May 2 2010

Indiana Jones: German Troop Car by Hasbro

If clearance has a name, it must be Indiana Jones!

Its sad but true, there’s still fallout from Hasbro’s Indiana Jones toyline kicking around if you know where to look. I never saw one of these things at retail during the toyline’s lifespan, and then all of the sudden I stumble upon two of them at Ross’ toy graveyard for about seven bucks each. I was pretty excited to find it, because besides that elusive Vogel figure, this Troop Car was the last piece I needed to complete my collection. Couldn’t find it anywhere, now I have two. It never rains, but it pours.

The Troop Car is one of three larger vehicles released in the IJ toyline. The others included the German Cargo Truck from Raiders and the Soviet Jungle Cutter from Crystal Skull. The packaging is really sweet, and while they look like normal boxes, the inside trays actually convert to some cool little dioramas, provided you’re willing to trash the box to get it. The artwork on the boxes is somewhat reminiscent of the old Kenner line, only with a cool action packed illustration on the front and the toy images on the back, showing off the various features. In addition to the truck, you get three oil drums, a breakaway barricade, and a missile for the machine gun.

The toy itself is not as detailed as the Cargo Truck or the Jungle Cutter. Its a nice piece, but it just looks somewhat lacking. Some weathered paint apps or a sticker sheet would have gone a long way to helping it along, but then let’s remember that swastikas are a no-no. Still, what’s here gets the job done. There’s a spare tire mounted on the back, a decent looking grill and headlights on the front. The floor and runningboards are textured, there’s a clear windshield, steering wheel, and even a stick shift for the manual tranny.

The toy rolls really well and you can get it up to a good enough speed to really smash through the barricade and barrels. The machine gun on the back rotates and has a pegged platform to hold a figure. It also shoots a missile. Granted, that’s about all this thing does, but you can really load it up with figures. In addition to the gunner, there’s room for four figures on the seats and another four pegged on the runningboards. If you’re like me and acquired quite a few German soldiers from this line, you’ll have plenty of space for them on this ride.

My one big gripe with this toy is that the windshield and rollbar are made of soft rubbery plastic. I suppose its less likely to break, but if you store your car in the box, make sure its sitting upright or else you’ll get a little warpage like on mine. Thankfully it can be straightened out with a little patience and effort.

Overall, the Troop Car takes a backseat to the Cargo Truck as my favorite toy of the line, but then the Cargo Truck is work of art that’s hard to beat. This thing is not too shabby, though, and when you get past the fact that its a little bland, its actually a lot of fun. The bonus accessories are really cool and make great additions to display with the Cargo Truck and Motorcycle as well.

May 1 2010

Star Wars Legacy Collection: Zuckuss by Hasbro

All in all I’ve been pretty good about keeping my vow to kick collecting Star Wars. In the past couple of years the only Star Wars toys I’ve picked up were the Legacy Millenium Falcon and a set of figures I found clearanced at Ross. This year, I knew I’d be slacking back on that a little bit because of some of the great stuff shown off at Toy Fair. I know I will be picking up most of the vintage carded figures, that marvelous AT-AT (already pre-ordered), and a few other things. So, its probably that sense of impending doom that has made me spend a little more attention to what’s in the Star Wars section of the toy aisles these days. As a result, on my last trip to Toys R Us I spotted Zuckuss on the pegs and decided I needed him. They were doing a “buy one get one half off sale,” so I also picked up another figure too, but we’ll save that one for another time. Among the odds and ends that I kept when I sold off my Star Wars collection were the bounty hunters, so adding an updated Zuckuss to that cadre seemed like a good idea. I should note they also had two really sweet looking Force Unleashed multi-packs. I was really tempted, but maybe next time.

Since its been a really long time since I last bought a carded Star Wars figure, this is my first experience with the new packaging. Overall, I like it. Its clean, compact and it shows the figure off very well. The position of the character art and name on the package makes it fairly easy to look through the pegs to see who’s hiding. The back panel has a little blurb on the character and a window to see what Build A Droid part you’re getting. My Zuckuss came with a leg for a figure which I am certain I will never, ever complete. Oh yeah, Darth Maul’s mug is stickered on the package. Jesus, does he have to get his picture on everything?

The last time I owned a figure of this character it was the vintage Kenner release back when he was called 4-LOM (and 4-LOM was called Zuckuss). I remember he was a mail away figure and when I got him I had no idea what role he was going to play in the movie so I played with him as if he was a good guy. Little did I know that not only would he be a villain, but he’d only have about two nano-seconds of screen time. Of course, since then, there’s been a shit load of backstory retconned to this guy in comics and novels and everything else.

