Tag Archives: hasbro

Apr 6 2018

Star Wars Black: Imperial AT-ST and Driver (Walmart Exclusive) by Hasbro

It’s hard to believe that it was five years ago that I reviewed the Vintage Collection AT-ST from Hasbro. FIVE YEARS AGO!?! While that toy had a number of good points, like the expanded driver cabin, I came away without being terribly impressed with it, mainly because it didn’t stand on its own very well at all, and the deco leaved something to be desired. When Hasbro re-released it as a Walmart Exclusive as part of the Star Wars Black Series, it was an easy pass because of the crazy price. I seem to recall they were asking sixty dollars for this thing! But when it later hit a certain online toy e-tailer for $25, well I couldn’t resist giving it another go. Oh, and keep in mind, while I’m referring back to the Vintage Collection release a lot, this toy first saw release way back in 2009 as part of the Legacy Collection.

It’s hard to beat the Vintage Collection packaging of the K-Mart Exclusive AT-ST, and this one doesn’t even try. It comes in a window box, so you do get a good look at the toy itself, but the minimalist black and red Black Series deco does nothing for me. There’s some monochrome art on the front and the cardboard behind the tray has some faint background scenes, but it just feels like lazy package design. Thanks to the high price point, these must have been a retail disaster for Walmart. They even had an entire endcap of them at my local Wally World, and that place almost never has any Hasbro Exclusives. They were on clearance too, but nowhere near as low as the price I got mine for. Unlike the VC version, there’s no assembly required here and the toy comes right out of the box and ready to go. I rarely ever start out reviews with comparisons, but lets just go for it.

Here they are side by side, with the new Black Series version on the left and good old Shitty-feet from the Vintage Collection on the right. Does that nickname refer to the fact that it can’t stand on his own or the fact that it actually looks like it’s been standing in feces? You decide, there is no wrong answer. I had planned to take more pictures for comparison, but I literally could not get the VC version to stand for more than a couple shots before getting really frustrated and tossing it aside. They are identical molds as far as I can tell and the only real differences are in the decos. The new one is cast in a much paler gray plastic and has what looks like a sandy spray on its feet, legs, and head. There’s also no battle damage on the SWB version, and it has a completely black butt.

Which deco do I like better? Well, it can’t be that easy can it? To be honest, I prefer the darker gray plastic of the earlier release, and I do like the scorch mark on the head. The old deco would have been a slam dunk as the favorite if it weren’t for the heavy mud on the feet, which I think looks really bad. The paler gray plastic on the new one looks a little cheaper and the weathering spray isn’t all that convincing to me. In the end, neither is perfect and ideally, I would have liked a compromise between the two. Each AT-ST definitely looks like its been hanging out in a different environment, so the VC release could clearly be from Endor and the newer release looks like it has seen action on a barren planet. Maybe even Jedha? That’s kind of cool. On the other hand, if you plan on picking this one up to beef up your Imperial ranks, I don’t think they display well together because of the obvious differences in weathering. OK, so let’s get to the Star Wars Black version all by itself…

Straightaway, I have to say the stability on this toy is a hundred times better than what I got on my VC version. I don’t know if they just tightened up the joints or redesigned the ratchets, but this baby will stand and even pose with very little difficulty and that fix alone makes it a very welcome re-release. The detail on the sculpt is great in some areas, but feels a little wanting in others. I said it back when I reviewed the previous release, and I’ll reiterate here that I’m still amazed at how well the original Kenner toy holds up in that regard. As a result the detail here doesn’t feel like a huge leap forward over the original vintage toy. I don’t think that’s a slight against this toy, but rather just shows that the original was so well done. With that having been said, you get some nice detailing on the sides of the legs and the back of the head.

That’s not to say there isn’t improvement. Gone is the hokey Kenner walking gimmick and in its place is a pretty cool and complex network of articulation for the legs. The tops of the legs don’t connect directly to the body, but rather to articulated struts that can move away from the body. This adds a cool element of stabilization that would probably have to be present for this fictional vehicle to work well. In addition to that, you get ratcheting joints in the tops of the legs, at the first bend, again down near the ankles, and again at the ankles. I’ll admit, the toy could have really used some swivels or rockers at the ankles to make it able to stand in more extreme poses, but it gets by pretty well as it is.

