Tag Archives: disney

Sep 14 2022

TRON Light Cycle (1st Generation) by Eaglemoss

I’m really pressed for time this week, so I was looking for something quick and easy to review, and Eaglemoss’ Light Cycle jumped right out at me. Indeed, back when I got this model I only opened it to inspect it for defects before popping it back in the box to later find a display space for it. As a result, I feel as if I’m really getting to see this for the first time as I’m spotlighting it here. It’s a bittersweet review, as Eaglemoss recently filed for bankruptcy and while reorganization is always possible, I have my doubts that they’ll rebound from it, and as a result, I believe this Light Cycle may be among the last batch of models they released before closing shop.

As always, these bigger models come in fully enclosed boxes made of pretty robust cardboard with the model encased in Styrofoam inside. The tape on the flap was pretty miffed when I got it, making me think someone else has been inside to take a peak, but everything looks new to me, so I’m not too bothered by it. I really love the design of the box, although it’s kind of sad that they noted this as a 1st Generation Light Cycle, as it makes me think they had plans to do the ones from TRON: Legacy as well. The model comes completely assembled, all you have to do is attach the post to the display base and you’re all set for the Game Grid! Sadly, there is no accompanying magazine.

So, make no mistake, this is an extremely simple model. It has no moving parts and no articulation at all. And heck, the designs from the first TRON film are so simple, that this piece doesn’t even showcase any intricate sculpting or detail. And yet I’m really a bit in awe of how beautiful this piece came out. The smooth surfaces and sleek curves mimic the computer generated on-screen vehicle absolutely perfectly. And boy is this still a dead sexy design! As much as I can appreciate the Legacy Light Cycle redesign, this original concept is just so iconic to me. The deco is a simple triple-play of sumptuous blue with black and gray. Everything has an even matte finish, and the paint is very near flawless on my model. It’s interesting to me that Eaglemoss went for the evil blue Light Cycle as their first offering, although I’m sure they were ready to cash in on the yellow, orange, and white repaints as follow ups. Still, it’s hard to argue with that beautiful blue when I look at it.

Eaglemoss models are usually a mix of plastic and diecast, and I’m assuming that’s still the case here, but the diecast isn’t really apparent to me. The model certainly has a quality feel to it, but it doesn’t have a really significant heft. That’s not so much a gripe as it just an observation. In terms of scale, this feels a little too big to go with the old Tomy figures, and a bit too small to go with Diamond’s recent TRON figures, but I’ll include a comparison shot with the later at the end.

The stand is the usual diecast base with a transparent post, which we see with all Eaglemoss models. In this case, the support is a platform with four posts to secure the vehicle and it works really well. And yes, the stand is required as the Light Cycle will not stay upright on its own.

In the end, I am blown away by the quality of this model. It looks absolutely amazing and as much as I love it, it also makes me a little sad, because I know the chances of getting the other colors are pretty much nil. If only they had this out last year, we might have at least seen one more, but I guess I should be happy we got this one. I believe the original retail price was $59.99, but I got mine when Eaglemoss was blowing stuff out of the Amazon store at half-off. I was actually surprised it applied to this one, because it was such a new release. Either way, it’s gorgeous, and I’m glad Eaglemoss got it out before they crumbled.

Jul 12 2021

Marvel Legends (Cap’s Wings Wave): Scarlet Witch by Hasbro

Today is another diversion from that Tri-Sentinel Wave. I hope to get back to it next week, but I today’s figure arrived and I decided to bump her up to the front of the line. I’m sad to say it, but Disney+’s MCU series experiments have lost their grip on me. I enjoyed WandaVision well enough up until it fell apart at the end, where it tossed aside a lot of cool psychological drama and mystery for a big dumb fight. I didn’t make it far into Falcon and Winter Soldier’s preachy meanderings before realizing I had better things to do, and it took me a few tries just to make it through the first episode of Loki. As a result, I was going to skip this Disney+ themed wave entirely, but since I really like MCU Wanda, I thought I’d at least grab her figure.

The packaging includes the WandaVision series logo and for the first time, Wanda can legit be called The Scarlet Witch, so that’s something! This wave does not feature a BAF figure, but rather the parts to build the wings for Sam Wilson’s Captain America costume. And yes, this is actually the second time modern Legends has done a Build-A-Wings wave and both times for the MCU. That’s crazy!

Wanda looked stunning in the solicitation photos, and I have to say she looks just as good in hand. I missed out on the Infinity War Wanda and Vision 2-pack, so this is the first MCU Scarlet Witch in my Legends collection since the Civil War release. Here Wanda is depicted in her final form (What? No sweat pants version? BOO!!!), which is very similar to her Infinity War look, only with a longer skirt and her iconic tiara in place. I like this costume design a lot and the figure executes it brilliantly. Her black trousers are dominated by her thigh high black boots, each with red stripes running up the centers. The top and skirt have a two-tone red design and some nice alternating textures to give it that extra punch for the TV screen. She has sculpted fingerless gloves and sleeves that reach up to her biceps. The bare shoulder look is nice, her top terminates in a snug collar.

