Tag Archives: hasbro

Jan 19 2011

Marvel Spider-Man: Toxic Blast Venom by Hasbro

I think it should go without saying that I don’t collect this Spider-Man line from Hasbro, but when I did my grocery shopping at the Wally World this morning, the toy pickings were pretty slim. They finally finished their toy reset, and guess what? They’re still not carryingMarvel Universe or DC Universe Classics. But, hey who needs those when you have 12 pegs of Iron Man 2 figures from a year ago and this sub-par kiddie orientated line of Spidey figures, eh? Anyway, I saw Venom here on the pegs and decided it would make a nice place-holder in my Marvel Universe line until the real thing comes along.

The Spider-Man cards have a very animated look to them, which makes me wonder if there isn’t an animated Spider-Man cartoon going on right now that I am unaware of. Anyone? Either way, as I already pointed out, this line is clearly designed for kids over collectors, which seems pretty suspicious since everyone knows that kids just play video games these days. Of course, it could just be one of those “use it or lose it”things that Disney has going on with their newly acquired Marvel licenses making this line just Hasbro’s stop gap until they inevitably start producing figures based off the upcoming reboot movie. Whatever the case, the packaging is bright and spends a lot of real estate advertising some battle card game included in the package.

Venom comes with a lot of crap. And I do mean crap. Besides the cards and instruction sheet for the battle game, which I didn’t photograph because they got tossed with the packaging where they belong, he also comes with a really soft web axe and a missile launcher that clips onto his arm so that it looks like it’s morphing out of the suit. It doesn’t have a firing button, you just hold back the missile and let it go. I really don’t get the axe. It’s got two holes in the handle and a peg at the end. I think it has something to do with clipping on to other web constructs from other figures, but I don’t know. He can sort of hold it, but not very well.

The figure itself, however, is not bad at all. The sculpt is very detailed with a ton of sinew and veins running through the body, and the headsculpt is just, well… wow. He’s got his huge rictus grin, bearing his fangs and a tentacle like tongue lashing out. The paintwork is pretty solid, with the bulk of the figure being black with some blue highlights, the mouth, tongue and teeth are all nicely painted and while there is some slop and bleeding on the white deco of the suit, it’s nothing that we haven’t seen worse in the Marvel Universe line from time to time.


The only place where this figure comes up short is in the articulation. The head is on a ball joint and the arms have ball jointed shoulders and elbows, so no problems there. The legs, however are only ball jointed in the hips and have no knee or ankle articulation and there’s no articulation in the torso whatsoever. Things could certainly be worse, but it’s worth pointing out that Venom’s articulation falls well below the Marvel Universe standards.

So, I picked up Venom here as a place holder for Marvel Universe and I think he fits the bill really well. He’s just a bit bigger than the MUSpider-Man and they look great together locked in combat. Maybe we’ll get a better Venom if Hasbro does a comic series subline to the new movie figures when they come out. If not, I’ll just wait patiently for a proper MU Venom to take his place, but for now I’m pretty satisfied with him.

Jan 18 2011

Marvel Universe: Luke Cage by Hasbro

Back in the day, I used to make a habit of reading comics that premiered right around the year I was born. It’s how I originally got so obsessesed with Jack Kirby’s New Gods and Mister Miracle, and it’s also how I was first introduced to Luke Cage from Hero For Hire. My interest in the character didn’t extend much beyond that book’s initial run, back when he looked like part of the Dolemite scene. In fact, with just one or two exceptions, I can’t really remember much of anything he’s been in that I’ve been reading or watching at all.

Cage comes on a standard Marvel Universe style card with the Hammer Industries logo. The card points out that this figure was a Fan’s Choice Runner Up, which really surprises me. Like I said, he hasn’t been a high profile character in what I’ve been reading, apart from Dark Reign, where I was pretty damn disappointed he didn’t take the helm of The New Avengers. Still, his appearance here definitely fits with the Osborne/Hammer theme of the recent MU releases. The bubble is pretty well packed as all of Luke’s accessories are mounted off of the figure. As always, this is a nice presentation with some good character artwork to personalize the card.  My figure’s card looks like it’s been kicked around quite a bit, but it doesn’t matter because I’m ripping this baby open.