The head design features two different cheek weapons. On the right hand side, there’s a grenade launcher and a cluster of blasters on the left. Both of these can rotate. The windows also have hinged armor plates that can be left open or buttoned up for combat. The stock chin gun can rotate left and right and raise and lower to target enemies ahead or below. You also have the ability to swap out this gun with a dual missile launcher. Yup, this is the same option that the Vintage Collection version featured. I think the original idea was to make it more kid friendly by giving it missiles and a firing gimmick. but I actually think this works well as just a different weapons load out. The missiles are kind of fun, but I prefer the one that comes attached to the vehicle in the package.

The top of the head is hinged so the entire plate can be opened to allow easy access to the drivers’ cabin. Apart from the added articulation, the biggest draw of this modern AT-ST over the old Kenner one is the expanded cockpit that can seat two drivers very comfortably. The cockpit itself features some great detail, including seats, controls, and foot pedals. The sides of the cockpit feature some pre-applied stickers with more instruments and screens.

The smaller hatch on the roof will also open to allow one driver to pop his head out and there’s a railing around the roof to prevent careless accidents at the Imperial workplace. Wait, the Imperial engineers put railings on this thing but not on those two-foot wide elevated walkways on the Death Star?

Unlike the Vintage Collection release, this AT-ST does include a driver figure and that’s certainly a nice bonus, but for the original price of this thing, they should have thrown in two. I’m pretty sure this guy is a repack of the Vintage Collection AT-ST Crew two-pack, released sometime around 2012. It’s a decent figure, albeit a tad generic looking.  He’s wearing pale gray jumpsuit with some nice sculpted rumples and pockets, black boots and gloves, a standard issue Imperial belt, and he has a chest harness with shoulder straps. The helmet is removable and he has a pretty good head sculpt hiding under it. He also comes with a standard E-11 Blaster, but no holster to store it. The articulation is kind of a mixed bag, in that he has full on rotating hinges in the limbs and a ball joint in the chest, but the t-crotch feels like a bit of a throwback. Still, he gets the job done, and I may have to hunt down one more of these guys.

Overall, I like this toy a lot. It’s a great sculpt and it’s loads of fun now that the crappy legs from the Vintage Collection release have been fixed. Unfortunately, the bland colored plastic and unconvincing weathering do tend to put a damper on things. Either way, I don’t know what they were smoking when they slapped the original $60 MSRP on this thing, but I can’t come close to justifying that kind of money, even if it is a pretty good toy. At $35 or $40, these might have actually found their way off Walmart’s shelves and into collectors’ shopping carts. But at $25, I’m overall satisfied with the purchase. The deco might be a step back, but at least I don’t have to prop a doll stand up under it if I want to keep it on display.

Apr 2 2018

Marvel Legends (Okoye Wave): The Sub-Mariner by Hasbro

After the high I was on from checking out the three MCU Black Panther figures in this wave, moving on to the next installment is like getting slapped in the face with a rotting trout. I’m not here to rag on Namor. I had nothing but praise for the Walgreens Exlcusive that we got last year, which depicted him in full costume. And maybe that’s the point. Did we really need to double dip on The Sub-Mariner so soon? And if so, did it really need to be dropped into this wave? Obviously, my answers to both questions are no, but I’m pressing on with the review anyway.

Here’s a quick look at the packaging, and straightaway I have a few issues to get off my chest. One, the package says Sub-Mariner on the front whereas it should have read Shuri. Second, the figure inside the box is actually The Sub-Mariner, whereas it should have contained a figure of Shuri. Finally, this figure is clearly a fishy-man-gigolo named Namor and not a spunky, tech-savy Wakandian cutie named Shuri. I’m going to do my best to get beyond each of these critiques and appreciate this figure for what it is… not Shuri.