I remember being pretty happy with the Civil War portrait, but it looks pretty primitive now when compared to this latest effort. I remember seeing some pictures of some MCU Figuarts recently and thinking that this portrait isn’t so far off from those expensive imports. The sculpt captures Elizabeth’s Olsen’s likeness beautifully, and the halftone printing used for her features totally seals the deal. There’s even some speckling to her skin, and the eyebrows looking uncanny in their realism. Her wild mane of hair is equally impressive, as it spills out from behind her tiara, and the tiara is sculpted from a separate piece and attached to the head to give it a nice dose of depth. And boy, it’s cool to see MCU Wanda finally get that tiara!

The articulation here is standard stuff for a Marvel Legends lady, which isn’t bad, but still not as good as the dudes. Rather than the double-hinged elbows and bicep swivels, Wanda gets by with just a rotating hinge in the shoulder and elbow. At least she can get a full 90-degrees out of those elbow joints. She has a ball joint under her chest, and the head is ball jointed and hinged. Her legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs, double-hinges in the knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. Alas, Wanda is sporting some small feet with slight heels, making her a difficult figure to stand. On the other hand, I’m happy to say that the long skirt didn’t really get in the way of having fun playing with her.

Wanda comes with two sets of hands, both are of the spell-slinging sort, with the second pair being translucent pink. She also comes with a pair of matching pink hex effect parts that snake around her forearms. These look really good when paired with the translucent hands. As some of you may know, a lot of the Legends effect parts are often lost on me, but I dig these a lot.

I can’t seam to say enough nice things about this figure! She’s beautifully crafted from head to toe, with some striking colors, a stunning portrait, value added effect parts, and she’s just all around fun. About the only thing more I could ask for would have been a second portrait with glowing hex eyes. I’m so happy with her, I’m even considering picking up the White Vision to go with her, if for no other reason, than because I don’t have an MCU Vision in my collection. Now if Hasbro would release a two-pack of Wanda and Vision in their Halloween costumes? Sold!

Jun 12 2020

TRON: Tron and Sark by Diamond Select Toys

In the past few weeks, I’ve taken a spin through the various figures based on the failed franchises that Diamond Select has raided from Disney’s dumpster. We saw figures from The Black Hole, we saw a figure of The Rocketeer, and now I’m checking out their figures from the original TRON. And yeah, TRON may have been a failed franchise, but I have an unending reservoir of love for it and it’s sequel. I can remember my poor parents hunting everywhere for those Tomy TRON figures and Lightcycles when I was a kid, and while I was beside myself with joy when I finally got them… Getting these DST figures as a kid would have been like a dream come true.

Here they are in their collector friendly window boxes, and like most of DST’s figures these Programs are about seven inches tall. The history and distribution behind these figures is a bit convoluted. I’m pretty sure that these are the same figures DST released as part of their Kingdom Hearts line, but I’ve never been a fan of those games, and so those passed me by. The pair I’m looking at today were available in different versions of this assortment. I found these at Walgreens, but there are other versions that include some effect parts. There was also a third figure, Flynn included in this assortment, and a red Infiltrator variant included with the others. Regular Flynn is supposed to be hard to find, but I managed to find one online just yesterday and I’ll probably review him to at some point. For now, let’s start with Tron.

He fights for the Users! I am still so smitten with the aesthetics of the original TRON, but I think it’s one of those things where you had to be there for it. The suits, which were lit up in post-production, are something that isn’t easy to translate into action figures. That’s probably why Tomy went with translucent colored plastic when they made their figures. It was a neat effect, but it didn’t really look like the characters on the screen. Here, DST has done a pretty fine job embracing the actual character designs. Tron features a body cast in pale gray with the piping and circuit patterns printed on in light blue. Sure, it lacks the vibrant lighting effect the Programs had on the screen, but it otherwise looks great. Some of the blue effects are part of the sculpt, but overall Tron’s body utilizes sculpted details sparingly. You get some rumpling and definition in the boots, he has his tubular arm bracers, which extend over the backs of his hands. and finally the armor pieces on his shoulders and biceps.

The portrait is a pretty solid likeness for Bruce Boxleitner. It’s a little over simplified, but I can definitely recognize him in there. I like the gray paint they used for his “skin,” although in some shots from the film it’s not much different from the pale gray of the suit. This is a case where it may not be 100% accurate, but it looks good on the figure. The helmet looks like it might be sculpted from a separate piece, which gives the whole head sculpt some appreciated depth, and it has more of those great blue piping and circuit patterns printed on it.

The articulation here is quite good, and I’m particularly pleased to see DST went with ball joints in the hips, rather than those weird lateral hinge and T-crotch they often favor. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, there are swivels in the biceps, and the elbows have double-hinges capable of very tight bends. The legs have swivels in the thighs, double-hinges in the knees, and the ankles have hinges and lateral rockers. There’s a ball joint just under the chest and another in the neck. The joints are all strong and serviceable, making Tron lots of fun to pose and play with.

Tron comes with two accessories: His Identity Disc and a plain black stand. The Disc has a peg which allows it to be stored on his back, like in the film. He can sort of hold the disc by sticking the edge between his thumb and index finger, but it’s certainly not a tight grasp. I had to make use of some blue-tack to keep it in place for many of these pictures. Let’s move on to Sark…

Sadly, I don’t have as much to say about Sark because I’ve already covered it all with Tron. But don’t let the fool you into thinking that I don’t love this guy. General to The Master Control Program, Sark was a great villain and a pretty damn cool character design. Pretty much everything I said about Tron’s body rings true for Sark, only he features a darker gray plastic and red piping and circuit patterns. His suit is also a little more bulky than Tron’s, which makes him look a little more imposing. Despite the different suit, the articulation remains identical.

