Tag Archives: hasbro

Sep 24 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Kingpin Build-A-Figure by Hasbro

Yeah, it was all the way back in February when I first dipped into this wave with a review of Silver Sable. Of course, in my defense, my life turned to shit somewhere along the way and I was forced to put FFZ on hiatus. Now I’m back in action, more or less, and ready to wrap this puppy up. Let’s have a look at the Kingpin Build-A-Figure! Oh, boy have I been looking forward to this guy!

And here is Fisk in all his rotund glory. Kingpin is comprised of your six basic BAF parts: Torso, arms, legs, head and a few extras, which we’ll look at in a minute. He dons his trademark white linen (plastic) suit. Yeah, it surprises even me that I can get this excited over an action figure of a big, bald guy in a suit. But, as a character, Kingpin has a sense of frightening gravitas about him, and this figure conveys that perfectly. Indeed, this bulbous buck makes him look like an absolute powerhouse! The suit consists of a sculpted vest with a collard shirt and tie peeking out the top. The buttons on the vest are neatly painted gold, the shirt is black, and the tie is purple. The trousers show some sculpted rumples, especially where they rest on his giant black shoes. The suit’s coat is the usual trickery, where it is sculpted without sleeves and the sleeves are sculpted as part of the arms. In this case, it’s a little obvious, but I still dig it. Some other nice sculpted details include the ring on his left hand and the neatly folded handkerchief that’s sculpted peeking out of his coat pocket.

Kingpin comes with two heads, and they are both outstanding. The first portrait exhibits raw determination, and while I know this is a comic based sculpt, I can’t help but still see some of Vincent D’Oonofrio in there. I’m not sure if that was intentional, or if I’m just seeing it because he’s pretty much irrevocably connected to the character because of his amazing performance as Kingpin in the Daredevil series. Whatever the case, I dig it a lot. The second head, is pure rage and will work for pretty much any action pose I’m going to put him in.

As for articulation, Fisk has all the right points, but because of his portly sculpt, there’s some real limitations here. The arms work well with rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. He also has a ball joint in his chest, but I can’t do too much with it. The legs are the most stymied. Even though they have rotating hinges in the hips, knees, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the ankles, there’s still not a whole lot of range of motion there. That’s not really a complaint, as it’s totally expected. Finally, the neck has both a hinge and a ball joint.

Finally, Fisk comes with his cane, which is a simple accessory but looks great. It features a sharply tapered staff with a gold fixture to hold the frosted diamond at the end of it. He can hold it in his right hand, but in order to get a firm grip on it, he has to hold it right at the base of the gold fixture, otherwise it just slips out.

I can’t remember the last time I was looking forward to completing a BAF as much as this one. Kingpin is a villain that has been sorely missing from my Legends collection, and I’m happy to say now that he’s here, he’s absolutely fantastic. Clearly, a Build-A-Figure was the only way they were going to do him justice, and it was worth all the work to get him!

As for the wave itself? I’m not going to lie, this one was a real mixed bag for me. I couldn’t have cared less about Red Goblin or the modern Symbiote Suit Spidey. Black Cat is always a favorite of mine, but I’m just not a fan of this suit. On the flip-side Puma, Night Thrasher, and Silver Sable were all excellent, and Six-Arm Spidey is just a cool figure. Those last four were probably the only figures I would have purchased if it weren’t for needing those BAF parts, and Spidey didn’t even come with any! Ah, but who cares? I have my Kingpin completed, and it feels good to put another wave to bed.

Sep 23 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Six-Arm Spider-Man by Hasbro

Here we go, folks… it’s my absolute last, cross-my-heart, really mean it this time, figure for me to open in the Kingpin Wave. I was really tempted to build Fisk last week and review him, because Spidey here doesn’t come with a BAF part, but I decided to go ahead and finish off the wave before enjoying that sweet, sweet victory of building the Kingpin BAF. So let’s go ahead and have a look at Six-Arm Spidey! Oh yeah, I’m a little pressed for time today, but I think I can give this figure its due relatively quickly.

For Peter Parker to live, Spider-Man must die!!! The “Six-Arms Saga” is one of those wonderful, inspired, and bat-shit crazy comics that makes me wish I was born ten years earlier so I could have experienced it as it was happening. Sadly, it debuted on the comic stands the year before I was born, and I would have to wait another dozen or so years before carrying the first of these issues home on my bike from the used bookshop downtown. It gave us some genuine body horror, it introduced us to Morbius, The Living Vampire, and it was a helluva great ride. Oh, how happy I was when Hasbro decided to toss us this figure!

And yes, there is something that is both inherently silly and horrifically creepy about this guy! And given the nature of this figure, let’s talk articulation first! The figure is built around a newly designed trunk, which omits the usual waist swivel and ab-crunch in favor of four extra “shoulder” joints sticking out of his sides. So in terms of articulation, this is a “lose some to gain some” kind of scenario. Which is perfectly understandable given the design challenges. The two new sets of arms are bare with ragged pieces of Spidey’s suit painted around the “shoulders” to show where they <gasp> broke free of the suit while they were growing out of him. Each of these arms share identical articulation with Spidey’s regular arms, so you get rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, double-hinges in the elbows, and hinged pegs in the wrists. The regular hands are both thwip hands, while the four new ones are all balled into fists. The rest of the articulation amounts to the usual stuff. You get ball joints in the hips, swivels in the thighs and lower legs, double-hinges in the knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. The neck is both ball jointed and hinged.