Hasbro has continued to get better and better with many of their Star Wars figure sculpts. Zuckuss here is definitely on par with the quality of figures that were being released in the premium VOTC line several years back. The insectoid head sculpt is excellent and has two hoses that run from his breathing appartus on his backpack. I was delighted to find that I could unplug the backpack as well as the hoses from his face. Actually, I think he might die without that, so I put it back on pretty quickly. His robes are mostly sculpted in plastic, although he does have a softgoods skirt. Yes, that creates a disconnect between the plastic and cloth, but I still dig it as it frees up the leg articulation. I particularly like the fact that this figure represents the character’s short stature.

The articulation on this little guy is excellent. He has ball joints in the shoulders, elbows and knees. His legs are jointed at the hips and his ankles are hinged. He also has a swivel cut in his waist and his head is ball jointed. For an extra that just stood in the background of a short scene, you can finally let your imagine run wild and make Zuckuss the action star that he was born to be!

Zuckuss comes with his blaster carbine and… what?? Where’s the stand? I seriously cannot believe that Hasbro stopped putting figure stands in the packages. Obviously, I’ve been away for a while, but this to me is a no brainer. They have the molds made, how much could it cost to stamp those things out? I don’t even care if its personalized. Luckily I have plenty of generic clear disc stands lying around, so Zuckuss need not go standless, but seriously, Hasbro, bring back the stands.

I’m coming to grips with the fact that collecting Star Wars figures is something that was seeded into me at such a young age and had such a profound effect on my childhood that I will never be free of it. Zuckuss here is a great example of that. He’s little more than window dressing in the movie and yet I love this figure so much. He’s just a badass little bug dude that is ready to pursue his quarry across the universe. What does he do with his all the bounty money he earns? Does he drink fine booze and smoke expensive cigars? Does he buy expensive cars and bug-hookers? I don’t know, but between this little figure and my warped imagination… by god, I’m going to find out!

Apr 23 2010

Transformers Universe: Micromaster Constructicons by Hasbro

I really dig small Transformers. I was hooked on the Mini-cons like crack and their spiritual predecessors, the Micromasters were just as awesome. Yeah, these figures are really simple, but they’re so highly collectible, I can’t help but have totes full of the little buggers. My favorite of all the little guys were the combiners. And since Devastator has always been my favorite combiner, there was never any doubt that I would have to pick up the Micromaster version of him put out by Takara a while back as Sixbuilder.

Of course, the original Sixbuilder didn’t come standard in the iconic green and purple Devastator colors, but rather each of the six figures were available in these colors as chase figures. If you were in Japan, it was probably a maddening prospect to get them all, since these figures were blind packaged. In other words, you bought the little box and had no idea who was inside until you got him open. I was lucky enough to find an auction a while back that was selling a whole case of them, which guaranteed at least one of each chase figure.

Later, these figures were released in the US under the Transformers Universe moniker. They were carded similar to basic class figures and were KBToys exclusives. That meant that you were probably better off flying to Japan and trying your luck with the blind packaging, then finding them in the US. Back in my golden age of toy hunting, I actually once spotted three or four of them hanging on the pegs of a KBToys Outlet store, but never the whole set.

Unlike the original Constructicons, which were a team of five, there were six of thee guys, hense the name Sixbuilder. The figures consisted of Hightower, the boom crane. Quickmix, the cement mixer. Bonecrusher, the bullsozer. Long Haul, the dump truck. Scavenger, the steam shovel. And Buckethead, the earth mover. Obviously, Hasbro lost some of the trademarks of the original names over the years and had to get creative. Plus, these were the names of the American figures. With names like Crush Bull and Gran Arm, I’m not even going to go into the Japanese names.

Naturally, the figures are simple to transform, but there’s still a really nice amount of detail on them, both in robot and vehicle form. They all roll nicely in vehicle form and many of them have moving parts like Hightower’s crane or Buckethead’s scoop. They all have tiny stamped Decepticon logos, their little faces are even painted, and in many cases, their articulation isn’t much worse than the original G1 figures.

Like the original Constructicons, these guys rely on a number of add-on parts to complete their gestalt form. Each figure came with one of these pieces and consisted of a frame for his torso and pelvis, two feet, two hands, a head and a gun. The cool thing about these little Constructions is that their spare parts, when not being used to form Devastator, can be used to build an attack jet that one of the robots can ride in.

I have no idea what the Takara figures sell for nowadays, but you can usually find a set of the US ones on Ebay in the $50 range. Its a fair amount of money for such small and simple toys, but if you happen to be a MOC collector, that would be the best way to go. I’ve never owned the US set, but I have to admit they do look fantastic in their packaging. Either way, these are great little figures and well worth tracking down, especially if you are a Devastator nut like myself.