Now, all kidding aside, Hasbro really went all out on this figure and they did a great job. But I don’t know how much I can possibly say about it. The figure itself depicts The Sub-Mariner wearing only a pair of scaly speedos, arm bracers, and he has the obligatory wings on his ankles. This is about as close to a naked dude as we’re likely to ever get swinging on the pegs in the toy aisle, or at least until we get a Hercules. Yup, this one is a special treat for the ladies. The body is muscular, but not bulky, has some great sculpted muscle definition, and I think it suits the character well.

There isn’t a whole lot of paint here, but what we get is quite good. His trunks are painted with a beautiful metallic emerald finish and has a gold belt with a tiny seashell sculpted in the middle. The wrist bracers are painted gold, and the ankle wings are painted white. Otherwise, you get a fleshy plastic, which granted is a bit glossy, but let’s assume Namor just got out of the water and is all wet.

Where Hasbro really went nuts here was with the extras. Not only did they include the swimming hands from the Walgreens Namor, but we also got two heads with this figure, and neither of those are repacked from the earlier release. The stock head looks like a simpler, more comic booky look than the Walgreens head. When I compare the two the previous release looks like it could pass for a realistic MCU version played by a generic actor. I like this new head a lot, the sculpt is excellent and the paint is perfect. Both heads have the hair trailing back a bit, which makes him look all the more streamlined for zipping through the ocean.

The alternate head features Namor all beareded out and looking like Tony Stark co-splaying as an Vulcan. Again, it’s a great sculpt with sharp and beautiful paint, but I think I prefer my Namor sans beard.

Articulation includes all the usual points. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, double hinges in the elbows. The wrists are on hinged pegs so they can be swapped out. The legs have ball jointed hips, swivels in the thighs and the lower legs, double hinged knees, and the ankles have both hinges and rockers. The torso has a waist swivel and an ab crunch hinge under the chest. The neck has both a hinge and a ball joint.

If all that wasn’t enough, Hasbro also gave Sub-Mariner a brand new trident. This one is more elaborate than the one that came with the Walgreens Namor. It looks more like a proper trident and less like a spear. This one is cast all in gold plastic and lacks any paint apps, but I really dig it. The sculpting includes a coiled sea-serpent and a pointed fin motif.

If you ever wanted an example of just how delightfully serious and passionate Hasbro is about Marvel Legends, Sub-Mariner here is the figure to look at. I certainly wouldn’t consider Namor an A-Lister, and yet this is the second release of the character in the line in about a year. Does Hasbro know something we don’t? Is Disney going to secretly launch a Sub-Mariner movie to go up against the DCEU Aquaman flick? Probably not, and that’s what makes this release all the more intriguing. Not to mention, they also kitted the figure out with two new heads and a brand new accessory. Now, as much as I admire this figure, I really wasn’t kidding about my feelings that an MCU Shuri should have been in this spot. Hasbro obviously has the likeness rights because they did her in the basic 6-inch Black Panther line. And besides, The Sub-Mariner could have been shoved into any wave and not feel as out of place as he does here. Instead, we have to settle for a comic-based Shuri in one of the upcoming two-packs. That’s not to say I’m not happy to have The Sub-Mariner here, but c’mon Hasbro… Give us a Legends Shuri!!!

Mar 26 2018

Marvel Legends (Okoye Wave): Nakia by Hasbro

Ah, it’s a great time to be a Marvel fan! What? No, they haven’t fixed the dumpster fire on the comic side of things, but we’ve got some amazing trailers for Deadpool 2 and Infinity War, I just picked up the Blu-Ray of Thor: Ragnarok, and I’ve got enough Marvel Legends figures to keep me happy for the foreseeable future. Today I’m pressing on through the Okoye Wave and opening up Nakia from the spectacular Black Panther movie!

Nakia, not to be confused with that brand of famously indestructible Finnish cell phones, Nokia, comes in the typical Legends window box. It’s got some great character art on the side panels, the back panel shows you the rest of the figures in the wave, and the window on the front lets you get a look at all the goodies inside the box. I really enjoyed Nakia in the film, and I’d love to see them explore her character further in the next one, particularly her background with the Dora Milaje, and boy would it be cool for them to work the Malice storyline into it. I can practically see that whole thing unfolding on the screen and it would be awesome.