The suit itself is wonderful. It consists of the bright blue and red deco that I’ll always love the most. The red parts feature a web pattern, which is sculpted but not painted in. The spider emblem on his chest and back are sculpted and painted black, and as has often been the case, the hinges and pins in the wrists and elbows are left as bare red plastic and not painted to match the blue. Yeah, this is always a bone of contention with some people. Honestly, it never really bothered me much. Finally, the head features that same sculpted, but unpainted, web pattern and two big ‘ol white eyes with black boarders. Pure comic goodness!

The figure is loads of fun to play around with, but the absence of the torso articulation definitely limits the things he can do. I also wish he came with extra regular hands. I’m fine with all the extras being fists, but some relaxed hands and fists for his regular arms would have been pretty sweet. I know, they spent a lot more on this guy to give him extra arms and keep all that articulation, so I’m not making too big a deal about it.

I warned you, today’s review was going to be short, but I honestly don’t have a whole lot else to say about this figure. He’s definitely unique and a welcome addition to my collection. When Marvel Legends returned back in 2013, never in a million years did I expect it to be as prolific as it’s been. And while it’s had its share of Captain America and Iron Man variants clogging the pegs, the real beauty of this line is when it digs deep. Sure, it’s not like Six-Arm Spidey hasn’t resurfaced at least half a dozen times, and in different media, since ASM #101, but how cool is it that Hasbro is still digging this deep? Meet me back here tomorrow and I’ll put this wave to bed with a look at Kingpin!

Sep 16 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Night Thrasher by Hasbro

It’s another Marvel Monday, and I’m getting more and more comfortable about being back into the swing of things after my hiatus. Do I feel like I’m starting to make any progress at my ridiculous backlog of unopened Marvel Legends? Nah, not a chance. It’s like a digging a hole in the sand! Who knows, maybe I’ll do a few Legends-only weeks to give myself a leg up. In the meantime, and after a slight miscalculation last week, I’m here today with the actual penultimate figure in the Kingpin Wave. For reals this time! It’s Night Thrasher!

Dwayne Taylor showed up in the pages of Marvel comics during the waning days of my career as a teenage comic reader. In 1989, I was getting ready to go to college and trading in my boxes of comics for boxes of textbooks. Not literally, mind you. I just packed them away and put them in the attic. But, needless to say most of my encounters with Night Thrasher have been after the fact, when I got heavy back into comics in my thirties. As a result, Night Thrasher sits right up there with Silver Sable and Puma as one of the figures I was most excited about in this wave.

The design of Night Thrasher’s suit lends itself to a simple figure. The buck is mostly smooth, with chiseled, angular muscles sculpted into the chest, exaggerated elbow and knee pads, heavy treaded boots, and not much else in the way of detail. He does don a wide red belt, sculpted as a separate piece and worn tightly around the waist, and a red sash tied around his right leg, which is held up by friction. I really dig the subtle mix of gloss and matte black on this figure, with matte being used for the upper legs and hands, and the rest gleaming like polished ebony armor. That plus the red accessories make him pop rather nicely.

The head sculpt consists of a tight-fitting red and black helmet and mask with an open visor for his eyes. I don’t have a lot more to say about it, other than it’s pretty intimidating. TMNT’s Casey Jones or DC’s Guardian would certainly give their vigilante stamp of approval to this headgear.

Thrasher has a pair of holes on his back to secure his backpack, which is really just a shield-shaped slab of plastic designed to hold his accessories, the first of which is his pair of batons!

Yup, we’ve seen these before, particularly with Daredevil, Mockingbird. and even Hellcat! These weapons sure do get around! They are cast in black plastic and he can hold one in each hand. They’re not bad, and they definitely suit him, but I would have liked something fresh and new. When not in use, these batons can attach to the clips on either side of the backpack.

And, as always, these batons can peg together to form a longer pole-arm.

The really cool new accessory here is the skateboard. It’s cast all in black plastic with fully sculpted trucks, working wheels, and there’s a crazy amount of weathering in the sculpt. It can be hard to see without the right light, but there’s a ton of scrapes and scratches to show that this board has seen some serious action, was probably used as a shield more than a couple times, and quite probably connected with more than one villains’ jaw over the years. I will concede that it feels a bit small, or perhaps more accurately, he sometimes looks like an adult riding a kids skateboard. Also, there’s no way to attach him to it, so it’ll take a modicum of patience if you want to display him riding it, but it’s certainly not impossible.

The articulation here is pretty standard stuff. The 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. There is a swivel in the waist, an ab-crunch hinge in the torso, and the neck is hinged and ball jointed. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double-hinges in the elbows. His chunky armor does restrict some range of movement, but he’s still a pretty agile fellow.