Tags: constructicons, devastator, micromasters, sixbuilder, transformers

Apr 17 2010

Iron Man 2: Crimson Dynamo by Hasbro

Based on the frequency of my posts on Iron Man 2 toys, you can probably guess that I am really excited for next month’s film release. In the meantime, I’ve been having a field day with the sheer bulk of Iron Man 2 toys that continue to populate the pegs and shelves. I wasn’t planning on any great big toy hunts this week as I prepare my wallet for Monday’s dreaded Matty Collector Sale Day, but I couldn’t resist coming home with at least one new IR2 figure.

I’ve been looking for Crimson Dynamo ever since I first heard he was out in the initial assortments, but I’ve had a hell of a time finding him. I don’t doubt that he’s been out there hiding all this while, but there’s only so much time I’m willing to spend flipping through dozens of Iron Man figures to find one I want. Seriously, aside from Hasbro’s now infamous pallet of Rise of Cobra figures, Iron Man 2 has the greatest quantity of figures I’ve seen for a film release in a while. Well, this trip to Wally World, Dynamo was hanging right up front so I grabbed him.

Here he is in all his awesome carded glory. I’ve written several times about how much I dig Hasbro’s artwork and overall presentation on these packages, so I won’t go into it again. Just note that Dynamo is from the Comic Series, as opposed to the Movie or Concept Series.

It took me a few moments to realize who this figure reminded me of and that it hit me. Its Maximillian from The Black Hole. Yeah. Same color, similar head. The only major difference is Dynamo’s got legs. The sculpt is a bit simple, but he’s definitely on target for the comic character’s design. He’s got that organic, muscular looking aspect to his arms and legs that the Movie designs don’t have. Its not that the figure’s sculpt is not without solid detail, but being from the Comic based figures just seem less intricate than the Movie figures I own. That’s not so much a criticism as it is just an observation. Even the paintwork is pretty simple. He’s mostly one solid shade of glossy crimson with some maroon accents and a painted visor on his mask.

Dynamo’s articulation consists of a rotating head, balljoints in the shoulders and elbows, and swivel cuts in the wrists. His legs are ball jointed at the hips, his knees are double hinged and his ankles are ball jointed. He’s got a little movement in his mid torso, but its rather restricted by his sculpt. All in all, this figure has great poseability.

Crimson Dynamo comes with the same stand that’s been issued with the other figures in the series, along with the three Armor Cards, which can be slid into the stand as a backdrop display. He also comes with a molded plastic piece that simulates his visor firing. As always, I’m not a fan of these pieces, but since I can just cast them aside and they don’t detract from the figure, it doesn’t bother me that Hasbro continues to include them with the figures. I liked the ones that came with War Machine, but this guy’s weapon effect just looks stupid.

Unless you’ve been following Iron Man before the films, Dynamo is probably not a high profile character for you. As a result, he may not be a figure that is in terribly high demand because a lot of newcomers to the franchise just don’t recognize him. On the other hand, I’m guessing he’s short packed, because there seems to be like 20 of any given Iron Man figure to every one of him. Either way, he’s a great figure and considering how heavily skewed the figure assortments are to Iron Man himself and his variant armors, Crimson Dynamo is a refreshing addition to my collection, especially as it gives my Iron Man figures someone to beat up on until Hasbro gets around to giving us Whiplash.

Apr 7 2010

Iron Man 2: Repulsor Power Iron Man, Mark VI Figure by Hasbro

There are some really awesome 1:6 scale Iron Man figures out there on the market right now, and no doubt more coming alongside the new film. If you haven’t seen the ones from Hot Toys, they’re just plain unbelievable. They also cost around $150 each, which is why they aren’t likely to wind up in my collection any time soon. Don’t get me wrong, if I had cash to burn, I’d own them, but I’ve got plenty of other vices besides toys to bankroll, so its just not going to happen.

I did, however, pick up this large scale Iron Man, Mark VI figure from Hasbro today. He isn’t quite a 12-inch figure, he’s more like a 9-inch scale. I’ve seen it a bunch of times in the toy aisles and I didn’t turn up much else of interest on the hunt today, so I figured I’d pick it up and check him out.

The packaging is really nice, as it has been on all of Hasbro’s Iron Man 2 toys. The huge window really shows off what you’re getting, and by that I mean not just the figure, but the ridiculously huge and goofy looking weapons that take up more space in the package than the figure. The back panel shows the figure in all his goofy “snap-on blaster” glory. It also has speech bubbles showing off three of the many phrases he says. Oddly enough, one of the phrases, “Inbound missile attack,” isn’t something the figure actually says. Oops. Although, there is a Try Me button, so if you play with this thing in the toy aisle long enough, you can figure that out before you buy it. Just make sure you have plenty of time, because this figure says a shitload of stuff.