And here she is out of the package and looking fabulous. Black Panther was a visual feast, and a lot of that came from the pageantry of the Wakandan costumes. Hasbro had a lot to work with when it came to Nakia’s outfit and I think they did a bang up job with it. The top of the red tunic is part of the buck, while the lower half is part of the belt, sculpted in soft plastic, and extends down to hang down the front and back. The effect works really well, and it’s pretty convincing as being one plastic garment. There are a ton of cut lines running throughout the tunic, forming various geometric patterns, some of which are picked out by gold paint. On top of that you get long segmented bracers on her forearms, a large piece of armor on her right shoulder, a smaller piece on the left, and some sharp detailing around her neck, all painted in silver. She also has a sculpted silver belt buckle that looks like a panther emblem. This is some fantastic stuff!

My only nitpick is the legs, which are painted to look like they’re supposed to be bare, but have a lot of the same ornamental cut lines running throughout. Just looking at them makes me wince, because it’s like she went through some kind of ritual and had these carved into her flesh. I’ve only seen the movie twice now, but I don’t remember this being the case, and I haven’t been able to find any reference shots of her costume showing it either. In fact, it looks like she’s just wearing some fairly plain leggings. Okoye’s costume does have these designs, but they’re part of her leather leggings. Anyway, her ensemble is rounded out by a pair of black boots, with some accordion style rings on the top, which look a little clunky, and throw off what is an otherwise pretty graceful figure. If it sounds like I’m coming down on this figure, keep in mind, these are just nitpicks, and I think the sculpting and coloring on this costume look outstanding.

Also outstanding is the head sculpt. More often than not, Hasbro has been on point with their MCU head sculpts, but they’ve really upped their game recently and this is another great example of that. The likeness to the lovely Lupita Nyong’o is certainly there. Granted, I prefer it when she’s smiling, but the stern and solemn look here is more appropriate for the character and action figure. They did an amazing job sculpting her hair and she even has her tiny earrings.

The articulation here is what I’ve come to expect from my Legends MCU ladies, which means good, albeit not perfect. I would still love to see Hasbro go with double hinged elbows and bicep swivels in the arms. Instead, we get the typical rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The legs fare a lot better, with ball joints in the hips, double hinges in the knees, swivels in the thighs, and both swivels and rockers in the ankles. There’s no waist swivel, but she does have a ball joint under the chest, and she has both a hinge and ball joint in the neck.

In addition to the BAF parts, Nakia comes with a pair of Chakram, which as far as I knew were generally from India, but I’m not going to quibble about it because they’re exotic and cool and movies often play it fast and loose with historical authenticity. Anyway, these are beautiful accessories, with brown textured grips to simulate wood or leather, and silver blades with decorative inscriptions scultped into them.

Black Panther and Killmonger were both great figures, but lets face it the black with gold and black with silver suits didn’t really showcase the movie’s colorful costumes. With Nakia, we finally get to see some of that translate to plastic, and it looks superb. I nitpicked some of the liberties Hasbro seemed to take with the costume, but really I have nothing but love and admiration for the work they did here. From the exquisite costume, to the beautiful likeness, to some really fun accessories, this figure has it all.

And that’s it for the packaged MCU figures. Next week, I’ll start in on the comic-based figures!

Mar 23 2018

Star Wars “30th Anniversary Collection:” V-Wing Starfighter by Hasbro

It feels like a long while since I’ve looked at a 3 3/4-inch Scale Star Wars vehicle, especially if you exclude the whole 5-POAPALOOSA I did for the opening of The Last Jedi. Let’s face it, Hasbro doesn’t do a lot of these anymore and when they do, they’re a far cry from what they were in the glory days. Unless you want to count a certain Sail Barge Experiment that’s going on right now. Anyway… A couple of weekends back, I spent Saturday morning going through one of my Star Wars totes. I was expecting it to be mostly figures, but there were a few surprises buried in there, and one of them was this cool Starfighter that was released as part of the 30th Anniversary Collection, one of the last of Hasbro’s Star Wars lines that I collected with excitement and fervor. I was surprised to find that I never gave it a proper review here, so I set it aside for a day just like today!