Night Thrasher may be damn simple, but he’s also loads of fun. And as I’m playing around with him, I can’t help but think that this is sort of what a modern 6-inch GI JOE figure from Hasbro would feel like. Nope, I’m never going to let that dream die! The accessories are cool enough, even if I would have liked some new batons, and you can’t go wrong with a skateboard! It just adds plenty of fun to the mix. Now, can we get some more New Warriors, Hasbro? Please and thank you!

Sep 12 2019

Star Wars Black: Imperial Jumptrooper by Hasbro

Gamestop is not a company that I enjoy doing business with, and that’s a rant for another time. But even I have to get off my high horse for a $5 action figure clearance sale. Yes, even though I know full well that they’re going to take my order then cancel most of it later when they find they didn’t have enough inventory to fill it all. I’m convinced that it’s all just a big come-on to get you on the site to maybe buy a few things at full price. In this case, I ordered about ten figures, and four of the ten were cancelled with the excuse “Item not available.” And a 60% success rate is a lot better than I usually do at these sales. But still, it’s a pretty shitty way to run a business. One of the figures I ordered that actually got fulfilled was the Imperial Jumptrooper, so let’s check him out today!

This guy was supposedly a Gamestop Exclusive, although there’s no indication of that on the package. You can, however, tell it was exclusive to somewhere because there’s no number on the side panel. I had little hope of ever finding this guy in the store, since I try to avoid going in there, and when I do I find it to be pretty terribly stocked. Nonetheless, this wasn’t a figure that I wanted badly enough to go on their site and pay full price plus shipping. My last experience with the Jumptroopers was the 3 3/4-inch figures that were tied to the Force Unleashed game. Those were pretty cool. This one isn’t the same design, but rather it’s based on the look from Star Wars: Rebels. And I guess the older ones aren’t even official canon anymore, but screw that. I have proof it existed! You can’t take away my figures, Disney!!!

Unlike the previous Jumptrooper, this one features a heavy reuse of the regular Imperial Stormtrooper armor. Indeed, most of the body is just recycled from the Black Series Stormtrooper. The big differences include the elongated shoulder pauldrons, and the new helmet. This one also has unpainted lateral hinges in the ankles. Boo! I’m a big fan of the Black Series Stormtrooper, and most everything I dig about that figure can be said about this guy as well. The articulation is solid, albeit appropriately limited for a guy wearing armor. The sculpting is pretty convincing as pieces of armor over an underlying black bodysuit, at least it is for this scale, and the functional holster is a very welcome treat. The orange paint on the left pauldron adds a splash of color to the armor and includes an Imperial insignia stamped on it, as well as the right shoulder.

You can’t have a Jumptrooper without a jetpack, and to be honest, I find this one to be a little understated. I mean, in fairness I guess Boba Fett’s wasn’t that big either. This one has a tank on the top, which I presume is for oxygen, as it has two hoses leading from it and going into the helmet. The pack is mostly white and has minimalist detail, which I guess matches the design of the armor pretty well. The pack itself attaches to the figure simply by pegging into the back, and features a little red and black paint, including some scorch marks around the jet exhaust ports.

The new helmet instantly reminds me of some of the Imperial pilot helmets, like the TIE Pilot or the AT-AT Driver. It still retains a lot of the regular Stormtrooper helmet features, but here the eyes are a continuous visor, the breather tubes protrude from the front, and there’s a crest running up the top of the helmet. The side vents are neatly painted blue, and you get some gray and orange paint on the top. It’s a pretty cool variant that incorporates a number of different Imperial design tropes.

While he may be a specialist, the Jumptroooper still comes with the regular old E-11 Blaster. It’s an excellent sculpt, albeit the plastic is rather soft. Rather than just cast in black plastic, it has a bit of a gunmetal finish to it. He can hold it in his right hand, and it fits into the holster quite well. I don’t mind so much getting this weapon included, as it is the mainstay of the Imperial army, but I still feel like these elites should have been given some kind of special weapon as well.

There is a figure stand included, and this was a big disappointment, mainly because I expected it to be something it wasn’t. As a figure stand itself, it’s perfectly functional. The foot slips into it, and it does a decent job holding him up. I probably wouldn’t mind having a pack of these to prevent some of those action-figure-avalanches in my displays. But when I saw this in the package, I assumed it was going to be some kind of flight stand, with a second piece concealed at the bottom of the box. Obviously, that wasn’t the case and so it feels like a major missed opportunity here.

And as a jetpack trooper, this guy is a little underwhelming to play around with. The regular Stormtrooper armor makes him not terribly agile for those flying poses, which makes me think that maybe Jumptroopers should have more unique armor designed for them to maneuver in the air. Another big missed opportunity here is the lack of any jet blast effect parts to draw attention to that jetpack and really make him look like he’s blasting into action.

Does it sound like I’m down on this figure? Well, maybe. To be honest, I liked the design of the Force Unleashed Jumptrooper a lot better than this one, and I’m kind of sad to know that we’ll never get that one in the 6-inch Black Series. This figure is perfectly serviceable, but it also feels rather lazy. Sure, a lot of that has to do with the design from the show and it isn’t the figure’s fault, but there are also too many missed opportunities for extras. I suppose it’s a good Exclusive release, because I wouldn’t have felt left out if I was never able to get him. As a $5 clearance figure, I’m perfectly happy to have him, but ultimately I am coming away very underwhelmed by this guy.

