot!

It’s incomprehensible to me why Hasbro didn’t release these guys in a two-pack. I would have been really pissed if I was able to get one and had to hunt for the other. But, as luck would have it, the online distribution for the Twins was plentiful and I was able to get the pair without any troubles. Although, I found it a little vexing that Xamot did arrive a few days before Tomax. I think it would have been cool if they mirrored the boxes to match the figures, but I can understand why they wouldn’t want to redesign the box for just one release. Anyway, it’s hard for me to put my finger on why I was so infatuated with The Crimson Twins back in the day. Maybe it was because I was introduced to them in the Sunbow cartoon before I actually got the figures, but I remember endlessly bugging my parents about them, and when I finally got them, they were the main actors involved in every single Cobra mission for a long while. I just dig everything about them!

And boy did Hasbro hit a homerun with these Classified versions! I’ve commented many times about how Hasbro has maneuvered Classified to be more and more in line with the original character designs, and in this case, they unswervingly followed the vintage Real American Hero figure aesthetics when crafting these modern 6-inch versions. Naturally, the figures are mirror images of each other, with Tomax having the shoulder and neck guard on his right side, and the red sash on his right shoulder. For his brother, these are switched up to the left shoulder… and so on. The symmetrical parts of the figure are mostly identical, but you do get sheathed daggers on each figure’s opposite hip and leg. The uniforms are deep blue, which looks great with the crimson sash and accents on the legs and belt. A lot of the silver is cast in silver plastic, and while this is pretty light plastic, it looks fine and matches the silver on the boots and thigh guards quite well. The bodies contain the usual Classified points of articulation, and the shoulder armor is flexible so as not to inhibit the range of motion in those shoulders.

I expected Hasbro to just mirror the head sculpts as well, but there are some subtle differences, which make for a very nice surprise. Indeed, most of the mirrored effect is found in the way they part their hair. The key difference is the jagged scar sculpted onto Xamot’s left cheek. I haven’t gone back to look, but I am clearly misremembering that it was Tomax that had the scar on his right cheek. Whatever the case, the portraits here are excellent, and I really dig their evil smirks.

Each Twin comes with a pair of matched Kris (serpentine bladed) Daggers, with one sheathed on the hip and the other on the leg. These have black hilts with painted silver blades and round pommels. The twins have dual gun hands, but they can hold the daggers fairly well, especially if you tuck the guard between two of the fingers. Generally speaking, the cutlery doesn’t impress me all that much in the Classified line. Knives and daggers are pretty small at this scale, and there’s only so much you can do with them. That having been said, I love these!

Instead of the oversized blaster pistols included with the vintage figures, each Classified Twin also comes with a sub-machine gun, which is the biggest departure from the originals. These are cast in black plastic, and have removable magazines and silencers. I’d argue that Hasbro should have given us both options, but even though they didn’t, I’m still happy with these more realisitc weapons. They look great wielding them! Alas, we didn’t get the Skyhook included with the original figures, and that does seem like a rather big omission.

Classified has been blowing me away with each and every release lately, and the Crimson Guard Commanders are yet another example of that. These figures are exactly what I’m looking for in this line: 6-inch scale versions of the RAH designs, and boy do they deliver on that! The articulation gives them pretty much everything they need to show off their circus-style acrobatics, and while I would have liked to see the RAH weapons included as a bonus, I’m not going to complain about their omission. It would have been a shame to have these guys and not have some Crimson Guard for them to command, but thankfully Hasbro made sure their troops shipped at the same time as they did, and I’ll be checking them out next week!

Nov 9 2022

Star Wars Black Series (The Mandalorian): New Republic Security Droid by Hasbro

Today is sort of Friday for me, as I have the next three days off. I plan on sleeping, boozing, and playing some video games, but for now I’m stopping in to check out a new Star Wars Black Series figure from The Mandalorian! It’s the New Republic Security Droid! And the title already told you that! So, let’s go!!!

These fellas were first seen in the season one episode, The Prisoner… Have we seen them since? I honestly can’t remember, but I do hope we see these Droids again in some sort of prominent capacity. Indeed, the entire episode’s character roster has been woefully underserved by the Black Series, or even the Vintage Collection for that matter. All we got so far is Zero, and I still have to get around to reviewing him. Anyway, I don’t have a lot to say about the packaging, except to note how much space there is for stuff I would have liked to see included. But let’s put a pin in that for a moment.