The Alpha-3 Nimbus Class “V-Wing” Starfighter made its appearance at the end of Revenge of the Sith, escorting Palpatine’s shuttle to Mustafar. I’ll confess, this last point came up in my research and I didn’t remember actually noticing them when I watched the movie. For a long time, I just assumed this ship was based off an Expanded Universe design from The Clone Wars, or a concept that never actually got used. One bit of credit I’ll always give to the Prequels and Clone Wars era, is they featured some pretty cool ships, many of which were given the royal treatment by Hasbro to become excellent toys. Anyway, I think this ship was released a few times, but I got the 30th Anniversary Collection version. I was never a big fan of the package design, but I think I bought just about everything this line put out. The package indicates the ship being flown by a standard Clone Pilot, and that’s the figure I’ve used for my pictures, but I’ll point out that Hasbro did release an official V-Wing Pilot as part of an exclusive multi-pack and that one wore a black flightsuit. The V-Wing requires a bit of assembly as all of it’s wings have to be attached, as does the front section of the hull. It’s probably more than I’m used to seeing in this size toy, but nothing too complicated.

To say that this is a distinctive design is quite the understatement! I suppose you could argue that there’s a little bit of A-Wing in here, at least in the ship’s main body, but this one is more elongated and has a much sharper taper, like the head of a spear. Also, I’m a big fan of ships that have different configurations for landing and flight, and as we’ll see in a bit, the V-Wing very nearly takes this idea to the extreme. The basic layout follows the usual Rebel/Republic ship formula with a single-pilot cockpit positioned in front of a socket for an Astromech Droid. In this case, the Droid’s head is permanently attached to the ship, so you cannot provide your own. His head will, however, swivel, and if accessorizing is your thing, he’s painted to match the hull of the ship. And speaking of paint, the deco on this ship is absolutely gorgeous. In addition to the red and off-white coloring, you get some yellow markings, scorch marks, and a lot of silver scrapes and weathering. I think you could argue that Hasbro overdid it a bit with the silver scrapes, but in this case, I think too much is better than nothing. Comparing this ship to Hasbro’s super-clean modern offerings is like comparing apples and oranges.

When landed, the V-Wing rests on three landing struts, the rear two are integrated into the collapsed wings, while the front retracts into the primary hull. There are three sets of articulated wings, one set on each side and another set mounted behind the top of the cockpit. All of these have textured heat radiating panels on the interiors. I really dig the armored-up look the V-Wing sports when it’s all closed up and landed.

From the back, you can see the V-Wing’s dual vertically-stacked thrusters, as well as a pair of articulated rudders that flank the engines. The V-Wing is not capable of Hyperspace on its own, but apparently could be adapted to take a Hyperspace Ring like the Jedi Starfighters. When the ship is ready to take off, you just fold in the front landing strut and press in the upper engine to deploy the wings.

And man, does this thing look awesome with the wings deployed! They spring open like scissor blades and really show off the sleek and aggressive design of the hull. They also reveal the banks of missiles that are positioned on each side of the cockpit area.

The missiles are cool in that they actually look like missiles and not the usual simple rods that we see in a lot of Hasbro’s ships. They have pronounced fins and the tips are painted red. Paint applications on missiles! These truly were wondrous times! There are buttons positioned at the top of the wing mounts which will fire these and they shoot pretty damn far!

The cockpit looks nice and snug, but there’s actually plenty of room in the compartment for the Clone Pilot figure, and I imagine most other normal humanoid figures would fit fine as well. The cockpit is hinged at the back and there’s a little slot at the front to help open it. Fun fact: The V-Wings sacrificed life support for maneuverability, hence the importance of the sealed flightsuit. The eye on my Q7-Series Astromech is a tad wonky, but otherwise the paint on him is pretty good, and I really appreciate the fact that his head will swivel.