Once out of the package, I was pretty impressed with the sculpt, although its admittedly nothing that isn’t reflected in the 3 3/4″ figure. In fact, the level of detail on the two figures is pretty close. Although, I think that fact is more a reflection on how good the 3 3/4″ figures are, then anything bad about this guy. He looks good. All the panel lines in the armor are represented and he even has treads on his boots. Both repulsors can be seen in his hands, and while I’m not a big fan of the new triangular Arc Reactor, its faithfully represented here and lights up when you press it, although i’m wondering why they made it light up green. Really, the only bad thing I can say about this figure’s aesthetics are the numerous screws visible on his back, but that’s par for the course for a figure in this scale and price range.

The paint on this figure is really nicely done, just like the smaller scale figures. I absolutely love the rich, glossy red lacquer they use to give him that “new car in the showroom” shine and it really pops when contrasted with the matte gold plating on his arms, legs and face.

Unfortunately, while the figure looks fantastic, the articulation really sucks. The only ball joint you’ll find on this guy is in the neck. His shoulders only rotate and he’s got hinged elbows and swivel wrists. His legs rotate at the hips and his knees are hinged. That’s it. Obviously, I’d much rather Hasbro invested more money in the joints and less on the ludicrous accessories.

And how about those accessories? Both of Iron Man’s weapons snap onto his arms, so they don’t detract from the figure in any way. One is a cluster of three huge silver rockets, that don’t do anything. This is actually the better of the two. The other one is a massive over-and-under missile launcher that has a big missile and some kind of claw thing, both of which shoot. It makes the launchers that come with the smaller figures look reasonable by comparison. Its just plain awful and he can’t even stand while aiming it. Obviously, I don’t plan on displaying him with these weapons, and I doubt they’ll ever even come out of the box again, which is probably a good thing, because I’m concerned about what snapping them on and off the figure’s arms will do to the paint job.

The speech gimmick is pretty well done, even if it isn’t Robert Downy Jr.’s actual voice. It still sounds clear and the voice has a slightly mechanical twinge to it. As I said earlier, this figure says a shitload of phrases. Here they are…

I am Iron Man.
Iron Man armor combat ready.
Repulsor Power!
Convert all power to uni-beam.
Uni-beam blast.
Mark IV armor, not bad.
Lets see if this dog can hunt.
Target engaged.
War Machine, see if you can keep up.
Rhodey!
Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk.
Repulsor charged.
Stand down.
Keep the skies clear.
Yeah, I can fly.

Holy crap, 15 lines! Hasbro really went overboard with the phrases and a lot of them are followed by explosion sounds or wooshing flyby sounds. And yeah, why he says the Mark IV armor thing when this is his Mark VI armor is another little gaff on Hasbro’s part. No biggie. The phrases are not randomized, so you hear them in the same order every time.

All in all, this is a pretty cool display piece with a nice sculpt and a great paintjob. The weapons are awful, but you can leave them in the box and they don’t at all detract from the figure itself. I really wish Hasbro would have invested more in the figure’s articulation. Just Ball joints in the shoulders and upper legs would have gone a long way. Still, considering how many other companies are doing larger scale figures with hardly any usable articulation, I suppose things could have been worse. Either way, considering the price point, this guy is not too shabby.

Apr 6 2010

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Scattorshot by Hasbro

Even when it seems like the Revenge of the Fallen toys should be winding down, I keep getting surprised with new Scout Class figures on the pegs. This last time through the toy aisle it was Scattorshot, an Autobot anti-aircraft truck that seems to be more or less an homage to the Cybertron Basic Class figure of the same name. Yeah, the Cybertron figure was a halftrack, whereas this Scattorshot is a regular truck with AA guns mounted on it, but I think the similarities hold true beyond just the name. Pretty much all the Scout Class figures in the ROTF line have been outstanding, so I was anxious to get this guy home and rip him open.

Like all the Revenge of the Fallen Scouts, Scattorshot is packaged in his robot form, but we’ll start off by looking at his alternate truck form, because that just feels right to me.

The sculpt here is solid, but nothing outrageously special. He’s basically a pick up truck with two anti-aircraft guns mounted on the roof and a plow projecting off the front bumper. Overall, the truck form is solid, rolls nicely, and the roof cannons are articulated so that they can swivel and raise. The color scheme is pretty simple. He’s mostly very dark blue with black windows, gold cannons and armor on the sides and the plow is silver. There are also two silver Autobot insignias on his sides. The only thing really missing is the NEST logo, which I thought it a bit odd that they were missing since he is a military vehicle.