Obviously, Luke is based on his contemporary look, which is vastly different from how I remember mostly him. I say “obviously” because I don’t think his 70’s look would fit in too well in the toy aisles and they probably couldn’t have fit his mammoth afro inside a standard-sized bubble. As a result, Luke Cage’s figure isn’t as iconic looking to me as it probably is to some collectors. Still, the sculpt is excellent and the paint and wash on his jeans is particularly well done. Both his skull cap and his bling chain are separate accessories, which I found both surprising and cool, as it offers up different display options. He also comes with a crunched steel girder, which he can wield like a club.

As with all the latest MU figures, Luke Cage comes with his file card, secret document and a figure stand.

Because of the disconnect in appearance between this Luke Cage and the character I knew, this figure wasn’t really high on my list. In fact, the only reason I bought him at all, was because I stumbled upon him in Walmart’s clearance aisle for five bucks. It’s worth noting that this is one of the very few times I’ve actually found a Marvel Universe figure at retail as the overwhelming bulk of my collection has come from online e-tailers. But overall I’m happy I grabbed him as he really is a wonderfully executed figure, and I’m glad to have him in my collection.

Jan 16 2011

Iron Man 2: Weapons Assault Drone and Armor Assault Drone by Hasbro

Iron Man 2 continues to be the movie property toy line that simply refuses to die. While most movie-toy ventures evaporate over night or linger on in the clearance aisles, Tony Stark continues to hang tough. Even after this past couple of weeks where most retailers have completed the post-Christmas reset of their toy aisles, Iron Man 2 remains on the planograms. While I’m still as weary as ever of seeing pegs full of the same few Iron Man armor variants that I saw last year, some of the newer figures are finally filtering out and many of them are spectacular. Even better, the two figures we’re looking at today will finally give my army of Iron Man armors something to fight beyond just Crimson Dynamo and any of those Whiplash figures, I’ll probably never find.

Think back to the distant past when Iron Man 2 was out in the theaters or, better yet, dust off your Blu-Ray copy and you may recall that these Drones were the Hammer Industries armor suits modified by Vanko to fight Stark and Rhodey in the big climactic battle. I’ve been waiting to get these guys in figure form for a long time. The packaging is still the same and it still looks really great. I can’t remember the last time I liked a movie line’s packages as much as I do the Iron Man 2 carded figures. The only real difference here is an added sticker that points out there’s a $5 off coupon inside toward your next Iron Man 2 toys purchase. Beyond that the figures are nicely displayed inside the bubble and the back panel shows some pictures of other figures you may never see on pegs still clogged with earlier waves of figures.


The Air Assault Drone is the simpler of the two figures, so let’s start with him. The sculpt is simply fantastic and this line continues to push the envelope of sculpted details on the 3 3/4″ scale. There aren’t a lot of paint apps on this figure, as he’s pretty much just a two-tone grey and silver, which reproduces his military style finish pretty nicely. Besides, the sculpt is so good, it doesn’t need a lot of paint apps to make it stand out. The backpack is removable, although why you’d want to, I’m not really sure, but then options are never really a bad thing.



The Weapons Assault Drone has the same awesome detailing as his comrade with a green and silver paint deco. Some of the components of the two figures are very similar in overall configuration, but the sculpted details are different enough to make them both very distinctive. The WAD has a few more added bells and whistles, including two shielded armor plates that fold out from his forearms and two sawblade attachments for his arms that can be swapped out for longer ones, which essentially look like Whiplash’s whips without the electricity. This Drone also has a swappable head, with a different front piece, although I’m not really sure why Hasbro went through the trouble or didn’t include the same extra for the AAD, which seems a little wanting for extras by comparison.

Both figures have the same basic articulation, which is good, but have some really weird hip joints, which can swivel, but don’t want to seem to do anything else. The heads are ball jointed, the arms include rotating shoulders with some lateral movement, elbows with hinges and swivels and swivels in the wrists. The legs include double hinged knees and ankles with hinges and swivels. They also each have ball jointed torsos.