Sep 9 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Puma by Hasbro

Last week I made a terrible mistake! I thought that Puma here was the last figure I needed to open in order to build Kingpin. Of course, after opening him up I reached for my baggie of BAF parts for this wave, only to find I was missing a leg. I looked everywhere, and right when I was convinced I lost it, the back of the package revealed the answer… I still have one more figure to open after this one in order to build Fisk. And there’s even one more figure after that, albeit one that doesn’t contain a BAF part. And so Fisk will have to wait at least a couple more weeks for his time in the spotlight. In the meantime, let’s check out The Puma!

Before we get started, can I say how much I love the presentation here. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but it looks like Puma is stomping on Wilson Fisk’s dismembered torso. It’s amazing! OK, on to Puma… while he appears to be another dude in a kooky costume, Puma is a pretty interesting character, and one that was introduced in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man when I was about 12 years old and at the height of my childhood Marvel reading. Thomas Firehart is a wealthy businessman, one-time owner of The Daily Bugle, accomplished martial artist, and… oh yeah, capable of transforming himself into a Werepuma thanks to generations of careful genetic calculations. In retrospect Fireheart reminds me of a Native American T’Challa and the significance of that has only served to increase Puma’s street cred in my mind over the years. And while Puma has been immortalized in plastic through lines like the Superhero Squad and Heroclix, I can’t recall him getting an actual action figure before, which makes this release all the more of a welcome treat!

I do believe this is the modern look for the character, as I definitely remember him with shaggy shoulders and a blue and red chest piece. This wave has been heavy with modern redesigns, but Puma is the only example in this assortment of a modern look that I actually dig. The costume is much more muted, consisting of a brown and mustard colored top and trousers, which is achieved only through paint on the buck. It’s got something of a brown-costumed Wolverine thing going on, and that ain’t a bad thing. New sculpting for the figure’s costume includes the gold belt, which is attached snugly around the waist, and a pair of gold bands around the lower legs, each of which end in sculpted hair. These pieces are also held on by friction, but they stay put quite well. The costume is rounded out by a gold band on Puma’s left bicep, with two ceremonial feathers coming off the back, and a toothy necklace that rests on his shoulders. Of course, you also get new sculpting for the hands and feet.

Another thing I really dig about this look is how the proportions feel a bit wonky and lend credibility to his animal transformation. The arms seem unnaturally longer, although that may just be an illusion caused by those big grasping claws. The muscles seem extra bulbous too, particularly in the biceps. He has tufts of sculpted hair coming off his forearms, some textured hair on his arms, and those rings of fur on his ankles also reinforce the uncanny look of his profile.

And that brings us to the portrait, which is an absolutely fantastic sculpt. Puma is captured in mid roar with his mouth open wide and showcasing his fangs. He’s got a broad cat-like nose, beady eyes, and pointed ears, along with furry sideburns. His sculpted hair is coiffed close to his skull and there are a pair of ceremonial feathers jutting down off the back. Everything about this head sculpt conveys fierce animal rage, and I love it! If I had one complaint, I think the head should have been a wee bit bigger.

Obviously, I demand my Puma men be agile, and thanks to Legends basic articulation standards, he does quite well in this category. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double-hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The legs are ball jointed at the waist, double-hinged in the knees, and have swivels at the thighs. The ankles have both hinges and lateral rockers. The torso swivels at the waist, has an ab-crunch hinge, and the neck is both hinged and ball jointed.

So far, Puma is my favorite figure in this wave. No, that may not seem like high praise, since Silver Sable is the only other figure here that I really liked. But this guy turned out great! Add to the fact that this is his first release in the Legends line, and that makes him a long overdue character to add to my shelf! The only bad thing here? He’s reminding me how badly I want a Tigra figure in the new Legends line. Let’s go, Hasbro. Make it happen!

Sep 2 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Red Goblin by Hasbro

Happy Marvel Monday, folks! By the time you read this, I thought I may already be dead! But right now it looks like Hurricane Dorian is going to take a hard right and steer away from my position here in SW Florida. And thank God for that! I had a fear that I might have had to use unopened Marvel Legends from my backlog in place of sandbags to keep the flood waters out. But for now, let’s assume I’m going to survive, and we’ll have a look at another figure from the Kingpin Wave. Oh, look! It’s Red Goblin. Sonovabitch!!!

Even with all the waves of modern Legends that I’ve completed, I don’t think I’ve ever been this dejected about having to buy a figure for a BAF part. I can remember finding Red Gobby here on the peg and seeing Kingpin’s leg and being so happy, and then reminding myself that I’m about to fork over $20 to take this figure home. So let’s get this over with.

OK, it’s Norman Osborne merged with Carnage. Interesting idea, I guess. But, what a goddamn mess of a design. It looks like something I might have doodled on my Trapper Keeper when I was 14 years old and hopped up on root beer and pixie stix. Now keep in mind, I did not hate this design in the comic. I just think it’s something that does not translate well to action figure form, and it’s so hard for me to put my finger on exactly why it doesn’t work for me.