While Tron’s portrait was solid, I think Sark’s is spectacular. David Warner is my boi. He just makes everything he appears in better, and the folks at DST did a wonderful job with his likeness on this figure. I’m also a big fan of Sark’s elaborate helmet. It’s like a hood with extra bits added to protect his noggin when he’s engaging in those crazy games. I really can’t say enough good things about how well this head sculpt turned out.

And like Tron, Sark comes with his Identity Disc, which can be pegged into his back for storage or sort of held in his hands if you have a little patience and don’t jostle the table he’s standing on too hard. He also has a plain black figure stand, which really isn’t necessary since these guys stand great on their own.

If you can’t tell, I absolutely love these figures. Maybe some of that comes from the fact that these are fulfilling a wish that I’ve had since I was a little kid, but I think a lot of credit has to go to Diamond Select for the work. These feel like a labor of love, because why else would they release them? I doubt these are going to be best sellers for them, because despite the big-budget sequel, I feel like TRON continues to languish in a sort of cult status. Sure there are other middle aged nerds like me who remember it and appreciate it and will want to own the toys, but I don’t think that will translate to big sales. And as I write this, I’m kind of talking myself into buying the other versions, if not just for the extra effect parts, but also just to show DST how much I appreciate these and how badly I want a second wave with Ram, Yori, and a Warrior. Oh man, I can’t imagine how good a Warrior would look in this line.

May 22 2020

The Rocketeer by Diamond Select

The folks at Diamond Select have been busy raiding old Disney movie licenses for action figure fodder. Not long ago I checked out their offerings from the 1979 sci-fi flop, The Black Hole, and I’ve yet to getting around to their Tron figures. Well, now I’m back to have a look at their figure from the 1991 film The Rocketeer! To my knowledge, I believe this figure was actually released as part of the same case assortment as the two Black Hole figures. At least I got them all in one assortment from an online retailer.

I’d say the packaging is overcompensating for the film’s poor Box Office take, but then Diamond uses this over-sized presentation for all their Select figures. It looks nice, but it’s not collector friendly and when I’m done opening these, it feels like there’s usually a lot more trash to throw out than toy to keep. And if you decide to keep it sealed, DST made the dubious decision to package him without his helmet on. More on that in a bit! Despite not garnering the reception Disney had hoped, The Rocketeer seems to have come into its own lately with fans rediscovering just what a fun and charming movie it is, and that’s cool because we’re seeing some of that expressed through the collectible market. Funko had a couple of tries with both a 3 3/4-inch ReAction figure and a 6-inch Legacy figure. The ReAction figure was OK, but I never bothered with the Legacy release. Let’s see how DST did!

As you can see from the packaged shot, he comes out of the package without the helmet on, but I’m starting with the helmeted head, because that’s the look that I was most excited about. To me, the design of Cliff Secord’s costume is so iconic that it practically transcends the comic and film it’s based on. The retro Flash Gordon look of leather tunic and Art Deco hood ornament helmet is such a thing of beauty. And I think DST did a pretty solid job recreating the costume here. The trousers flare at the thighs in military fashion and his high boots look fine even though there isn’t a lot of detail to them. The tunic has a glossy brown finish to give it a leathery look and the chest piece is surrounded by sculpted buttons. If I have one complaint here it’s mostly with the odd jointing that DST uses. So let’s touch on that before moving on.

The legs use rotating hinges in the knees and ankles, which is fine, but I’ll never understand why they go with these lateral hinges in the hips. They just look weird. I’m not sure if there’s any articulation in the torso, but mine doesn’t want to move and I’m not going to force the issue. So that means no waist swivel, ball joint, or ab crunch. That’s pretty disappointing. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, and double-hinged elbows, which is fine, but the arms look a bit pinched and weird. Finally, the wrists and neck are pegged ball joints. You get a few sets of hands to swap out, including one pair without gloves. Some of the hand choices are odd. For example, there’s one that clearly looks like it’s meant to hold a gun.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. The helmet looks great. The big bug-like eyes and the segmented mouth grill are painted in black, while the rest of the helmet is painted over with a weathered brass finish. Of course, the design looks best in profile to show off that lovely back-swept fin.

And he’s not called The Rocketeer for nothing! DST did a wonderful job recreating the rocket pack, in all it’s curvaceous and bulbous glory. It’s got grills and rivets, and I can even make out the fan under the circular grill in the middle. There are some exposed cables sculpted above the thruster modules, and yes they even sculpted and painted the piece of chewing gum used to plug the leak in the film. The silver finish has a nice metallic sheen to it and gives way to a more functional gray down below, while the tips of the two tanks are painted bronze to match the helmet. Sadly, the pack is not removable.

On a downside, the un-helmeted Secord head is kind of embarrassing, and I’m not even talking about the likeness. The sculpt is really soft, the expression is strangely derpy, and the paint is really amateur, giving it a mannequin-like appearance. When I first saw this head I was instantly reminded of the Vault Dweller figure that Funko did for their short lived Fallout line. And I can’t say enough about how much that isn’t a complement. This just looks wooden and not at all befitting of a $25 collector figure. On their worst day Hasbro is turning out much better portraits than this in either their Marvel or Star Wars figures.