As is the standard with Iron Man 2 figures, both Drones also come with a figure stand and the three Armor Cards, which can be fitted into the slots on the stand for a cool looking display.

Even if you aren’t the biggest Iron Man fan, these figures are worth looking at. They are wonderfully executed and would fit in well with a lot of different 3 3/4″ figure lines. Unfortunately, I count myself lucky just finding this pair, but if these guys ever became common, I’d happily army build a squad of each. Even after all this time, Hasbro still impresses me with the Iron Man 2 figures and whenever I’ve convinced myself I’m done collecting them, I wind up stumbling across a few more and falling in love with this collection all over again.

Jan 15 2011

Marvel Secret Wars Comic Pack #11: Thor and Enchantress by Hasbro

Slowly but surely, I’m finishing off my collection of Hasbro’s Secret Wars comic packs. I think I only have two more to go after this one. Lord knows some of these packs got a little random with the figure assortments, but number eleven is a pretty straight shooting Thor theme, which also allows you to add an excellent villain to your Marvel Universe rogues gallery. Let’s take a look.

As always, I love the packaging here. In this case, you can’t see much of the comic cover, but the artwork on the bubble insert sure is nice. This pack includes the penultimate issue of the Secret Wars series, which builds up to quite the cliffhanger, but other then that doesn’t feature a whole hell of a lot of action.

The Thor figure is a nice pick up, as he’s only been released as his modern design in the Marvel Universe line and this is his more classic and iconic look. Of course, with the Thor movie’s release right around the corner, I’m willing to bet there will be a newer and better sculpt of classic Thor released, assuming Hasbro keeps with tradition and includes “comic series” figures in with the movie toys. Nevertheless, this comic pack version of Thor is a pretty solid sculpt and doesn’t really suffer from any of the quality control issues that have nagged some of the comic pack figures. I’m not 100 percent satisfied with the head sculpt, and the way his cape seems to levitate off his shoulders is a little odd, but other than that I’m pretty happy here. Mjolnir even has the tiny inscription on the side, which is pretty damn amazing.

On the flipside you have The Enchantress, and if you’ve been keeping up with The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, then you’ve seen a fair deal of her lately. I honestly avoided picking up this set because I’ve read some rather unfavorable reviews of this figure, but having her in hand, I have to say I think she turned out quite good. The head sculpt is nice and the paint apps are relatively clean. The only thing I’m going to complain about here is the odd way her waist joins with her hips. It just looks awkward. Still, all in all I’m very satisfied with her figure. Granted, Enchantress is just as likely to get a comic style release as part of the new Thor movie toys, so you may want to wait to see what’s coming.

Secret Wars pack #11 is a nice score, especially for Thor fans who just can’t wait until the movie figures start turning up, which based on early photos are looking really amazing. While the Secret Wars comic packs are fast disappearing from the shelves, you may still be able to grab some of these straggling on the pegs at your local toy aisle. I found this one for $12.99, which is a pretty solid deal for two great figures and a comic book.

Dec 31 2010

Transformers Generations: Thunderwing by Hasbro

It’s a Transformers Generations double feature today, as I’m trying to get as much stuff cleaned out as I can before the end of 2010. Y’all know Hasbro is digging deep for their G1 fanwank homages when they start referencing the Pretenders toys. As if just to show you that Bludgeon wasn’t an isolated incident [Note to self: Get around to reviewing Bludgeon -FF], now we get Thunderwing, and even though he’s inspired by a sub-line of toys that I hated with a passion, I think he turned out absolutely awesome.

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Yes, it’s the typical Generations packaging. There’s nothing new here. Thunderwing comes carded in his jet mode and there’s a bio blurb about him on the back of the card. Apparently he’s quite the badass. Cool! Thunderwing fills out the bubble very nicely, thanks to his two missile launchers. Oh yeah, I also melted off the Decepticon logo because I forgot to turn off my flash. Sorry.