I think a big part is just the way the buck is painted. It looked all sorts of cool and sinister on the page, but here it strikes me as just a guy wearing a crimson leotard with the black markings painted on it. Then you have the giant, unposeable tail tacked on the back. I honestly forgot that he even had that and to revisit some of the panels to remind myself.

The tendrils don’t really work for me either. At least the mess of ones rising from his back are removable, as that piece just pegs into the hole. But you still have the permanent ones coming off his forearms and lower legs. Again, I’m just writing this off to working OK on paper and not in plastic. Also, at first I thought his feet were just lifted directly from the Symbiote Spidey in this wave, but I was surprised to see that they are actually different sculpts.

And the cherry on top of this mess is the portrait. Again, it’s tough for me to put my finger on exactly what happened here. I think a big part of it is his set of bushy skunk eyebrows. I did not come away from that comic thinking he had big tufts of fur above his eyes, but that’s exactly what’s portrayed here. I feel like the eyes should have been more narrow and the pupils smaller. I guess they did a good job on his mouth, and I do dig how it’s soft plastic and can sort of open and close.

Red Gobby comes with one accessory, and that’s his Carnage pumkin bomb. He can actually hold it fairly well in his right claw, but that’s about all I have to say on the matter.

This one is a swing and a miss for me. I’m not sure whether to blame Hasbro or just the design, but whatever the case, I wasn’t keen on this guy when I bought him and I’m no more fond of him now that I’ve got him opened up and spent some time with him. But hey, I’ve got another Kingpin part, and that means next Monday I’m going to wrap up this wave by opening Puma and cobbling me together a Fisk BAF.

Aug 26 2019

Marvel Legends (Kingpin Wave): Symbiote Spider-Man by Hasbro

No random draw for this week’s Marvel Monday. Instead, I went straight for a Spider-Man figure so I can be sort of topical in light of the Spider-Man movie news. I’m not really going to go into that here much, instead I’ll just say that I haven’t given up hope that either Sony or Disney will see reason and reach some kind of new agreement. Then again, if he’s done I’ll just be grateful for every miraculous moment we got of him on screen. Another reason for this week’s pick is that I’m hankering to finish off another Build-A-Figure, and since I’ve already opened and reviewed two of the six figures needed to build Kingpin, this one will get me halfway there. Oh yeah, it’s the new Symbiote Suite Spidey, so don’t expect a lot of enthusiasm out of me for this review.

Since I don’t have anything to really say about the packaging, I’ll throw it out there that Hasbro has recently announced the decision to remove plastic from their packaging. How’s that going to work with Legends? Will there be enclosed boxes? Will we no longer be able to scrutinize the paint on the figures we buy? How will we know someone hasn’t stolen the BAF part, or swapped the figure for a Toybiz version and returned it? These are all questions that interest me a lot more than how it will effect the aesthetics of the package. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, let’s tear in and see what we’ve got.

As many of you probably remember, Hasbro gave us a Symbiote Spider-Man as part of the Sandman Wave, and it wasn’t that long ago. Of course, that was the Classic version and this is the more recent look of the Symbiote black suit as it appeared in last year’s “Go Down Swinging.” And while I don’t want to sound like a broken record, I am not a huge fan of a lot of the newer Marvel costume designs, and this one ain’t about to change my mind on that matter. Ah, but I’m here to review a figure and given what they had to work with I think Hasbro did a fine job on this one.

The Symbiote suit doesn’t require a lot of fresh sculpting, so Hasbro was able to save a few shekels on this release. From the neck to the ankles it’s just a recycled buck. The body is cast in black plastic and you get the white pattern painted on the chest and back, and wrapping around the shoulders. This is usually a recipe for disaster when it comes to the black bleeding through, but it doesn’t look too bad on this figure. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for monochrome suit designs, so this one does gain some points in that category.

The feet are sculpted into monster-symbiote feet and you get two sets of hands: Fists and claws. As for articulation, at first I thought this was a reuse of the Miles Morales figure, but it actually has the extra shoulder crunches, so that’s pretty cool. Everything else is standards stuff. As a rule, Hasbro’s Spider-Man figures are always loads of fun to play around with and this guy is no exception.

And then you have that head and those eyes. I wasn’t a big fan of this look in the comic art, and I’m sorry to say that I think it’s even worse when translated to an action figure. And yeah, personal taste aside, I think this is just one of those cases where 2D art wasn’t meant to be depicted in 3D. Hasbro did their best, but I just can’t get past how weird it looks. Why did Marvel decide to go with such a strange design? Well, why does Marvel do half the things they do in the comics these days? It’s a mystery. I understand the desire to update and make things look fresh, but I don’t get what they were going for here at all.