Scattorshot’s transformation is rather straightforward and yet still manages to be unique. I like the way the back of the truck forms his shoulders and the split plow forms his knees. He can also arm both of his cannons as hand-held weapons. In bot form, Scattorshot trades most of his dark blue color from the truck for a lighter gray with some gold and black trim. I’m not terribly fond of this light gray plastic because it just looks kind of dull and doesn’t really show the sculpted details off all that well. Still, all in all, he’s a cool enough little robot.

Scattorshot’s articulation includes a ball jointed head, shoulders and upper legs. His elbows are both hinged and have ball joints and his knees and ankles are hinged.

I’m pretty sure Scattorshot is the last of the new molds I need for the Revenge of the Fallen Scouts. There are still a few repaints that I may yet pick up before I’m finally done with this line, and I’ve yet to find the Voyager Mindwipe figure. Still, as cool as these little Scouts are, I’m really jonesing for the stuff we saw at Toy Fair to start hitting the shelves. The movie has both come and gone in theaters and on DVD and its time to retire the figures for something new.

Mar 23 2010

Star Wars: Legacy Collection Joker Squadron Figures by Habsro

Ok, so sometime around three years ago I gave up collecting Star Wars figures and toys and sold off most of my collection. It was a decision that was partly motivated by me needing space (I wanted to convert my spare room into a library) and partly because I needed the money. But it was still a conscious effort to cut off Star Wars rather than the other toy lines I collected. I guess my main reasoning was that it had just gotten so out of hand. I had bookcases upon bookcases lined with loose figures, and more and more of those figures were based on characters I barely knew. Some of the EU figures I didn’t know at all and a growing number were coming from the Prequel movies that I really didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm for.

I did keep some items, like most of the figures for my Imperial army and some of the ships that I really liked, mostly from the Original Trilogy. I still have fun taking a look through some of the new Star Wars stuff that comes out, and I’m open to pick up a piece now and again, but the truth is that in the last three years or so, the only Star Wars toy that I’ve purchased was the Legacy Millenium Falcon. That is until now.

I was poking around Ross’ Toy Graveyard today, you know the horribly kept area in the back where dead toy lines go to rot. From time to time I’ve found some good stuff back there for good deals and today I was following up on a lead that they were starting to get in some of those GI JOE Assault on Cobra Island sets. I didn’t find any of those, but I did find this Joker Squad set for $14.99 and I decided, “what the hell… why not.” It does go with the Imperials that make up the remains of my collection and I did actually read the Legacy comic that these figures are taken from (it was only Issue #4 and thus early enough in the series that I hadn’t quit on it yet). And considering this thing sold for more than twice that over at Entertainment Earth, I just couldn’t resist picking it up.

The packaging is nothing special, but it does a nice job of displaying the figures, and best of all it is 100 percent collector friendly. You just open the side flap and slide out the tray. The only thing holding the figures down are those clear rubber bands, so a quick snip snip and you can get your figures out and return them to the tray with no worries. It also has a sticker denoting that it is a Limited Edition Entertainment Earth online exclusive. Now, if only Ross hadn’t cemented that friggin price label right to the window of the box. Grrrr.

If you haven’t read Legacy #4, I can’t really recommend it, unless you’re a crazy serious Star Wars junkie, and if that’s the case, you probably already did. Its ok. Its interesting in that it covers another Civil War within the Empire, this time dealing with renegade Stormtroopers defecting to support another Emperor pretender. The characters are all cliche war movie schlock. You’ve got Anson Trask, the “noob” that joins the squad right before the suicide mission; Harkas the hard-ass sargeant; Hondo, the silent type; Vax the scrounger; and Jes Gistang, the Squad’s token female, who for some non-sensical reason is in charge of the heavy gun, despite being the smallest of the bunch. There’s also Lord Maleval, a Sith Lord sent to go with the Squad and make sure they take out the 908th Division’s base.

The set consists of the five members of the 407th Division’s Joker Squad along with Maleval. Now keep in mind, as five of these figures are Stormtroopers, the set reuses the same body four times. The fifth is the now infamous first female Stormtrooper figure, Jes, for which Hasbro was generous enough to provide a unique, body sculpt and a new belt. She also comes with the “big gun” she used in the comic. The other troopers all come with their standard blasters and Hondo comes with his vibro knife. The only other difference among the Stormtroopers bodies is Sgt. Harkass has yellow stripes on the arms of his armor, which I didn’t remember him having in the comic, but when I dug out my copy to check… yep, there they are. These figures use the same rubbery removable helmets as the Legacy Collection Stormtrooper with Jango Fett’s face.