I really dig this design a lot! It’s distinctive, and yet has a flavor that certainly fits the Star Wars Universe. The design is trim enough to look like they would be fairly agile in combat, and yet the design still looks sturdy enough to endure a fight. The reinforced chest armor perhaps shields his CPU and important bits, while he also has a fairly beefy groinular region, perhaps to protect his other important bits. The limbs are thin, but not quite spindly, and the joints are slightly evocative of the familiar Imperial Security Droid design, with the same type of jointing and fairly similar feet and hands. The sculpting here is pretty sharp and a nice mix of angular and rounded features. Most of the Droid’s chassis is left as bare matte plastic, while you get some nice silver-gray paint in the compartment around the neck. He has two New Republic insignia, one on left side of his chest, and the other toward the bottom of his recessed backpack, and some additional matching orange panels. There’s a stray spot of silver dry brush on his chest, which I assume is a flub, but it actually looks like a bit of weathering and I would have liked to see more of that.

The head is a no-nonsense, functional design. You get a slab of gray with a yellow visual sensor across the top. These guys clearly aren’t designed with personality in mind, but simply to substitute for organics in battle. I find it interesting that the Imperial Security Droid’s portrait has a lot more expressive personality over this New Republic fighter, but that’s probably because we were first introduced to the K2 Droid in Rogue One as a character we were supposed to like and relate to, whereas these fellas were technically the bad guys of the episode. He has one stubby antenna protruding from the top of his head.

The articulation here is excellent, with all the usual points you would expect to see in a human character. There isn’t quite as much lateral movement in the shoulders as I would like and his elbows can only do about a 90-degrees bend, but all in all I’m very pleased with what we got. The joints are strong and not at all gummy, and he’s surprisingly fun to pose!

You get one accessory here, and that’s the DH-17 style Blaster. The weapon is cast in black plastic and has a silver painted muzzle. The sculpt is a little soft, but there’s still plenty of detail to be seen. The right hand is designed to hold the gun, and includes a trigger finger, while the left hand is designed to cradle or steady the weapon. And herein comes my main complaint with this figure… I think there should have been more in the box, namely a battle damaged head and chest plate.

I was very happy to see this figure released, but at about $25, the price seemed really steep. A little patience turned them up at $15 a pop at an online retailer, and that made me grab three. It’s very cool to finally get some army-builder soldiers for the good guys, and the fact that they’re Droids sweetens the pot! These guys are surprisingly fun to play around with and pose, and they are sturdy and well balanced. With some battle damaged parts, I would have jumped at the retail price, but thankfully the deal allowed me to build a little squad of these New Republic Clankers. If they turn up again at that price, I may grab a couple more, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a Vintage Collection release to add to my carded 3 3/4-inch Mandalorian collection.

Nov 7 2022

Marvel Legends (HasLab): Galactus by Hasbro

It took some doing, but I was able to set something up where I could adequately photograph something as big as HasLab’s latest Big Boi and so, having checked out the three Heralds that came with him last week, I’m going to try to tackle Galactus himself. And yes, I realize that I’ve now dedicated three different posts to this guy, so if you’re getting Galactus fatigue, I can promise you this should be the last time. But, hey… It was a long wait to get this guy in hand, and he was stupid expensive, so just humor me this one last time! If you aren’t familiar with the concept of HasLab, it’s basically Hasbro’s own version of Kickstarter. They propose a toy that could not comfortably be sold at retail due to size and price, and if they get enough backers, the project goes through. I have only supported three of these so far. The Mandalorian Razor Crest was the first, and I received that a little while ago. Galactus was the second, and the third is the GI JOE Classified HISS Tank, which will hopefully arrive sometime next year. As a method of selling toys, HasLab has been somewhat polarizing among collectors, with some embracing the idea and others crying that it will invoke the end of reasonably priced toys. As for me? Well, I back what I like and let everyone else enjoy what I don’t. The process has been pretty hit-and-miss for Hasbro, with a number of their projects not reaching their respective goals. Anyway… I’ve shown the box a couple times already, so let’s just jump in and look at the figure!