So, to sum it up, this is a decent figure based off a design I don’t like. Personally, I think it would have been much cooler to see the classic black suit return in the comic, but then Hasbro and Marvel couldn’t have sold another figure to idiots like me, so I guess they know what they’re doing. As much as I consider Legends a universe building line, I would have easily passed on this one if it weren’t for my desire to not own a headless Kingpin BAF. Then again, the same could have been said for the modern Black Cat included in this wave. And, I think I’ll keep the whole controversial update theme going next week with a look at another figure in this wave, Red Goblin.

Aug 23 2019

Transformers Siege: Refraktor by Hasbro

It’s impossible for me to explain why I was so obsessed with Reflector in the old Transformers cartoon. Maybe it was because his appearances were a bit rare. Maybe it was because he wasn’t readily available as a toy. I’m not even sure I was aware at that age that he was a mail-away figure in the US. It’s also possible that I was fascinated by his very nature of being three robots referred to as one, not to mention the first team of robots that could merge into a single alt form. I often wondered about how that worked, and what a cool alien/sci-fi concept it was. But in the end, it was probably because there were so few Decepticons in the early days, and Reflector bolstered their numbers by three. And sometimes even more than that, thanks to some animation gaffs.

And that brings us to Refraktor! A figure that is just as interesting as his predecessor. Hasbro released him as a single character with its own alt mode, but advertised on the back that you could buy two more if you wanted to make use of their camera mode. Also, I’ll point out now that I’m going to be calling him Reflector during this review, because if I try to call him Refraktor, I’m probably just going to mess it up half the time anyway. Let’s get his bullshit alt mode out of the way first!

I think this is supposed to be a spaceship, and to be fair it isn’t all that bad. It gives me a little bit of a Sweeps vibe, especially since I have three of them. The Energon Sharkticon also comes to mind, since I used to army build the hell out of those. But to be honest, it strikes me more as a seafaring gunship. Maybe even a hydrofoil, since the landing gear looks like a set of skis. In the end, I don’t hate it, and it’s kind of cool to give these guys something a little more practical to transform into. Especially in a line called Siege. And they do look kind of cool in battle formation. Let’s just move on to the robot mode!

One of the things that struck me most about Reflector in the old G1 days was that he was one of the few Decepticons that didn’t advertise his alt mode with a lot of kibble. It was genuinely tough to figure out what the hell he turned into. It also made him look like a generic rank-and-file Decepticon warrior, which was pretty appealing too. I think Hasbro did a wonderful job with this update. It continues the Siege aesthetic of infusing the sculpt with loads of detail. That’s especially the case here in the arms and behind the clear chest panel. The coloring is pretty damn great too. Purple is always a good choice for Decepticons and it mixes well with the bare grey plastic. You also get some snazzy silver paint hits on the leg panels, feet, and the frame of his chest panel. A little splash of red on the forearms and knees, and a Decepticon emblem on the left shoulder rounds out the deco quite nicely.

From behind, Reflector doesn’t look nearly as polished. There are plenty of hollow compartments and some exposed screw-heads. But at least there isn’t a lot of kibble. Even the skids from his alt mode fold neatly into his leg compartments. There is a way to help spruce up his back view, but I’ll come back to that in a bit.

The head sculpt is extremely faithful to what I remember from the Sunbow animated version. He has the same rounded “helmet,” narrow eyes and broad mouth. The silver paint on the face looks especially good, as does the red used for the eyes, which are pretty much flawless. No question, Hasbro has been killing it with their portraits in this line, and Reflector here is no different.

The one real difference between the three robots in the cartoon was the aperture being present in one and not the other two. Here that’s easily achieved by pulling it off. Yeah, it leaves a peg hole there, but I’m OK with that. I’m sure some Third-Party company will release a bag of plugs to cover these up and charge $20 for them. No, seriously, nobody do that. I will probably be the one dumb enough to buy them.

Reflector relies heavily on two rather large pieces for his alt modes. The large cannon simply turns into a gun for his robot mode, while the other can be used as a shield. I dig both of these accessories a lot. The gun is big and beefy and has a rather distinctive low-slung armor plate. The shield is rounded and has a notch out of the top that reminds me of a riot shield. The shield piece can also be pegged onto the back, but it isn’t meant to be, which means it can fall out pretty easily. I think this is the biggest shame about the figure design, as it looks really good on the back, gets it out of the way when not being used as a shield, and it would have been really easy for Hasbro to have seen this opportunity and make it work. When I display these guys in robot mode, I will likely have two with the guns and shields and one with just the gun. Of course all of these pieces can also be combined together for the camera mode, so let’s check that out.

The camera mode is achieved by transforming each of the figures into the same folded up block and then sticking them together so that the middle one faces front. Next the three shields combine together to form the lens and the three guns combine to form the tripod, which then attaches to the camera using one of the aperture pieces. It’s very clever and overall it looks pretty good, but it’s not nearly as detailed a camera as the old G1 toy. And I’m totally OK with that, because the sacrifices were made to allow each of the bots that form it to look identical. Maybe Hasbro could have tossed in a few extra pieces to tack on and make it more convincing as a camera, but I’m totally fine with it the way it is. Also, it’s roughly the right size to give to one of the Titans like Metroplex or Fort Maximus, but really too big for any of the smaller bots.