The head sculpts are all new and unique. Naturally, each member has a really unique look about them to distinguish them as separate characters, at least with their helmets off. Which begs the question, how the hell do they keep from shooting each other when fighting other Stormtroopers? In the comic, both factions of Stormtroopers look exactly alike. Either way, the head sculpts are all good, although Hondo looks exactly like Luke Skywalker.

Lord Maleval is a really cool figure, even if he looks like the product of Darth Maul raping a Quarran. The coolest thing about this figure are his robes. Besides having a skirt around his legs, he has a massive flowing cape and hood, and the bottom of the cape is lined with a bendy plastic wire that not only weights it down but lets you pose it a bit. Its one of the cooler things I’ve seen in a Star Wars figure in a while. Maleval also comes with his lightsaber and his electrified whip.

All in all, this is a nice set and it brings something rather unique to my collection of Imperials. The question of it being a “Limited Edition” is pretty dubious, as it was released quite a while ago and Entertainment Earth still seems to have plenty left. All in all, I think the biggest problem with this set was the initial price. Sure $39.99 doesn’t sound like a lot for six exclusive Star Wars figures, as its actually less than these would have sold for on individual cards. But when you consider this sets heavy reuse of parts, it just seems way overpriced. They could have at least thrown in a copy of the comic for people who didn’t read it.

Mar 21 2010

Transformers Robots in Disguise: Dreadwind and Smokejumper by Hasbro

In today’s post I’m going to take a look at one (actually, make that two) of my favorite of the slightly obscure Transformers: Dreadwind and his little pal Smokejumper. These guys were originally released in Japan as part of the Neo Beast Wars line in the mid 90’s as Destrons, Starscream and BB with a cool black, purple and neon yellow color scheme. I wish I still had mine to show you, but BB broke and I ditched them both out of disgust. Fortunately, these molds eventually came Stateside as Decepticons with new color schemes and new identities.

These figures were released under the Robots in Disguise moniker around 2003 as Target Exclusives. Keep in mind, though, this was well after the RiD line had gone away and the artwork on the boxes were made to more resemble the Armada line, which was still out at the time. I think, technically, these releases fit more into the Universe line, back when it consisted mostly of repaints of older molds. Either way, they came packaged together in a window box. They also came with a pair of those cool character cards that Hasbro packaged with the Armada and Energon toys.

Dreadwind is the huge tactical stealth bomber and Smokejumper is the smaller fighter plane. They both feature a ton of detail on their sculpts, mostly in the form of intricate panel lines. They are each molded in two-tone green with gray and have transparent red parts. I can’t say I like the colors quite as much as the original black, purple and yellow, but it is still an overall nice military style color scheme. There are a few stickers on each to add some more detail and the Decepticon logos are actually painted directly onto the figures. These guys came with a whopping 14 missiles, of which I can now only locate 6 for Dreadwind’s main cannon. There are six more that slot in under Dreadwind’s wings and another two for Smokejumper’s launchers.

Besides looking great, these Decepticons have a handful of cool gimmicks. In jet mode, Smokejumper can dock with his larger buddy just by sliding him into the space on his back. And if that’s not enough, Dreadwind is also a triple-changer with a third alternate tank form. The tank form definitely looks rather tacked on, as it basically just amounts to folding out the molded treads on the sides, folding up the wings (which are spring loaded) and folding up the huge missile launcher, which can rapid fire all six missiles as you turn the back of the drum. Both aircraft also have working landing gear and Dreadwind’s wing-mounted missiles can be dropped like bombs by pressing the buttons over each one.

Dreadwind has a pretty cool transformation and when you’re done, you’re left with a stocky, but really powerful looking robot. His overall design is really cool, with the front portion of the aircraft forming his chest and that huge missile launcher resting on his shoulder so that he can blast away at Autobot fools. His face is pretty simple, but the light piping on red visor works exceptionally well. His articulation is excellent and consists of a head that turns, arms that have universal movement in the shoulders and hinged elbows, and legs that have hinges in at the hips and knees. The only problem here is that Dreadwing is really top heavy and his leg joints tend to be rather loose, so making him stand can be a challenge.

Smokejumper is a really neat little guy. In scale he’s somewhere between a big Scout and a smallish Deluxe. His overall appearance and transformation are both very similar to the Energon Deluxe Starscream figure, which was obviously modeled closely on this little guy. And for good reason too, since this mold was Starscream in the Neo Beast Wars line.