About the only downside of this beautiful ship is that it doesn’t come with a way to display it with the wings open. There is, however, a useful cluster of pipes sculpted on its undercarriage near the back. I was able to make it work fairly well with a flight stand that Mattel used to sell for their DC figures.

If you’ve been with me for a while, then you may have heard me talk about my Great Star Wars Purge that happened around 2009 or so, where I liquidated a huge portion of my Star Wars collection. I can still remember getting ready to add this one to the selling pile, but relenting at the last moment. It might have been because it was still a relatively new purchase at the time, but now that I’m holding it in my hands again, I think it was probably more about just how unique and special this ship’s design is, and how well Hasbro carried it off. It’s hard to think of too many ships in this class since that have turned out this well. It’s both a fun and great-looking toy, and it’s been rescued from the storage tote and now displayed on my shelf once again!

Mar 19 2018

Marvel Legends (Okoye Wave): Killmonger by Hasbro

The new Infinity War trailer may have dropped last week, but I’m still working my way through the Black Panther inspired wave of Marvel Legends. Hell, I’ll be lucky if I get to the Infinity War figures by the time that movie hits theaters next month. Part of me is screaming, “Slow your roll, MCU. Stop stealing the spotlight of your own movies.” But then I tell myself to shut up, because I want more Marvel movies as quickly as possible. I’m an old man and I don’t have time them to worry about pacing themselves! But for now, let’s focus on Black Panther and have a look at Erik Killmonger!

Much has been said about how Killmonger is one of the best MCU villains since Loki, and I can’t argue with any of it. He was charismatic, sympathetic, and he was one of the many characters that seemed to get as much development and screen-time as our hero, T’Challa. All of this is pretty impressive, since when you boil it down, his costumed-persona was just an evil version of Black Panther and his name is… well, Killmonger! Even in the 70’s that name was a little cringe-worthy. Anyway, I didn’t have high hopes for this character in the film, but it shows what I know, because everything turned out so much better than could be expected. It also redeemed actor Michael B Jordan’s legacy in the Marvel films. Not that he was really at fault for that Fantastic Four movie.

When I looked at Black Panther last week, I complimented Hasbro for not cheaping out and reusing parts from the Civil War version. Indeed, I had no idea there were so many differences in the costume! Well, the same can be said for Killmonger. This is an entirely new sculpt, and considering it’s basically a one-and-done buck, I’m surprised they didn’t share some parts between Erik and T’Challa in this wave. It’s also easy to dismiss this as just another black-suited figure with some gold paint accents. I’ll confess that was my reaction when I first saw pictures. But with the figure in hand, I find the subtleties in the sculpt and coloring rather impressive. Of course, all of this can be said for the Black Panther figure as well.

Killmonger’s suit is simpler than T’Challa’s. You don’t get as much in the way of panel lines and texturing, but it does feature some beaded lines running throughout. It also has a very subtle panther spotting effect that can be tough to see under normal lighting. Where T’Challa’s suit had silver accents, Killmonger’s has gold, and there isn’t nearly as much of it, at least not from the neck down. There’s a little on the hands and feet, and at the hips. The necklace appears to be sculpted separately in gold plastic and attached to the figure.

The head, on the other hand is absolutely brimming with detail. I really like the sculpted iconography near the ears. The beaded lines feature some gold paint, as well as some general gold dry brushing around the forehead area. The eyes are painted gold, and you get a little silver paint on the gold necklace. No doubt, this is a pretty intimidating mask!

The articulation is identical to what we saw on Black Panther. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, double hinges in the elbows, swivels in the biceps, and hinged pegs in the wrists. They also feature the lateral hinges in the shoulders that we often see on the Spider-Man figures. The pegs in the wrists allow you to swap hands, between attack hands and accessory holding hands. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and have swivels in the thighs. The ankles feature both hinges and rockers. There’s a swivel in the waist, an ab crunch under the chest, and both a hinge and ball joint in the neck.

While T’Challa came up empty in the accessories department, Killmonger comes with two weapons and an extra set of hands for holding them. The first is a what I believe is meant to be a Konda-type sword, with the rather distinctive flaring tip that’s designed for slashing. The segmented grip is black, the blade is painted silver, and there are four holes cut out in across the top edge.