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Take a look back at the in-package picture and you’ll see the Level on this figure is labeled as Easy. Yes, Thunderwing has a really simple transformation and that’s reflected in his alt mode. If you turn him over in jet mode, you can pretty much see what’s going to happen and if you’re not a fan of seeing a nearly perfect robot glaring back at you from the undercarriage of a jet, this may annoy you. The only surprise in the engineering is the way his legs fold out from behind his chest piece, and honestly, I think Hasbro did that just so that he wouldn’t be even more simple. After all, they could have just had his upper legs telescope into his lower legs and it would have worked just as well. Nonetheless, Thunderwing is a perfect example of how a Transformer can be simple and still pretty damn cool. And speaking of cool, Thunderwing also features a detachable drone!

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There’s something about Thunderwing’s jet mode that I absolutely love. He looks like he would fit right in flying in formation with the Seekers or Coneheads. The grey, blue and purple color scheme works really well for a Decepticon and there’s a ton of sculpted detail across the surface of the toy. Let’s face it, you can’t have too many Decepticon jets.

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While the jet mode is a great looking toy, it’s not without a few blemishes. The wings have a habit of coming detached from the body a little too easily. There’s just nothing there to tab into and you can see in a few of my pictures that there’s a gap. Secondly, the robot kibble under the jet doesn’t offer any ground clearance. So, even though he has three sets of flip down landing gear, he can’t really rest on them. Finally, his robot arms don’t peg in anywhere. They don’t really flop about, but it’s pretty uncommon that Hasbro doesn’t include some way to secure all the robo-bits in alt mode. But enough nitpicks about the jet, let’s see how the robot mode fares…

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Yeah, baby, check out that robot mode! I love it! It’s very reminiscent of the original G1 Thunderwing’s Pretender shell. The organic, rounded look to the arms and legs remind me of the style introduced in the 1986 movie designs, albeit not so much what was reflected in the toys at the time. Sure he’s wearing most of his jet mode on his back, but I think it folds up pretty well and I love how the Decepticon insignia on his wing tips are properly orientated for his robot mode. I’m also a big fan of the way his guns angle off of his shoulders.

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Even in robot mode, you can still store his missile launchers on his wings. It’s a little bulky, but I like the fact that there’s somewhere to put them. I also really dig the fact that he can launch his drone right off his back when he’s in robot mode. That would come in handy.

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Of course, the missile launchers can be removed and placed in his hands to be used as guns. And caution is advised, because these babies have hair triggers and a pretty good firing distance.

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Thunderwing’s head sculpt isn’t what I would call traditional, but it certainly features a lot of personality. He has a full “helmet” with some very cross eyebrows and a beautifully painted gold face with a rather intimidating and monstrous mouth. And the light piping! Oh, the glorious light piping! It works really well on this figure.

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I’ll concede that there are a few things about Thunderwing that may put people off and it’s possible that all but the most hardcore fans are likely to miss the nature of his homage. Even I had to look him up in one of my books to remind me what the original Pretender looked like, and I’m rarely stumped when it comes to my G1 references. And yes, if you’re all about clever and complex transformations, then Thunderwing probably isn’t for you. But if it sounds like I’m talking this figure down, that’s far from the case. He’s a very fun Deluxe and a welcome addition to my Decepticon Air Force.

[And that’ll do me for this year. I’m off to take a nap and then I’ve got some serious drinking to do. I will crawl out from under my bed tomorrow long enough to upload my daily post. Until then, be safe and enjoy! -FF]

Dec 31 2010

Transformers Generations: War For Cybertron Cliffjumper by Hasbro

Even before Hasbro leaked the pictures, we all knew it was coming. The inevitable repaint of War For Cybertron Bumblebee as Cliffjumper. I found this guy on the pegs last week and hesitated for a bit as to whether I really needed to own a second version of this mold. Ultimately, it was the resculpted head and the fact that this mold nicely fits the Tron vibe that’s all the rage right now. Plus, I can’t help it, I love me some Cliffjumper, he was such a little prick in the G1 cartoon and he wasn’t afraid to try to kick Megatron’s ass all by himself.