Measuring in at nearly three feet tall, Galactus comes out of the box mostly assembled. All you have to do is attach the two spires onto his head. These pieces do not appear to be designed to come off again, and I’m not willing to risk trying it, so if I want to put him back in his box, I would have to deep-six the styrofoam tray insert. Also, if you want to enjoy the light show, you’ll need to have a screwdriver handy and install four AAA batteries: Two into a compartment hidden under the top of his helmet, and two more into the compartment hidden at the base of his neck. Yup, even with a $400 price tag, Hasbro couldn’t toss in four generic AAA batteries. I’m of the opinion that they should have not only included the batteries, but probably a screwdriver as well. My first impression of the figure was that it felt very much like an upscaled version of Hasbro’s Masterwork Galactus from the Marvel Universe line… that is until I put the two together and realized just how much more detailed and complex this new version is. Everything about this guy is taken to the next level, and I am mighty pleased with what we got! The sculpt is suitably detailed with some of Galactus’ costume cast in softer plastic and layered onto the figure. Much of the coloring is achieved through colored plastic, but we do get some nice light blue paint hits, which sort of resemble illuminated points that match the actual lights.

I did not back HasLab’s Sentinel figure, but from what I’ve seen it had some issues with the articulation holding up the figure’s bulk. I’m very happy to see that Hasbro addressed those issues with Galactus, as he has some crazy strong ratchets in his knees and hips to keep him upright, and even his ankles are impressively up to the task. I’ve had him standing on display in various poses for over a week now and haven’t had any issues with him toppling over or flopping. I can’t say I’m happy that Sentinel backers had to take the bullet on this issue, but I’m still glad to see the lesson was learned by Hasbro and improvements were made. Remarkably, most of Galactus’ articulation mirrors that of a regular Marvel Legends BAF, and that includes double-hinges in the elbows and knees, full rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, and up in the thighs, and hinges in the ankles. It’s hard to see what’s going on up there in the torso, but I’m going to guess he has a ball joint in the waist and an ab crunch further up, but whatever the case, the torso articulation seems mostly for adjusting his balance, rather than dynamic posing. The separation of the electronics between the head and torso, means that his neck is articulated, but mostly to turn left and right. I was pretty sure his skirt would inhibit the range of motion in his hips, but it really doesn’t, and the fact that his harness is soft plastic, it doesn’t hurt his torso articulation too badly either. You also get fully articulated fingers, as well as rotating hinges in the wrists. I was sure he didn’t have lateral rockers in the ankles, but eventually I discovered them while playing around with him. The chest and shoulder piece does inhibit his shoulder range a bit, but it’s nothing that really irked me while playing with him.

The head sculpt is dominated by Galactus’ rather elaborate helmet and I am extremely pleased with the way it came out. There’s a lot going on and it looks absolutely smashing! You get three different face plates, which are cast in a soft, rubbery plastic and can be swapped out pretty easily, by just grabbing the nose and giving it a wiggle. The softer plastic works well to give it more of a fleshy appearance, especially when contrasted with the hard plastic of his helmet. I really dig the way the eyes are done, as they are recessed and behind clear plastic lenses. This was probably done to facilitate the lights, but even when not lit, it makes the eyes look so mysterious and more realistic. The default face is a wonderful sculpt, featuring a dour expression, with some excellent detail paid to the lines in the face and texturing of the lips.

The second face is definitely more expressive, and it may be my favorite of the three plates. The sculpting on the exposed teeth is just beyond fantastic, and the snarl really suits him. I’m debating whether or not this one will be the one I primarily display on the figure. This one is definitely the creepier of the two regular faces, but the first one feels more in character to me, and there’s something about the calmer face that makes Galactus seem all the more sinister. Luckily, they are easy to swap out, so I can do it as the mood strikes me!