Never in a million years did I ever think Hasbro would revisit these guys. Hell, even the first time the early pictures of him, I didn’t think the camera mode was going to be ab option. As a result, I can’t  tell you how many times I almost pulled the trigger on one of the many third-party Reflectors on the market. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t, because Hasbro’s Deluxe Class treatment scratches that itch perfectly, and for a lot less money. These guys were a bit hard to find at first, because most everyone was looking to grab three of them, but I was eventually able to get all three online for a couple of bucks under retail, and that ain’t too shabby. They’re a great little team, and I think they look fantastic when displayed with the Siege Decepticons.

Aug 19 2019

Marvel Legends (Deadpool Corps): Deadpool and Scooter by Hasbro

This week I’m back on track with Legends on this Marvel Monday, and since I’m still working on the archaeological dig that is my Toy Closet backlog, I just grabbed the first thing that fell and hit me on the back of the neck while I was rummaging around in there. Oh look, it’s Deadpool with a scooter! And damn, that hurt!

I’ve only looked at one of these Deluxe Riders so far, and that was Black Widow and her motorcycle. I liked it a lot, and I’m expecting good things here as well. The set comes in a large window box that shows the figure, the scooter, and the bevy of other accessories and extras within. It definitely looks like something special, and I enjoy how Hasbro laid out the tray with Deadpool chasing the scooter. Let’s start with a look at the Deadpool figure!

Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of Deadpool figures in the modern Legends line. Some may say too man, but I’d say those people are wrong. My casual eye tells me this is a mix of the Juggernaut Wave Poolsy and the Sasquatch Wave X-Force Pool. Most distinctively, he has the armored pieces on the shins and forearms from the former, and the simpler chest of the later. The armored pieces are now painted all black, so they still look a bit different from their original appearance. I’m not sure if Hasbro was going for a specific comic look here, but most likely I think they’re just trying to come up with new combinations so dopes like me can justify buying the character again and again. I’m going to skip articulation, since we’ve seen this buck so many times now, I’ll just be lazy and refer you back to one of the other reviews, conveniently linked above.

For the belt and harness, Hasbro dug deep, going all the way back to their original X-Force Pool release, all the way back from 2012! And that’s a figure that is now best forgotten. The harness itself is cast in silver plastic, the chest shield is left a simple red, but he’s got his patented Deadpool emblem on his belt buckle and the pouches on the belt are all painted in a deep brown to convey rich Corinthian leather. Yeah, the combo is a bit kit-bashy, but I’ll concede that it works well together.

The scabbards and swords are recycled from the Sasquatch/Juggernaut Wave figures, and they work quite well here. The blades and guards are now gold, which I presume was just to mix things up a bit. I’m not a huge fan of the cut-outs on the scabbards that allow the tips of the swords to show through, but I do like these swords a lot. And it’s a good thing, because this Pool comes with no guns. He does, however have the combat knife from the Juggernaut figure, which still fits into the sheath on his lower right leg. Also, the scabbards are removable from the harness, which is something you may want to do if you’re going to have him riding the scooter with Dogpool.

The head is new, and Hasbro is going for pure comic effect here. Deadpool has both eyes popped wide and you can see his mouth open through the sculpted hood. If you were jonesing for an astonished looking Deadpool portrait, you can look no more. I’d argue that this was a rather specific expression to go for when only including one portrait, but I’ve got so many Deadpool heads to choose from, I can always swap it out if I want. Ok, let’s talk scooter…

I can’t remember when or where Pool’s red scooter originated, but I was delighted to the nod to it in Deadpool 2. And this is a really decent recreation in the 6-inch scale. It’s simple, but it’s designed to fit the figure well enough and even features peg holes on the running boards to help Pool stay put. A little assembly is required here, specifically popping in the rear view mirrors and clipping on the horn. They can be taken off again to go back in the box, but I fear clipping and un-clipping the horn may result in a breakage down the line. The rest is pretty basic. The front wheel does turn with he handlebars, and there’s a kickstand to keep it upright. There’s a detailed speedometer, and you also get a sheet of stickers so you can customize it.

Also included in the box are Dogpool and Squirrelpool. These aren’t so much figures as they are just display pieces. Both of them feature rotating heads, but that’s the only articulation there. I was actually surprised that they worked that into the tiny Squirrelpool. These do feature some very nice detail. I love Dogpool’s helmet, and Squirrelpool has his tiny swords on his back. The paint is pretty sharp on these as well. Both are sculpted in a very specific poses to be riding on the back of the scooter, although Dogpool can just sit with his paws up, almost like he’s begging, and Squirrelpool can stand on the ground on all fours. Squirrelpool is designed with a peg in his tummy that pegs into the hole in Dogpool’s back. These can be a little unsightly if you choose not to display them on the scooter, but that’s kind of the whole point.

Before wrapping up, I’ll note that the set also comes with a Hydra Bob head, just in case you happen to have the Hydra Trooper or the Hydra two-pack. Sure, it’s basically just a smiling Hydra head, but still definitely a cool bonus!