Cliffjumper comes in the standard Generations packaging, but like all the War For Cybertron figures, he comes packed in his robot mode. It’s a doubly good idea here since it allows hesitant buyers like me to see the new head sculpt. The bubble has the now familiar sticker advertising Hasbro’s new network, The Hub, where you can go watch another version of Cliffjumper get shot, resurrected as a slobbering zombie, get cut in half, and then blown up at the center of a hundred megaton Energon explosion. If the ridculous rumor floating around the Intertubes aboutWar for Cybertron and TF: Prime being of the same continuity, then Cliffjumper here is better off staying on Cybertron. [BTW, Hasbro, if I don’t eventually get a Cliffjumper figure with steer horns on the hood of his alt mode, I’m going to be one unhappy little TransFan. -FF]


If you go back and read my review of WFC Bumblebee, you’ll find that I really dig this vehicle mode. I already mentioned it has that great Tron look to it, and it still looks great here, painted over in red. I definitely dig Cliffjumper’s translucent headlights over Bumblebees, and the yellow stripes on his windows really stand out nicely. Apart from those little touches, I’d rate the two versions pretty close together in terms of their aesthetic quality. As with Bumblebee, Cliffjumper’s blaster can be stowed away behind his rear bumper when he’s in vehicle mode.

One of my biggest complaints about Bumblebee was his fidgity and unforgiving transformation. Now that I’ve owned the mold for a little while, that isn’t really as big an issue with Cliffjumper. As with al shell formers, you still need to get everything just right to get him into his alt mode, but the pegs and tabs are all there to hold him together, so long as you know what you’re doing.  

In robot mode, Cliffjumper still has that Dr. Robotnix look to him on account of his somewhat spindly legs and bulbous torso. I’ve found that it’s not so bad looking when you’re viewing him from the side or an angle, but from straight on, he just looks kind of silly. Apart from that I really dig this robot mode, particularly how most of his shell just folds away neatly into a backpack, which isn’t at all obtrusive or an eyesore. The new headsculpt is excellent and very faithful to the G1 animated character design. It is, however a little on the small side, especially when he’s standing next to Bumblebee.

In addition to his little blaster, Cliffjumper has Energon blades that snap out from his wrists. I loved these things on Bumblebee and I love them here too.

Cliffjumper has good articulation, save for his shoulders, which while they are ball jointed, they hang off his torso at an angle, which really makes posing his arms a little off. Aside from that, he has a ball jointed neck, hinged elbows and swivel wrists. His legs are ball jointed at the hips and he has hinged knees.


I thought I might end up with buyer’s remorse on this figure, but I’m really glad I picked him up. I still wish the mold wasn’t so big, as Bumblebee and Cliffjumper look pretty beefy when compared to other WFC figures like Prime, Megatron and Soundwave, but I wouldn’t want to have seen these guys shrunken down to Scout sized figures, so I guess it’s all good. Honestly, though, if you already have Bumblebee, you know exactly what you’re getting with this figure, so you probably already know whether or not you need him in your collection or if he’s an easy pass.

Dec 30 2010

Marvel: X-Men Origins Wolverine Comic Series Deadpool by Hasbro

Holy crap. This Deadpool figure is easily the coolest surprise I got this Christmas. I guess I’ve been gassing on about Deadpool a lot since I’ve been reading Deadpool Corps, and that’s got me going back and re-reading the original ’97 run of the Deadpool comics. I guess, a buddy of mine took it as a hint and sent me this figure and I am in love with it and totally blown away by its very existence, since I’d never seen it before. I think it’s amazingly ironic that a movie that completely butchered the Deadpool character just happened to spawn an action figure line that gave us this awesome guy under the comic series sub-line. And to think that whenever anyone mentioned the Wolverine Origins Deadpool figure, I was just thinking of the horrible movie version.

Ah, the X-Men Origins Wolverine cardback. It’s the same artwork of Hugh Jackman as Logan snarling at you on every generic card, complete with the unnecessarily long movie title, and practically screaming, “BUY THIS FIGURE, BUB!” About the only thing I can say good about this movie was that it was better than Elektra. If you think that’s really a compliment than you should know that I once spent a three hour flight opting to stare at the seat in front of me than watch the in-flight showing of Elektra. But now I can say something else better about the Wolverine movie… it gave me this figure, almost as an apology for fucking up Deadpool so badly in the film. It’s also worth noting that the back panel has one of the lamest possible bios for Deadpool that could possibly written. If i were writing that bio, I would most definitely have mentioned the time when Deadpool sucker punched 16-year-old Kitty Pryde right in the stomach. [Volume 1, Ish 27, I believe. -FF] Now, that’s classic Deadpool. Fortunately, everything on display under the bubble is pure love.