The final face plate is the half-skull look, which is probably the most impressive sculpt of the three, and it looks like pure nightmare fuel when attached. Still, not really the look I want to go for most of the time, so this one will not be utilized a lot. Yeah, that’s a shame because of the beautiful work that went into it, but it’s not like I’m going to buy an extra Big Boi Galactus just to show off another face. I may be crazy when it comes to toys, but not that crazy! Before checking out the final portrait option, let’s check out the electronics…

Straightaway, it is disappointing to report that Galactus has lights but no sound. Sure, I knew this going in, but I think that somewhere along the way I had forgotten it. I honestly don’t see why they couldn’t have just taken the sound clips from Masterworks Galactus and put them in the big guy, because those are excellent. But at least it gives me reason to keep Galactus Jr. in the collection. Even some kind of start up sound would have been cool. But, with that being said, at least I can report that the lights are beautiful! You get a blue light up effect in the center of his chest, center of his back, the eyes, the helmet, and the two ear pieces and they are all bright enough to show up even in a bright studio environment. They will even pulse from time to time. As someone who is seldom impressed by lights in toys, I have to say that this really looks great. It’s a shame Hasbro couldn’t have included a motion sensor, but that’s no big deal, because activating them is as simple as pressing the circle on his chest. But, not having a mode where the lights will stay on is a strange omission. Indeed, you can’t even seem to turn them off manually, but rather have to wait for the timer to run out.

Oh yeah… Remember that time Doctor Doom transferred his mind into Galactus? Well, you get a Doctor Doom head to sort of recreate that! For me, this really teeters between being unbelievably cool and something I could have done without. I guess I’d need to know what the alternative pack-in could have been if we didn’t get the Doom Head. The sculpt on the mask is pretty good, but the exposed skin inside the eyeholes isn’t terribly convincing. I also don’t like the gaps between the neck and the hood. There are no light features with this head, but the chest and back lights can still be activated with Doom Head attached. All in all, it’s fine, but I can’t see myself ever displaying it on the figure. I’ll likely try to find something that will work as a stand and display it somewhere nearby.

I already checked out the Heralds last week, but here are some shots of them interacting with their Master. As mentioned last time, both Silver Surfer and Nova have effect bases that fit into Galactus’ hands and they work really well at keeping them put for long-term display. Surfer’s connecting part is pretty self-explanatory, whereas Nova’s was a little tougher to figure out and even now I’m not sure I’m using it correctly. Morg doesn’t have anything like that, but I’ll probably just put him at Galactus’ feet along with Cosmic Ghost Rider, Terrax, and Herald Thor.

And before wrapping things up, here are a few comparison shots of Masterwork Galactus with Haslab Galactus. I still like the Masterwork figure a lot, but I can’t deny it looks a little rough and dated compared to the new HasLab Hotness.

Was Haslab Galactus worth the wait and money? For me, the answer is an unequivocal YES! Sure, there are a few things to nitpick here, but not a single one of them has hindered my enjoyment of this toy. This is a gorgeous figure that looks amazing on display and he appears to be extremely well made. I’m not going to lie, at $400, I think his price tag probably should have clocked in at around $50-75 less. It is a direct-to-consumer deal, and while Hasbro still had to throw some money at Disney for licensing, they didn’t have to give retailers a cut, and since these were made to order, there was less risk involved with sell-through. I don’t pretend to know all the economics behind this operation, but I do know when it comes to a giant Galactus figure, my financial judgement cannot be trusted. Hasbro named a price, and I said said, “Let’s do it!” I’m actually looking forward to displaying Mezco’s One:12 Fantastic Four when they finally ship.

Nov 4 2022

ThunderCats Ultimates: Captain Hammerhand by Super7

It’s been about two months since I last visited with Super7’s Ultimate ThunderCats, and that’s just unacceptable. I’ve still got a bunch of figures from this line to check out, and the pre-orders for the newest wave has got me motivated to get caught up. So, let’s get this going with a look at Super7’s first foray into the fearsome Berserkers… It’s Captain Hammerhand!

Once again, this line’s packaging never fails to impress. Super7 has been sticking with the same glossy black sleeve over window box, which just oozes class. The sleeve features Mumm-Ra’s symbol, which Super7 has been using for all the baddies that have allied themselves with The Ever-Living Evil Lord. The spacious window gives you a look at the figure and all the goodies inside, and you get some nice character art and a little blurb about Hammerhand on the back. And may I say that this is one of the best character blurbs of all time, as it contains the phrase, “in search of delicious unicorns!” One of the many cool things about the ThunderCats was all the crazy villains that were introduced and often returned. The Berserkers were among my favorites!