Both of Smokejumper’s missiles launchers come off his wings at transformation and can be held in his hands while in robot mode. He has decent articulation, consisting of a turning head, universal movement in the shoulders and hinged elbows. His legs have ball joints in the hips, but his knees are not hinged to move front and back, just inward as part of the transformation.

I absolutely love these figures. They display great, are lots of fun to play with, and make an excellent addition to any Decepticon air force. Despite some loose joint issues, these are actually much higher quality than the original Japanese releases, which were made from some seriously flimsy plastic. Its a shame that these were exclusives, because they really are too good to be only circulated in a limited release. I’m also kind of surprised that Hasbro hasn’t rolled them out again, especially since, both toys were re-released in yet another color scheme in Japan. The good news is that when they do crop up on Ebay, they don’t usually go for much more than $20-30 for the pair, and they are well worth it.

Mar 16 2010

GI JOE: GI Joe Vs Cobra HISS Type IV Tank by Hasbro

I usually love talking about my toys, but its going to take me an extra couple of drinks, just to get through this entry. Ok, so I don’t remember a lot about the GI JOE Vs Cobra line. I was on my own little break from collecting Joes (and proabably all toys) at the time, and while I did go back and get some of these figures and vehicles, they all tend to blur together in my head with SpyTroops and whatever else was out at the time. I wound up selling off most of the shit from that era when the 25th Anniversary stuff came out and I realized that most Joes from this era were garbage compared to the awesome new stuff and neither I nor my closets have any real regrets about doing it. Anywho, among the things I kept were a pair of these god awful tanks known as the HISS Type IV’s. I think the main reason I kept these was because I couldn’t get enough money for them to make up for the trouble of packing and shipping them.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The fact that the Hiss IV is decorated to look like a fucking snake is not really the reason that I hate these things. That stuff doesn’t bother me because its very much in line with the classic cartoon and comics. Cobra had cargo planes with snake heads, snake robots, and, Jesus, if Cobra can have a friggin zombie emperor that wears a snake suit, then putting a little snake motif on their tanks isn’t going to make me too upset. Its basically just like nose art taken to the extreme.

Besides, the overall sculpt on these toys is pretty nice. The triangular treads are very much in keeping with the classic HISS design. The snakeskin texturing and paint apps are really well executed. And hey, gotta love those giant fangs on the front. Or maybe not. I’ll also say that having an enclosed, armored cockpit as opposed to having the driver sitting in plain view under a glass canopy is probably a much better idea from a tactical standpoint. There’s also a few cool armaments, like a rocket launcher hanging off the side under the canopy and two firing missiles on each side of the front grill. But beyond that most everything else about this vehicle is pure balls. So let’s look at some of the stuff about this toy that really pisses me off.

First off, what is the deal with the cockpit? It extends forward and then push a button and it flips up into the air on a set of extended stilts. What possible function does this serve? Its like they just put it in there because they could. Add to that the pointless fact that the canopy will not open unless its in this position. How the fuck is the driver supposed to get in and out? Sure, maybe on some scaffolding back at base. But how the hell does he get in and out in the field? Is this some kind of way Cobra instills bravery into their drivers? “Don’t sssssssscrew up, buddy, because you ain’t getting out until you get back to HQ!” Why would you design something like this? Its clearly the work of an insane person.

Secondly, the Type IV design replaces the turret from the original HISS with a completely exposed gun seat. Yeah, it wasn’t bad enough that the poor gunner’s head was sticking up out of the top of the tank, Cobra’s engineers had to make it even more dangerous to be a HISS gunner. Now, you have virtually no cover at all. Unless GI Joe is aiming directly at the flimsy iron plating in front of the gun, he’s probably going to hit you. You’re just a sitting duck up there. But then at least if the thing is about to explode, you can get away fast. The guy trapped in the cockpit will be a goner for sure.

Next up, I hate the big ugly sockets all over this thing. If memory serves, these were part of the sound chip gimmick that made different sounds depending on what weapon you plugged into it. Its ugly and stupid. Also, mine doesn’t work anymore and I’m too lazy to put new batteries in it. One other feature of the Type IV HISS is the fact that the back opens up. This is sort of cool, as you can toss gear in there or prisoners or whatever, but in the end, this compartment just reminds me of the little space on the back of a Big Wheel where you could pack your snack if you were going out for a long ride. It was a potentially good idea, which ultimately saw fruition in the DTC HISS, but here its just not executed very well.

The HISS Type IV came bundled with a Neo Viper figure. As I recall it was a pretty cool figure, but I sure don’t have it anymore, which is why I’m using Major Bludd to show this thing off. I should also mention the packaging, which had no window to cover the toy and just left it hanging out there to collect dust on the shelf and have kids come along and peel off the stickers and rub boogers on it. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.