After ripping open the package, and thoroughly destroying it so that I can pretend this is indeed a Marvel Universe Deadpool and that I never actually owned a figure in any way associated with the Wolverine movie, it’s easy to see that Deadpool is indeed glorious. Deadpool is one hundred percent compatible with the Marvel Universe figures, as he uses a very similar body type. The paint apps are immaculate, which is more than I can say for a lot of the MU figures. Deadpool’s belt and harness are a separate piece of soft plastic and includes two scabbards for his swords. It would have been nice if it were easily removable to offer up some more display options, but I can’t see any easy way to remove it without disassembling the figure.

Articulation includes a ball jointed neck. His arms feature ball jointed shoulders and elbows and swivels in the wrists. His legs have ball jointed hips, double hinged knees and swivels in the ankles. His torso features the swivel/ab crunch that is common in most of Hasbro’s MU and GI JOE figures.


Deadpool comes with a nice array of weapons. He has two ninja swords, both of which fit in the scabbards criss-crossing his back. He has an automatic pistol that fits in his holster, and he’s got a si that you can tuck into his belt. He’s also got a folded-stock AK-47. Alas, there is no figure stand included.

It’s amazing to me that Hasbro hasn’t repacked this figure into a Marvel Universe card. What’s even more amazing is that when I called my friend to thank him profusely for such an awesome gift, he just shrugged it off and said that the figure cost next to nothing. So, why is it that I can’t get a MU Bullseye figure for under $35, but Deadpool here can be had on the cheap? What’s that all about?

Dec 29 2010

Iron Man 2 Comic Series: Hulkbuster Iron Man by Hasbro

It’s been a long time since I’ve picked up an Iron Man 2 figure. In the beginning, I was picking up all of these figures, but little by little, I grew weary of seeing the same damn figures on the pegs over and over again. It was the Indiana Jones debacle all over again [Oh, Hasbro, when will you learn??? -FF] and so I just stopped looking. It was just by sheer happenstance that I spotted Hulkbuster Iron Man on the pegs and picking him up was a no-brainer.

The packaging hasn’t changed in this line from the last time I looked at these figures. It’s honestly bizarre to see these cards still dominating so many pegs so long after the movie has come and gone from both theaters and the DVD/Blu-Ray release. The fact that my Walmart still has about 15 pegs dedicated to Iron Man 2 and no Marvel Universe whatsoever really pisses me off to no end. But that’s another issue. The packaging is still great. The bubble is huge and shows off the figure wonderfully, which should please carded collectors to no end.

Two things to know about this figure: He’s big and he’s awesome. Considering how good the sculpting is on the regular Iron Man suits, it’s only natural that Hulkbuster’s larger canvas would be equally impressive. The figure is covered with all sorts of panel lines and plating, as well as the hydraulics for the joints in the arms and legs. The paint apps are solid, although, I do wish Hasbro had matched the colors used on the torso and the limbs and head a little better. It’s not enough to really detract from the figure, but it is noticeable. Still, I love the Hulkbuster design and even if you aren’t one of those crazies that has to own every single variation of Tony Stark’s suits, this one is a pretty distinctive one to add to your collection. Especially if you find your Hulk figure getting unruly on the shelf.

Hulkbuster’s articulation consists of ball joints in the shoulders, elbows, hips, and ankles. The wrists have swivel cuts and the knees are double hinged. He can turn his head from side to side also, and he has a ball joint in the middle of his torso so he can swivel and do an ab crunch. The only thing really missing are swivels in the biceps, which would have been appreciated.

What’s this? No giant missile firing accessory? Nope. Hulkbuster doesn’t come with any weapons at all, although considering the extra plastic that went into making him, I’m not surprised. He does come with the same style of figure stand as all the Iron Man 2 figures. Also included are the three overlay cards that can be fitted into the stand as a backdrop. It’s still a great idea, but Hulkbuster is just way too big to work very well with the stand, which is tiny by comparison. Yeah, you can still plug his foot into it, but he doesn’t need it. He stands fine on his own. Still, I suppose it’s a nice addition if you want to display all your Iron Man 2 figures with the cards in a uniform fashion.