Super7 has been adopting the animated style for their Ultimates line, and that’s certainly the case here with Hammerhand. I’m happy to have the cartoon-style, but props have to be given to how absolutely freaking creepy the old LJN figure was. He had a crack-addled rage face and unsettling proportions, but this version is the one I know best. It’s also worth noting that this is based on his later appearance, as he looked very different in his debut episode. Here, Hammerhand sports some bright yellow trousers with a booted right foot and a giant mechanical left foot. His wide belt features a skull and bones motif with some red to give an extra splash of color. He shows off his mighty six-pack of abs, and I don’t blame him because he is positively chiseled up in there. Looks like that unicorn meat is not a fatty food. His chest is encased in black armor, his left arm is mostly bare, with a bicep cuff and a black gauntlet, while his right hand is dominated by his titular hammer hand. This is just such a colorful, fun design and Super7 did a wonderful job realizing that in plastic form.

You get two heads to choose from, the first of which is just plain bad tempered. Hammerhand’s bushy beard and mustache spills out of his face and looks to be angry at the world. A flash of teeth and bottom lip are nestled in the middle of this mad face coif, and his noggin is capped with a yellow helmet and mis-matched horns. A nasal guard bisects his face, with a large patch covering his right eye and a single red peeper gazing out to the left.

The other option trades bad tempered for downright pissed off. His mouth is agape with rage and showing more teeth. I think this may be the head I display on him the most!

The hammer hand is suitably large and imposing, and like the heads, you get two versions of it to choose from. One has articulated fingers, while the other is just folded into a solid hammer. The difference is a little subtle, but the non-articulated hand does close up tighter than the other one is capable of. You also get a selection of left hands, including a fist, open hand, weapon holding hand, and another accessory holding hand.

For the weapon holding hand, Hammerhand comes with his trusty blunderbuss. I absolutely love this weapon design. There’s something about antique looking weapons with futuristic elements on them that just does it for me. The sculpted tape wrapped around the barrel is a nice touch too.

Hammerhand also comes with a couple of coin purses… or BOOTY, if you prefer! They’re nothing special, but a fun addition to round out the accessories.

I was thrilled to see Hammerhand introduced to the line so soon, and I sincerely hope we don’t have to wait too long to get some more Berserkers. For the time being, Hammerhand has been hanging out with his fellow Captain, Cracker, which I think look surprisingly good together, despite not being from the same faction. I’ve had tons of fun fiddling about with Hammerhand on my desk for weeks after he came out, and he’s definitely one of my favorite baddies released in this line so far!

Nov 2 2022

Evil Dead 2: Ash Williams Sixth-Scale Figure by Asmus Toys

I grabbed a few deals during Sideshow’s Spooktacular Event this year. I don’t know that the deals were all that amazing, but clearly they were good enough to make me drop some coin. One of those purchases was Asmus Toys’ Ash from Evil Dead 2. I was really hoping this figure was going to arrive in time for me to review on Halloween, but obviously that didn’t happen. He showed up the day after, and while I tried to get a review in the can for Wednesday, I needed an extra day to finish it, so here we are on Thursday!

This is my first experience with a figure from Asmus, so I am both excited and a little apprehensive. They are probably best known for their Lord of the Rings Sixth-Scales, and while I don’t collect the LotR figures, I’ll admit I’m still considering picking up their upcoming Gandalf the Grey. Anyway, Ash’s box is pretty nice, with a lift off sleeve that reveals a window box. The cardboard is pretty flimsy, but that seems to be the case with a lot of higher end Sixth-Scale boxes these days. The figure I’m looking at today is the Standard Release, he was also available as a Luxury Edition, and I’ll talk a bit about that at the end.

Here’s Ash freed from his tray and ready to take on an army of Deadites! …And I dare say he’s looking pretty groovy! When I’m taking a look at Sixth-Scale figures made by some of the smaller companies, I often feel obligated to point out that they are not Hot Toys and that I should keep expectations in check. Some may say that’s unfair, but these days if I’m paying over $200 for a figure in this scale, such comparisons are going to be made! And so, I have a lot of praise for this figure, but I’ll also point out aspects where I think it falls a little short of what to me has become the industry standard. Or at least what the standard should be. OK, with that behind me, this is clearly ash from Evil Dead 2, donning his brown slacks, brown hiking boots, and a somewhat distressed blue button down shirt. He also has his shotgun rig, with the scabbard angled across his back and the catch for the chainsaw rip-cord in front of his right shoulder. The tailoring on the clothing is excellent, and the fit is pretty good. You get some very tidy stitching, and none of that puffiness you see with some companies (*cough* Big Chief *cough*) Indeed, my only gripe with the outfit is the pants seem to ride a bit high, and it’s not really possible to pull them down. At the same time, it’s nice to have a Sixth-Scale figure that I am really comfortable playing with, and not worrying about damaging the costume, as is often the case with Hot Toys releases. It also helps that the figure’s joints are easy to work with and are a far bit better than the loosy-goosy joints I’ve experienced with some Sideshow Sixth-Scale figures.