In addition to the hands and the extra head, you also get a replacement chest flap where it’s partially unbuttoned and hanging off. It’s not a bad bonus, I guess but I’d rather that cost went into a better portrait. It’s also the most likely reason we didn’t get some articulation in the torso.

And the figure also comes with the blueprints for the rocket pack, which is beautifully printed on a stiff piece of thin cardboard. This is a pretty cool addition and it’s a lot more high quality than I expected it to be.

The figure also comes with some excellent effect parts. First, you get two thrust pieces that plug into the rocket pack’s thruster cones. They’re cast in semi-translucent plastic with a yellow-orange tint to them.

And saving the best for last, you get this blast off effect piece that doubles as a display stand. The sculpting here is excellent with all the swirls of the rocket thrust mingling with a chalky smoke at the bottom. It also does a great job of holding the figure.

If I had to recap this review in one sentence, I’d say that I like this figure, but I don’t love it. Now, while I confess that I do enjoy the movie, I was originally going to pass on this figure. The fact that it was bundled in with The Black Hole releases was what made me concede to just order the case. There’s some good stuff here, to be sure, but DST has been doing their Select line for a long time, they should be on top of their game by now, and some aspects of this figure just doesn’t reflect that. I think I wound up paying about $24 for this guy, and while you definitely get quite a bit in the package to add value, I’d rather some of that just went into fine-tuning the figure itself.

May 1 2020

The Black Hole Figures by Diamond Select, Part 2

Seemingly out of nowhere, Diamond Select decided to toss out some figures from Disney’s old and oft forgotten sci-fi ditty, The Black Hole. And this pleased me to no end! A couple of days ago I checked out the V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. two-pack and today I’m going to open one of the coolest evil robots to ever hit the big screen… Maximilian!

I showed off the packaging for these figures last time, but here it is again, in case you’re just joining us. DST is infamous for large, wasteful, and ultimately not collector-friendly packages. Although honestly in this case, Maximilian is so big, I guess the package size is more or less justified. The artwork features the rather distinctive logo of the title, and the computerized grid pattern used in the opening credits. I do believe that was the longest computer animated sequence generated for a film up to that time. And as long as we’re talking about the film, I can’t overestimate how awesome I thought Maximilian was, and that opinion holds true even after my most recent viewings. The imposing, silent robot was terrifying to behold and made even more so by the fact that Dr. Reinhardt didn’t seem to have complete control over him. One of my favorite little nuggets of dialogue in the film was when Reinhardt begs Kate to protect him from his pet killer robot. I never thought the old MEGO figure did Maximilian justice.

Now this figure? This does him justice! Maximilian’s casing is a lot simpler than V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. with minimal panel lines and lots of smooth surfaces. He’s also built like a linebacker with broad shoulders and a stout barrel chest. His deep crimson coloring makes him look all the more sinister, and there are some spots of silver dry brushing here and there to recreate some weathering. Like his smaller co-stars, Maximilian is a hovering robot and so a stand is pretty essential to this figure. In this case we get a chunky black post on a very large disc. It isn’t as dynamic as the articulated stands we saw last time, but it’s far better suited to the task of holding the figure up. His “legs” are something like anti-grav stabilizers, and include articulated flaps to help control his movement. These “legs” are also articulated at the hips so that they can move outward, but the design of the arms kind of inhibits the ability to use those points.

Maximilian’s head is just a giant grim bucket. There’s no attempt to reproduce a face, instead he just has a red visor for eyes. The piece is translucent red plastic and if you catch the light right it can produce a bit of a glowing effect. I do kind of wish they had included some light piping with this guy. There’s actually a second head, but I’ll save that for last. For now, let’s have a better look at those arms!

The design of Maximilian’s arms is so damn unique! Each shoulder projects three separate arms, which hang down together like they’re on a carousel. By rotating, Maximilian can select a different arm to face forward, or he can deploy all three of them at once like a robotic spider. Four of these arms have the same sculpted beam emitters on the ends, while the remaining two are fitted with powerful silver claws, but I’ll come back to those in a moment.

Diamond included some effect parts for the beam arms, but I don’t think they’re all that effective. If you collect Star Wars figures, than you’ll no doubt recognize these as being similar to the Force Lightning pieces Hasbro sometimes includes with their figures. They just kind of hang off the arms and I guess they look OK, but they’re certainly nothing special.

Maximilian comes with two sets of attachments for his closed claw arms. One set with the claws spread open like blades, and another with a spinning effect. I really dig the regular blades, and I’ll likely display him with at least the left one of these attached. The spinning blade effect is a decent enough try, but it doesn’t quite work for me.

One last bonus accessory for Maximilian is the one I mentioned earlier: A spare head. This one has Dr. Reinhardt’s eyes visible through the visor. It’s a reference to the bat-shit crazy ending where the Cygnus gets dragged into the titular Black Hole and Maximilian and Reinhardt are fused together. With the Doctor trapped inside his creation he’s deposited in a bizarre hellscape, where we only get a small glimpse of his fate. It’s such a strange ending for what was otherwise a fairly grounded sci-fi flick. Not to mention very uncharacteristic for a Disney film. But then, this film is an all around strange bird indeed!

Before wrapping up, Maximilian’s package includes the parts needed to complete the diorama pieces that came with B.O.B. and V.I.N.CENT. It’s a simple piece of deck with a railing and a cardboard backdrop. A nice bonus, to be sure and while it’s too small for Maximilian, the other robots look quite nice displayed on it. There are also some connector pieces so if you somehow should find yourself with two, you can attach them together.