There’s no doubt that the Iron Man 2 line is getting long in the tooth, and it doesn’t help matters that many of the late wave figure are still not showing up on the pegs because they are still clogged with Wave 2 figures. Nonetheless, Hulkbuster Iron Man is proof positive that there are still nice surprises to be found here if you look hard enough. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even stumble across Whiplash or some of the Drones. But that’s probably just crazy talk.

Dec 28 2010

Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons: Highbrow by Hasbro

Some of you might remember, a couple of reviews back, that I commented on how I rarely ever have a problem finding Transformers at retail. So long as I’m patient enough, they all turn up eventually. The one recent exception to that rule was Highbrow, and low and behold, I finally found him on the shelf while making a grocery run to Walmart the other day.

At first glance, this looks like a normal Hunt for the Decepticon Voyager Class box. Highbrow comes in his robot mode and the window is scattered with stickers for The Hub, the HFTD website, and anything else Hasbro is schilling this week. They did, however, mix it up a bit on the packaging here. Instead of having all the goodies on the back panel, the bio blurb and tech specks is located on one of the side panels, leaving just the photos of the toy on the back. It’s odd and I don’t recall ever seeing them do this before. Was it like this on Seaspray? I just don’t remember. Anyway… moving on.



Highbrow’s alt mode is basically a fighter plane right out of Capcom’s Strikers 1945 game. Seriously, as far as I’m concerned this figure is like some kind of impossibly awesome unofficial Transformers-Capcom crossover, which makes me wish for all kinds of similar arcade shooter crossovers. Transformers R-Type, anyone? The aircraft is slightly reminiscent of a P-47, but with a decidedly retro sci-fi styling to it. The sculpt is fantastic, with tons of sculpted rivets and panel lines and the green, grey and blue deco is pretty much perfect. Highbrow’s machine guns are detachable and if you press the engines behind each of the props, the blades will spin. Suffice it to say, I love this alt mode. It’s easily one of my favorites from the entire year.

 


Highbrow has an interesting transformation. It’s not overly complicated, but it is interesting to see how the toy incorporates the tailbooms and wings into his robot mode. The results, however, are a bit of a mixed bag. For starters, Highbrow’s arms are just strange. The forearms are short, wonky and kibbletastic. I appreciate the props on his arms, as they can double as a weapon, but these are not good arms. Remember X-Brawn from Robots in Disguise with the front of the car hanging off his arm? Ok, this isn’t that bad, but it’s the first thing I think of when I look at Highbrow’s arms. He’s also got some serious child-bearing hips going on, that look completely out of place under his waist.

That’s not to say he’s all bad in bot form. I like the way his chest incorporates the folding landing gear and the missile racks on his hips is very cool and reminiscent of Energon Bulkhead/Quickstrike. You can also holster his guns on his hips by pegging them in, which is always a nice touch. The head sculpt is really cool and reminscent of a vintage aviator’s hood with goggles and the light piping in his eyes works really well. I do think the coloring on the figure works better in his alt mode, as his robot mode is mostly gray and powder blue, which isn’t all that exciting.

I know I picked on Highbrow quite a bit, but he’s not at all a bad Transformer. I think I was just really excited about finding him and my expectations were probably set a little too high. His alt mode is stellar, and his robot mode is still solid, even with the noted flaws. I can still recommend him wholeheartedly. And while Highbrow isn’t really an authentic WWII design, I hope he sells well and Hasbro decides to create some more Transformers with vintage-style alt modes. It really is a pretty vast and untapped area with loads of potential.

Dec 26 2010

GI JOE Rise of Cobra: The PITT Mobile Headquarters by Hasbro, Part 2

After all that fuss, it’s finally over. Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I’m looking forward to getting back to business as usual. But first… let’s dive into Part 2 of our look at The PITT Mobile Headquarters.