The head sculpt is a decent likeness with a dash of caricature thrown in. And in the case of Bruce Campbell, I think that formula works really well. I genuinely like this portrait a lot better than the one Sideshow did a little while back, but I’d still love to see Hot Toys take a crack. I think the likeness is perhaps weakest when viewed from dead on, but angle a little to the left and right and I can find the sweet spots. There’s some extremely good texturing showing the pores of his skin, which I did not expect, and the overall coloring is spot on as well. The scars aren’t terribly convincing, but then they really weren’t in the film either. I do, however, like the blood along his hairline and on his left ear. The prominent brow and epic chin are pure Campbell, and the sculpted hair is on point. I am very happy with how this turned out. Let’s look at accessories!

We might as well start with the Boom Stick! The sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun slides in and out of the scabbard with ease, and looks great with the stock peeking up behind his right shoulder. It’s a beautifully crafted little weapon, with a simulated wood stock and foregrip, and the finish on the breech and barrels are pretty convincing as blued steel. which breaks open at the breech for loading, although you don’t get any teeny-tiny bullets. Ash has a right trigger hand, but he also has a left trigger hand, which is great in case… oh, I don’t know… something should happen to his right hand. He also has a left hand to cradle the foregrip.

Next up, is the Kandarian Dagger, which is also an impressive piece. The sculpt is excellent and it’s cast in soft plastic, so you don’t have to worry about snapping any of those bones. It does seem kind of big, but I might be misremembering the size of it from the movie. The spine-like blade is very cool and the tiny skull mounted in the pommel is creepy as hell.

And what would an Ash figure be without the Necronomicon? The gruesome tome is bound in soft plastic rather than human skin, but it does open and has a hefty number of pages, all illustrated with the images from the book in the film. I really wish I could show you, but the binding is really tight, and I’m afraid if I try to open it too wide it might tear. You’ll just have to take my word for it! Ash comes with hands that are designed to hold the book.

And speaking of hands, it’s time for Ash to lose one of his. You can pop it off and attach a bandaged stump. He also comes with the demonic severed hand.

And last, but not least, is the chainsaw, which attaches to Ash’s right wrist. This is a beautifully detailed piece with a good bit of heft. The blade is made of diecast metal and looks suitably worn and weathered. You can even pull the ripcord and the blade will shake. That’s an unexpected gimmick, and I’d rather they left it out. It doesn’t add much to the accessory and it makes it difficult to attach the cord to the fixture on his harness, because it’s always pulling itself back into the chainsaw. With that being said, the chainsaw makes a sturdy connection to the wrist with no worries of it falling out or oven weighing down his arm.

Ash does come with a very cool figure stand. It’s got a hexagonal base with his name on the front along with the title of the flick. The top panel of the base resembles blood stained floorboards, and even the post has a bit of an ornate design to it, which is a really nice touch! The figure is secured with the usual crotch cradle and Ash looks damn good displayed on the stand!

At about $40 off and free shipping, Ash was an impulse buy. I have been totally happy having NECA’s excellent work represent this beloved character in my collection, but this was a deal that made me bite, and I’m very glad I did. The figure is regularly priced at around $235, which is approaching Hot Toys pricing. And while this release certainly falls short of Hot Toys high standards in a few areas, the accessories are top notch and I think this is an all around excellent figure. I should note that there is a Luxury Edition out there, which absolutely has to be seen to believed. It includes enough stuff to display ash from the beginning of the movie and the end. It also comes with a crazy detailed base with all sorts of wonderful display options. It was priced at $350 and I might have been tempted once I saw all that stuff, but it seems to have sold out at all my usual retailers. But that’s OK. The point here was to get a cool Sixth-Scale Ash at a good deal, and that’s what he is!