Maximilian isn’t as intricate or complex a design as the other robots, but he’s still a big, imposing, and all around fantastic figure. Hell, all of these are fantastic figures. I don’t know what possessed DST to gamble on a release of these robots featured in a mostly forgotten film from over 40 years ago (FORTY YEARS!!! HOLY HELL, I’M SO OLD!!!) but I’m so very glad they did and I hope it pays off. I’m sure this line going any further would be too much to hope for, but if we were to get one more wave like this, I’d love to see a Sentinel Robot and S.T.A.R. They were both great designs and would make for really impressive figures in this scale.

Apr 29 2020

The Black Hole Figures by Diamond Select, Part 1

I was only eight years old when my parents took me to see Disney’s The Black Hole, as a result the only thing I remembered about it was being bored to tears whenever the robots weren’t on screen. Revisiting it as a teenager and adult allowed me to find more value in it, but it’s still a really strange movie with some serious tonal problems. Like one minute the robots are fun and goofy, and the next we find out that the crew of the Cygnus have been lobotomized and are now zombie slaves suffering a state of living death. Anthony Perkins’ character gets disemboweled by a robot with a weed whacker, and the movie ends in a terrifying robotic retelling of Dante’s Inferno. HOLY SHIT, DISNEY!!! I was legit surprised to find the film available and unedited on Disney+ and I re-watched it for the first time in probably 10 years.

Despite all the dark shit, the movie got toys. But hey, it was PG and plenty of R-rated movies got toys in the 80’s, so that’s not so weird. I only had the robots from the 3 3/4-inch line, and I basically integrated them into my Buck Rogers or Star Wars figures when playing with them. For whatever reason, I have a lot of nostalgia for those figures, and I guess, to some extent, the movie as well. So when Diamond revealed they were making some Black Hole figures, I sure as hell jumped on board. The releases consist of the good robots, V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. (hereafter spelled without the periods) in a two-pack, and the evil robot Maximilian. These are Diamond Select releases, so naturally they come in ridiculously huge boxes. They look magnificent, but they aren’t collector friendly and they seem kind of wasteful. I’m always amazed at how much trash is left over after opening Diamond Select figures. I’m breaking this review up into two parts, today we’ll start with the two-pack and Friday I’ll check out Maximilian.

Here he is… but first, the stand! Yeah, it’s a weird place to start, but it’s kind of necessary for a hovering robot figure. The clear stand is a multi-hinged, multi-rod ratcheting affair that pegs into his back and really isn’t equipped to handle the weight of this solid ball of plastic. I wound up taking it down to just one rod and two hinges and it seems to get the job done. The base is rather small and has a foot peg on it, so I presume it was repurposed from another figure, which may be why the stand isn’t really optimal for these guys.

With that out of the way, I have to say this is a magnificent little sculpt that’s just packed with lovely little details and a bunch of interchangeable parts. I think VINCENT is one of those “love it, or hate it” robot designs. I’m sure a big part of why I love it so much is because I was introduced to it as a kid. Also, he had the same box-of-gimmicks kind of design that made me love R2-D2 so much. About the only thing that slightly disappointed me when I started playing with this figure was that his head cannot extend all the way up to reveal that his “face” is actually the central band of a sphere. For some reason, I always thought that scene in the movie was cool. But that’s OK. He can still close up his head completely and turn it 360-degrees when it’s open.

The tiny printing on all the panels looks really nice, and the paint is solid enough. The finish on this figure actually looks more like metal than the actual movie prop did. I do wish they used some kind of lenticular sticker for the CRT screen in his belly, but it still looks fine. Let’s start checking out all of the extras!

Yeah, VINCENT comes with a bevy of extra bits for all sorts of different display options. First off, you can replace his anti-grav emitters or “legs” so that they are retracted. Popping these on and closing up his head makes it look like he’s shut down. It’s a cool option, but probably one I’m not going to use a lot since these are extended whenever he’s hovering, and that’s how I’ll be displaying him. Not to worry, though, I went with the least exciting attachments first!

Next, he has a pair of front claw arms concealed behind flip out panels. Open the panels and you can see the retracted claws inside. These can be replaced with extended arms. And since the extended arms just peg into sockets, you can also swivel them 360-degrees.

VINCENT also has arms that are meant to extend outward from his shoulders. The giveaway here is that the closed panels are actually supposed to be the retracted claws. You just pop off these panels and plug in the extended arms. Once again, these peg in so you can swivel the orientation of the claw. With all four arms extended, VINCENT changes from a seemingly useless ball to a handy guy to have around!

The two red panels on his lower front, beside the arm panels are his retracted laser guns. Like the shoulder arms, these simply pop off and you can replace them with the extended guns. These extended pieces are partially translucent with the red tube in the center and look pretty damn neat. And thanks to the way the stand plugs into his back you can recreate his barrel roll shooting trick from when he was going up against STAR in the marksmanship competition!

And finally, the central panel opens up to plug in the drill he used to f’ck up Maximillan. Ironically, this isn’t a terribly exciting accessory, but I always thought it was poetic justice that Maximilian got gutted the same way he gutted Anthony Perkins’ character. Dr. Reinhardt even foreshadowed it. David and Goliath indeed! And that’s it for VINCENT, but wow, what a lot of cool stuff. There was clearly a ton of love poured into this little figure, and I respect Diamond for going above on beyond for a figure that probably no other company would have risked making. I mean, this is a pretty niche robot, but they certainly did him justice. Moving on to BOB!