Converting the PITT from vehicle to HQ is fairly easy. You grab the top handle and lift up, this causes the hinged central tower to stand up and lock into the base, you then slide the roof back until the the roof drops into the top part of the tower and locks. Next up, you fold open the two top hatches, you fold down the back and then you fold out the wings. From here on, it’s all about tweaking it by placing the cardboard decor pieces into their slots, placing the ramp and ladders and then placing the storage containers and ping pong table. [You need about a three foot by two foot area to set this thing up, which is why I’ve got to shoot these pictures without a proper backdrop. -FF] I like the configuration of this thing a lot better than the tacklebox design of the old Mobile Command Center. Now you’re all set to explore the various areas of The PITT HQ. We’re going to start at the top and work our way down. Onward… to the roof!!!!


The roof in HQ mode is pretty much the roof in vehicle mode, only with the extra surface added to each side by the fold out wings. I like how this increases the play area, but the wings aren’t very stable, so any figures you put here are most definitly going to have to be pegged in. You still have your missile launcher and cannon, but all the spotlights are now hanging underneith the side flaps. There’s also an opening roof hatch that lines up with the platform elevator. The only other added play features here are a ramp that folds out of the back and a chute conealed under the handle. You need to deploy your HQ near a table or something at about equal height in order to make use of the bridge. As for the chute, just drop a figure in there and he falls down into the prison, which we’ll see in a minute. The roof is a great place to stage battles or maybe get a JOE vs Cobra soccer match going on, but aside from that there’s not much else going on up here and it ends up looking like the lobby in some kind of GI JOE MMO.


The central pillar holds the platform elevator that can go up or down and also has the chute that leads to the prison. The prison has an escape feature, but not much else to it. And that takes us down to the lower deck. The left wing features the breakaway wall gimmick, which sucks because the panels don’t hold in all that well, which means most of the time the side of The PITT’s vehicle mode looks like it’s all bashed in. I finally got mine to lock in pretty well and I’m never taking them off again. The right wing features slots to stick in the cardboard decor pieces, more on those later, and a fold down area that features some lockers and bunks. Behind the central pillar, there’s another little area that has another bunk.


At the front of the base is the little command cubicle, which features a large computer panel and all of the playset’s electronics. Press the buttons to hear all sorts of sounds and phrases, including alarms, and Joes being paged to various areas. It would have been nice if Hasbro provided a chair here, although there are two chairs off to the side. As a command center, it’s kind of disappointing, The ROCC’s was much better. Here there’s also a large opening storage area with compartments for some of the weapons that came with the set. You can also store some of the cardboard pieces in here when you close it all up.


I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the inclusion of cardboard parts with this set. Sure, it’s hard to deny that spending $100 for a playset made partially of cardboard is disappointing, but none of the cardboard pieces are integral to the playset. In fact, they’re all completely optional bonuses. The ping pong table is my only gripe. It’s not in any of the pictures, because it’s such a piece of garbage, I didn’t even bother keeping it assembled and FigureFeline made off with it as soon as he had the chance. The cargo containers on the other hand are pretty cool. Bottom line, if you don’t like them, just toss them.

In terms of size and play features, I think The PITT is definitely worth a look. It’s amazing how many figures you can get onto this thing. I think the box said there are 84 pegs. The set up I used for these pictures isn’t even close to filling it up. I stopped setting up figures just because my cat was beginning to take an interest and it was only a matter of time before he started stealing them or knocking them all over the damn place. On the downside, there aren’t really a lot of specific areas to stage the figures in. A lot of them are just loitering around on the roof or standing on the walls.

In terms of quality of construction, I think The PITT falls short of its original hundred dollar price point. I paid $40 for it, and I’m not dissatisfied, but then again, I got it for display and not for play. I don’t think this thing would last too long getting beaten up by kids playing with it, which seems to be the biggest complaint about it if you read any of the customer reviews on toy retailer’s websites. I suppose the electronics features could have been better implemented. The AT-AT retailed at around the same price and it included not only lights but features that were spread out all over the toy, whereas The PITT really just has a simple soundbox. I’d say if you can snag it for cheap, it’s worth adding to your collection, just make sure you have somewhere to put it, because I still have no idea where the hell I’m going to keep mine.