This design was also repainted and recycled as part of the Valor Vs Venom line, where it got a pretty cool black and blue paint deco, but also a much bigger and dumber looking weapon mounted on the top. The new design made it look a bit more like a traditional Cobra vehicle, but this repaint was notoriously difficult to find as it came in on tail end of the series. I don’t mind owning this thing, or even two of them for that matter, mainly because they don’t take up too much room and its cool to have a collected evolution of the HISS to display, even if that includes the lamer designs like this one. The real question is whether the new HISS will actually be worse than this one or not. I doubt it could be worse, but I did notice it has the same kind of elevating cockpit gimmick, so its good to know that Hasbro hasn’t learned from their mistakes.

Mar 15 2010

GI Joe: DTC HISS Tank by Hasbro

As I’m sure a lot of you know, Hasbro showed off Cobra’s new HISS tank at this year’s Toy Fair. I remember that day well because in the very instant I first saw it, I both began to weep like a baby and threw up in my mouth a little bit. Then I was just overcome with guilt by the realization that I would probably still buy it anyway. Yeah, not a big fan. But, it gave me pause to rummage through my totes and dig out the last significant HISS redesign released by Hasbro.

Its somewhat fitting to follow a Sigma Six post with this HISS toy since it was part of Hasbro’s Direct To Consumer line after the 3 3/4″ Joes had disappeared from the toy aisles and Sigma Six reigned supreme. While the DTC figures were mostly shameless kitbashes of older figures, we actually got a couple of pretty good vehicles in this short lived line, and this HISS tank was damn sure one of them.

The coolest thing about the DTC HISS tank is that it wasn’t a complete redesign and it didn’t try to make itself look like a giant fucking snake. Its design takes the original tried-and-true HISS tank and makes some sensible modifications. The result is an all around better designed vehicle, with more playability, and dammit, it just looks awesome. What’s also cool is that this new HISS looks perfectly fine sitting next to the original. Because they work well together, I just like to refer to this one as my Special Weapons HISS or Heavy Assault HISS.

Instead of being all black, this HISS has a substantial amount of coppery trim. The missile launchers, the tread plates and the trim around the canopy are all matte copper colored and all of these pieces have some nice weathering to give the toy some character. Many of the stickers are reminiscent of the old HISS tank. One thing worth noting, the huge vacant surface under the canopy on the front looks like its screaming for detail, like it was supposed to get a sticker, but Hasbro forgot. I guess that’s fitting since for some reason I still haven’t put the stickers on my older HISS tank either.

While the old HISS design was content with just two laser cannons on the top, this model has a whopping eight firing missiles. Four of these take the place of the old HISS’ dorsal guns and can be rotated 360 degrees as well as elevated up for surface to air fire. The dorsal launchers can also be configured in two different ways, either with the gunner in front of the launchers or behind them like the old HISS guns. The other four missiles are “chasers” positioned broadside on each side of the canopy. Lastly, there’s two pivoting machine guns situated just under the nose. Yep, this thing is loaded for bear.

Probably the biggest and most practical change to this HISS design is the ability to fit troops into the back. The side panels open, or can be removed entirely, to allow access to the interior. There are benches along each side for troops to sit. Granted, you can’t fit a lot of them back here, and the shaft from the dorsal gun gets in the way, but its a really cool feature. It would have been nice if the tailgate dropped, but alas it does not.

The DTC HISS came with a figure, but it was a real piece of shit, and I traded him away or lost him, or did something with him a long time ago, so I can’t show him to you. He was basically just a red repaint of Night Creeper if that means anything to you. Why the fuck Hasbro decided to pack a ninja in with this vehicle is beyond me. Either way, he quickly got the boot in favor of a 25th Anniversary HISS driver. Which reminds me, while the pegs on this thing do not fit the current figures, everything else about this toy is modern era friendly, so you can use this tank with your 25th Anni. figures or even your ROC figures.

I have no idea how common this thing is these days or how much it goes for. I do remember that there was a time when I could have ordered all that I wanted for $20 each, but at the time I was taking a stand against army building, so I was content with the one. Besides online, Toys R Us continued to carry the DTC toys and figures during the dark times of Sigma Six, so it was possible to walk into a toy store and buy one of these, so long as it was a TRU.

If you already have one of these, then you know how friggin awesome it is. If you don’t, go find one. While the original HISS will always have a special place in my heart, this one is the only model to come after it that is worthy of the name.

Next time, we’ll look at a really shitty HISS tank design.

Oh, you know which one I’m talking about….

FigureFan Zero

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