And don’t worry, I don’t have nearly as much to say about BOB. He’s supposed to be an earlier model of the same robot design as VINCENT, only he was built in Houston so naturally his voice has a Texan twang in the film. BOB’s been kicking around the Cygnus for a long while and getting abused by Dr Reinhardt’s other robots, so he’s all beat to shit. And Diamond did a really nice job recreating that here. Unlike VINCENT, BOB is mostly cast in one solid piece of plastic, so he’s a lot heavier.

It’s still possible to make out what he looked like when he was in better shape and you can see the various differences in design, like the circular display in his belly. He’s also got fewer compartments and his designation is printed down at the bottom of his body as opposed to up by his head. Unlike VINCENT, BOB’s head appears to be ball jointed so he can turn it as well as get a little up and down movement. The “helmet” has more of a stepped design as opposed to VINCENT’s rounded dome. BOB is missing one of his anti-grav balls, as well as both of his arm hatches, and his right claw arm is stuck in the extended position. The extended arm is ball jointed so you can get a little extra movement out of it. The weathering on this guy is absolutely fantastic, as is all the dents. Alas, VINCENT’s parts don’t work with BOB’s, so he’s really just there for display.

The VINCENT-BOB 2-pack comes with some diorama pieces, but I’ll save that for Part 2, because you need to have pieces that come with Maximilian to finish it. So I’ll just finish off Part 1 by saying how thrilled I am that Diamond Select came out of nowhere and made these figures. The merits of the film may be questionable, but I will forever love these robot designs. Plus, I think they are extremely well suited to being toys. That’s especially apparent here, because besides the great sculpt, paint, and detailing, DST went overboard giving VINCENT all kinds of fun attachments. BOB may not be nearly as fun to play around with, the fact that he’s included with VINCENT makes him most welcome, even if you just want to think of him as an overblown accessory. I really do love these guys, and I’m looking forward to getting Maximilian open so I can check him out in a few days.

Nov 21 2017

Star Wars Toybox: Rey by Disney

In case you missed it, Disney has introduced a new line of articulated action figures based on the character designs from the now defunct Disney Infinity video game. I loved Infinity, and holy crap, did I blow a lot of time and money on it! Even with the online features shut off, I’m still afraid to fire it up again, or I’ll lose myself in that damn Toybox creating levels or just wandering around as any one of those dozens of damn figures I bought. Well, last week I looked at Thor from the Marvel Toybox and today I’m checking out Rey from Star Wars.

As you can no doubt tell, the packaging goes for utility over flash. The only real artwork is the character portrait on the side panel insert. Otherwise, it’s just a big bubble on a boring card that lets you see the figure you’re buying. Rey is #2. in the Star Wars Toybox series, I think #1 is Kylo Ren, but don’t worry, even though I’m doing them out of order, I’ll get to them all eventually. The packaging is not at all collector friendly, but there’s really no reason I’d want to keep it anyway, so let me shred this thing to pieces and we’ll have a look at Rey.

Like her Infinity counterpart, this figure features Rey in her Jakku outfit from The Force Awakens. I think they did a wonderful job capturing the Infinity style, while also embellishing it a bit for the larger scale and incorporating the articulation. To keep with the animated style, the sculpted detail is kept to a minimum, while still producing a great looking figure. The belt and outer layer of the robes are cast in a separate piece of softer plastic and worn over the figure, which gives her outfit some extra depth. Other sculpted detail includes the arm wraps, the pouch worn on the back of her hip and some simple boots. The coloring is mostly found in the plastic, although there is some paintwork as well. For the most part the paint application is neatly done, although there’s a little bit of slop between the flesh tones of her legs and the brown of her boots.

The head sculpt is also pretty damn close to her Infinity counterpart, a lot closer in this case than Thor was to his. Her hair includes the sculpted triple-buns and the paint applications for her eyes, eyebrows, and lips are all sharp and precise. She looks both adorable and fierce at the same time.

The articulation includes rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees. She has ball jointed hips and hinges in the ankles. There’s a swivel in the waist and a ball joint in the neck. While the points are all the same, the range of motion feels a little bit better here than on Thor, because the sculpt here isn’t as much of a hindrance. Although, the loop that her robes make under the belt on her left hip does get in the way of that leg a bit. Even with some restrictions, she’s a hell of a lot of fun to play with.

Rey comes with Luke’s lightsaber with the blade permanently ignited. Her right hand is designed to hold it, while her left hand is sculpted for Force casting. I like the lightsaber a lot, but I’ll confess to being a bit disappointed that she didn’t come with her staff as well. It doesn’t seem like it would have been that big a deal to sculpt one for her, and since she uses a lot less plastic than Thor, it probably should have costed out at this price point. But then what the hell do i know?

As with Thor, Rey sells for $12.99 and appears to be exclusive to the Disney Store and their website. Thor sold me on the Marvel Toybox line instantly, and now Rey has done the same for this Star Wars Toybox series. I just wish they had more figures to show. The only other figures for the Star Wars Toybox right now are Kylo Ren and a First Order Stormtrooper. It feels like we needed Finn in there to even things out. Nonetheless, I’ll be grabbing more of these, so they’ll all be turning up here eventually.