I like this set. It’s fun and it adds just enough stuff so that I don’t mind buying another Deadpool to get it all. And I do appreciate that it is a new figure, albeit a kit-bashed one, rather than just a straight repack. Although it would have been a good way to get that original Juggernaut Wave Deadpool back into circulation, as it remains one of my favorite Legends figures to date. I love it so much I have two, or at least I did until I gave one to my nephew. I don’t think this set is a must-buy for most, but as a Pool fan, nobody had to twist my arm to buy it. I picked it up for about $35 and I got no complaints.

Aug 16 2019

Overwatch Ultimates: Lucio by Hasbro

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back with a third review for the second week in a row. Sure, things can derail at any time, and it’s really tough to scrounge the time to do these, but I feel like I’m finally starting to get back into the swing of things. And there… I’ve just jinxed myself! Anywho… As promised, I’m back with another one of Hasbro’s Overwatch Ultimates figures. Last time I checked out Sombra and now I’m opening up Lucio, the Brazillian DJ turned Freedom Fighter! And just to remind everyone, I have never played Overwatch, but I really dig its character design and I have watched most of the cinematics, because I’m crazy like that. So if I sound woefully ignorant about some of the details of these characters, that’s because I am!

I just talked about the packaging a few days ago, so I won’t dwell on it much more. It’s attractive, it embraces the style and color pallet associated with the game, and it’s totally collector friendly. If you like to keep your figures and accessories in the boxes and line them up on a bookshelf, then you should be really happy with these! Just compare this bright and snappy package to Hasbro’s own Star Wars Black Series, and let’s just say that there’s a reason I pitch all those boxes right away, but I’m going to try to hang onto these.

If you ever needed a great example of how Overwatch’s sometimes wacky character design just oozes personality, well look no further than Lucio here. I would stop short of calling him distinctive, because Lucio actually looks like he’d be right at home in Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast. So much so, it’s almost impossible for me to believe that he isn’t a direct homage. Seriously, when I’m playing around with this figure, I catch myself humming Sweet Soul Brother.  From the icon on his shirt to the hard-light blades that he zips around on, everything about Lucio is beautifully executed in a figure that is both a killer sculpt and as colorful as candy. I mean, just look at this dude! The design gave Hasbro plenty to work with, including the complex robotic design of his legs, which includes a mix of lovely blue armor plates, lime green kneepads, and a gray framework underneath. Not to mention a couple of cables that run from the front to back. Are these all part of what’s powering those slick skates? I don’t really know, but they look amazing. I’m particularly fond of the translucent green plastic that makes up those hard-light blades.

I dig the iconography on his shirt, which is very reminiscent of the previously mentioned Jet Set Radio, and he wears a backpack that I presume is part of his audio gear. The yellow unit houses a golden speaker-like disc, and even his belt-buckle has a little sound wave pattern etched into it. As great as the sculpting is on this guy, I have to say it’s the coloring that really sells it. It’s so bright and dynamic and celebrates all that is so damn visually appealing about the game.

Lucio’s portrait is equally well detailed, thanks to his DJ rig, which includes a mic and headphone on his left ear and a translucent green visor that covers his eyes. The portrait is sharp and it’s capped off by a ridiculous set of chunky dreads. Ok, these are probably the one facet of the figure that doesn’t match a lot of the character models I’ve seen as closely as I would have liked. And while I’m on the subject of nitpicking, I got me a QC beef. My figure has some unfortunate yellow paint splatter on his visor. Yeah, it’s one of those problems with buying a figure sight-unseen online. I just have to decide whether it upsets me enough to return him and get a better one, because it does not seem to want to come off.

Lucio sports some improved articulation over Sombra, and I’ve come to expect those differences between Hasbro’s 6-inch male and female characters. That means Lucio benefits from having double hinges in his elbows, and swivels in his biceps. The ball joint in the torso is also not impeded by any soft plastic covering. All this means he’s a remarkably fun figure to play around with. I’ll also note here that he comes with two extra hands, both of which are lefties. One has him gesturing with two fingers, and the other is balled into a fist. Let’s move on to accessories!

I’m actually starting with the effect parts, because these are actually great. You get two translucent green tracks for his skates. They simply fit around the base of the skates and while the figure can stand quite well without them, they do add a lot of stability. Most of you know that I’m not a huge fan of Hasbro’s effect parts, but these are really well designed and I can’t imagine I’ll be displaying the figure without them. And thank god these are so good, because Lucio only comes with one additional accessory.

Ah, but yeah it’s an important one… his Sonic Amplifier. This chunky piece of tech includes a cable that plugs into the notch on Lucio’s right bicep. It’s very well detailed and includes a blue painted shield on top, which matches his leg armor, and a green painted emitter on the front. It fits perfectly in his hand and completes the package quite nicely. Yes, the cable is prone to pulling out of his arm from time to time, but at least it goes back in really easily.

As much as I liked Sombra, I have to say I’m digging Lucio even more. This is a fun character design that has made the transition to plastic form without skipping a beat. Plus, there’s just something about the coloring here that scratches my itch. It’s rare for me to collect a line of figures based on a property that I don’t really consume, but that just goes to show how appealing this line is to me. I’m only two figures in, and I’m already dedicated to picking up whatever Hasbro decides to put out.