Nov 16 2017

Marvel Toybox: Thor by Disney

It’s Day Four of Marvel Week, and I got rather long winded yesterday, so I’m going to tone things down today with a simpler (and mercifully shorter!) review, but one that I’ve been rather excited to get to. You may remember a little thing called Disney Infinity. It was one of those Toys-To-Life things, which allowed you to collect figures and use them in a video game world. I freaking loved Disney Infinity! Seriously… just look at this shit!

This doesn’t even include the ones I bought at the end that I haven’t even opened yet. I collected a ton of the figures, I’ve spent time playing them all, and I’ve lost countless hours in the Toybox designing bullshit levels, and maybe a couple of good ones. Infinity had a good run with three different releases spanning dozens of figures and incorporating both Marvel and Star Wars before Disney finally pulled the plug. And now in a move that I never in a million years could have seen coming, Disney has introduced a series of articulated action figures based on those Infinity designs. HOLY SHIT, I AM SO ON BOARD FOR THIS!!!! Let’s check out the first figure in the Marvel Toybox lone… The Mighty Thor!

The packaging is about as basic as you can get. The figure comes in a large bubble on an unassuming card. It gives you a great look at what you’re getting, but there isn’t much else in the way of artwork of flashy presentation to tempt you. Seriously, Disney, for a company that is basically based on artwork, you kind of dropped the ball on this package design. But that’s OK. It just makes me not feel guilty about shredding it to get to my figure. The back of the package shows off four other figures in the Marvel Toybox series, including Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man. And yes, there’s also a Star Wars Toybox Series, and I’ll be checking one of those figures out next week!

If you compare Toybox Thor to the original Infinity figure, you can see that Hasbro made some tweaks to Thor’s design, but this is still undoubtedly the same style. He’s lost a helmet, gained a beard, and the piping on his armor has changed from yellow to blue. With all that being said, I love what they did with the design and it’s hard to believe that I’m actually holding an articulated Infinity figure. The sculpted detail is kept to a minimum to preserve the simple animated look, but all the important stuff is still there, like the discs on his armor, the wraps on his boots, and all that chiseled Asgardian muscle. I also really dig the head sculpt. The coif of hair is cast in a separate piece of plastic, crowning his rather perturbed expression. He looks like someone just nicked his tankard of ale. The paint applications on the face are pretty clean too!

The rest of the coloring on the figure appears to be achieved mostly through colored plastic, but there are some paint applications as well. Overall, the paint is clean, but I should note that my figure had two rather unsightly paint drips on the right boot, but I was eventually able to get these off with some water and a Qtip. The cape is made of a fairly soft and pliable plastic and lifts easily away from the figure to allow for those wide stances.

Thor comes with one accessory, and yes it is Mjolnir. The mighty hammer is a solid chunk of plastic with a sculpted wrap grip, which can fit securely in The Thunder God’s right hand.

The articulation here is pretty good, but the stylized sculpt does restrict the range of motion on some of the points. Thor features rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees. The hips are ball jointed, the ankles are hinged, there’s a swivel in the waist, and the neck is ball jointed. The elbow and knees are somewhat limited, which can be a little frustrating. Also, the sculpted hair makes it so the head can only turn side to side a bit. Still, there’s plenty of fun to be had here. He’s just so solid and chunky and fun to play around with!

 

Wow, was this a pleasant surprise! These Toybox figures seemed to come out of nowhere, and I just recently discovered them because someone sent me a link. They appear to be Disney Store Exclusives, at least that’s where I found and ordered mine. They run $12.99 each, which feels about right for what you’re getting. I have no frame of reference for how well Disney’s exclusive toys sell, but I can promise you that I’ll be doing everything I can to support this line and keep it going. And as for now, I can see Thor will probably be residing on my desk for a little while, because I’m having a hard time putting him down.

Dec 11 2016

Lego Minifigs Series Crapshoot… DISNEY EDITION!!! #1

It’s been a long time since I featured any LEGO here on FFZ. I did a Minifig Crapshoot back in March, but you’d have to go back to last year for the last LEGO set I built. It’s nothing personal, LEGO, I love you. But you’re expensive and I mostly used to buy you when I went hunting other toys at the store and came up empty handed. I don’t go toy hunting much anymore, and that’s why I haven’t picked up much LEGO lately. I’ll have to remedy that next year.

dismfig1

Ah, but it’s Christmastime. A time when devious retailers put out boxes of blind bagged Minifigs near the registers and I can’t help myself. I spotted these the other day when I was buying cat food for my son (it’s OK, he’s a cat), and tossed four of them into the basket. And yes… they’re the first series of Disney Minifigs! I didn’t try to feel these out in the package, I suck at that and it ruins the fun. I did, however, live tweet this out yesterday, so if you follow me on The Twitters, the suspense has already been ruined. And the first figure is…

dismfig3

Alice from Alice in Wonderland. I’ll confess, I had no idea who she was until I saw the bottle with “Drink Me” on it. She’s cool and I’m happy I got her. The skirt is a new piece to me. I’ve never had a Minifig with it before. Now I really want a Cheshire Cat, but I’ll concede that the odds were against me. I felt as if I’d be more likely to get another Alice than a Cheshire Cat. Nonetheless, I pressed on. And the second figure is…

dismfig2

Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I was pretty happy with this one, not only because it’s such a unique little figure, but now I have the power to turn any one of my Minifigs into a mermaid. Mermaid Captain America. Mermaid Lone Ranger. Everyone gets to be a Mermaid! Besides being a cool little figure, she comes with a clam that can be displayed closed or open with a pearl in it. Nice! Moving on…

dismfig5

YES! I scored big with the Cheshire Cat in bag #3. This one is a very simple build: Head, torso, legs, tailpiece, but it’s all about the sculpt and paint on that head. Fabulous! One more figure… what was it going to be???

dismfig4

ARGGGHHHH! Another Cheshire Cat! I rarely ever look at four random Minifigs without getting a set of doubles in the mix. Now I have to start troop building Cheshire Cats.

dismfig6

All in all, I thought this was an OK assortment, doubles not withstanding. Part of me kind of wishes I had picked up four of the regular blind bagged Minifgs, because I think they would have had more appeal. I enjoy a number of Disney properties, but straight up “classic” Disney films aren’t really my wheelhouse. Then again, the only reason I bought these was because they were there right by the check out. It was an impulse buy, so I can’t really second guess myself.

May 12 2016

The Muppets (Wave 1) by Diamond Select, Part III: Fozzie and Scooter

Alrighty, folks, here we are at the final stop in this Midweek Mini Muppet Marathon. You might even say, “we’re moving right along!” Time to open up the last figures of the first wave: Fozzie and Scooter!

mupfoz13

mupfoz14

Here’s a quick look at the package. This time around we get two fully realized figures in one pack. I’ve said all I have to say, so let me just sympathize with how hard character selection for this wave must have been. With basically just four main characters, I think they did pretty well, although I’m still surprised that Ms Piggy didn’t make the cut. I was even more surprised that she didn’t make the cut for wave two. Again, here’s hoping this line has some staying power! Let’s start off with Fozzie…

mupfoz2

mupfoz1

Ahhhhhhahhhh. Waka Waka! I love Fozzie Bear, he was easily my most anticipated figure in this wave, and I’m happy to say he turned out fantastic. Approaching 4-inches tall, he’s easily the biggest figure of the wave, not only in height, but also in girth. Since his costume consists entirely of his poka-dotted neckerchief (a separate piece) his bare bear body is supplied with some nice sculpted fur and a brownish-orange coat of paint. The head sculpt is as spot on as you can get. This is without a doubt the Fozzie Bear that I know and love. Apart from some scratches on his nose, the paint on the face is solid. Articulation consists of rotating hinges all around: The shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles. He’s capped off with a ball jointed neck. The sculpt does restrict some range of motion and the way his hips are designed, he can’t really sit down. But why would he? He’s a stand-up comedian. Eh? Waka Waka!

mupfoz5

Scooter weighs in a little closer to Kermit in height, putting him around 3 1/2-inches. He’s one of the most complex designs in this wave, both because of his costume and the nature of his peepers. His eyes are appropriately part of his glasses, but there’s very little holding his glasses on. In fact, thanks to the warning from Scott’s review on the Action Figure Blues podcast, I was careful to keep the transparent rubberband that holds them on. It’s a temporary (and not ideal) thing for now, as I might get the courage to dab a little glue on them.

mupfoz6

mupfoz7

Considering this is the most intricate paint job on any figures in this wave, I’d say it’s fair but not exceptional. There’s some slop to the striping on his sneakers and some of the yellow piping on the jacket could be sharper. Again, these closeup shots don’t do these figures any favors and all in all he looks good in hand. I do really dig the metallic green they used for his jacket and The Muppet Show logo on the back looks great. Scooter’s articulation again consists of rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and neck. The hips have rotate and have lateral hinges.

mupfoz3

mupfoz4

With both Fozzie and Scooter taking up most of the plastic real estate in this package, it’s understandable that the accessories are a lot smaller, but what we get here is still plenty good and fairly character specific. Fozzie comes with his hat, which is only an accessory because it’s removable. No clever magnets here like with the Palisades figures, and while it does sit on his head fairly well, I used a blob of blue tack to keep it there. You also get a rubber chicken and his Groucho Marx glasses, both of which are perfect accessories for him, but no telephone pole for the infamous Telephone Pole Bit.

mupfoz8

mupfoz9

mupfoz10

Scooter’s accessories are a little less personal. He comes with a clap board and a bullhorn. Considering Scooter was more of a stage hand most of the time, I’m not sure that these Director’s tools fit him, but I’ll go with it. Besides, they’re more of those great universe building accessories that will be nice to have as the pot grows bigger with subsequent waves.

mupfoz11

mupfoz12

If I had to pick a favorite pack in this first wave, I’d probably go with this one. Besides my love of Fozzie and general fondness for Scooter, the mix of two figures and a handful of decent accessories feels right. But when you put all three releases together, then everything feels right, so I’m not going to quibble over what came in which pack. DST seems to be working well with the challenges that the different shapes and sizes of these characters offer and the accessories are diverse and fun. If I had one thing I’d like to see improved in future waves it would be a little more polish on the paint. I think this series is off to a strong start and the next wave, due out sometime this Summer, looks like it’ll be fantastic. Animal with his drums? Beaker and Professor Bunsen Honeydew? And Waldorf and Statler? Oh, yes, please. Give me some of that!