The other weapon is a short spear in silver and gold with some brown painted ties in the middle. Both of these weapons are pretty cool and quite distinctive.

Marvel Studios did a great job with Killmonger in the film, and now Hasbro follows suit with a great figure. In fact, the only real complaint I have is that there is no unmasked head. Yes, the two weapons make up for it in terms of value, but I can’t help but think the real reason was so they could bundle the character in a two-pack with an unmasked head and make me buy it again. Although in fairness, that figure looks like it’s going to be radically different, rather than a straight repack. Do I need two Killmongers? Probably not, but between the unmasked head and the Everett Ross figure, I’m only kidding myself if I pretend like I won’t buy it when I see it, but I don’t think I’ll pay a premium for it.

Mar 12 2018

Marvel Legends: Black Panther (Okoye Wave) by Hasbro

It’s time to start in on an all new wave of Marvel Legends, and hey, look at that! I’m actually getting to the Black Panther Wave while the movie is still in the theaters! But collecting Marvel Legends is like fighting Hydra, complete one wave and two more take its place. I still haven’t opened or reviewed the Sandman Wave, and I haven’t started buying the new Deadpool, Spider-Man, or Infinity War Waves. And I am most definitely not complaining, Hasbro. Keep ’em coming!

Yeah, I called this the Black Panther Wave, but only half of the figures, plus the Build-A-Figure, are from the movie. There are also three random comic-based figures tossed in, and only one of those has me excited, and no it’s not the half-naked Namor! I know we’re getting Everett Ross in a two-pack, but no Klaw or Shuri? That’s just unforgivable. Anyway, the packaging is the same old thing with some nice branding on the front to tie it into the film. Let’s take a look at the figure, and I’ll do some comparisons with the Civil War version along the way.

Appropriately enough, the new suit features an all new sculpt, so don’t go thinking Hasbro cheaped out on this one. Honestly, they probably could have and I wouldn’t have noticed the difference until the movie hit Blu-Ray and I could really scrutinize the design. Indeed, getting these two figures side by side is the first time I’ve really taken the time to look the changes made to the costume. I was surprised to find so many differences. The sculpted lines in the costume are all different patterns and the new costume doesn’t feature quite as many of them. But the most obvious difference for me is in the necklace, which is a lot simpler.

The coloring is the same matte black with silver accents and Hasbro did a nice job on the little bit of paint that’s here. All the silver apps are nice and clean on my figure. The new costume has some rather aggressive spike-like bits painted on his gauntlets, whereas the old look just had a painted border at the edges. You get more of those silver spikes around the tops of his his boots, where the older costume had none. All in all, there’s a little more silver on this release and it’s more of a pure silver, whereas the older figure was more of a silver-gray.

The masks are quite different too. I think the old one looks a lot more severe. The silver lines that converge on his brow make him look a lot more aggressive to me, as do the points on the ears. The new head is a little more rounded. If you were to ask me to choose a favorite between the two, I’d be leaning toward the Civil War release, but they both look great, and in the end it’s just a matter of taste.

You also get an unmasked head, and holy shit, if you ever want an example of Hasbro being a company looking to improve, just check out this two years of progress. I remember being rather favorable toward the head on the Civil War figure, but oh boy does it look dated compared to this one. The likeness to Chadwick Boseman is very much on point. If I’m going to nitpick, I think the hair could have been done a little better on the new figure. It’s a little too precise and has a painted on look to it. But still, overall, this is a fantastic new likeness. I really hope they can start bringing this kind of portraiture to the Star Wars Black Series at some point in time.

In terms of articulation, you get all the same points in the Civil War version. That means the arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, double hinges in the elbows, swivels in the biceps, and hinged pegs in the wrists. The pegs in the wrists allow you to swap hands, between fists or attack hands. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, double hinged at the knees, and have swivels in the thighs. The ankles feature both hinges and rockers. There’s a swivel in the waist, an ab crunch under the chest, and both a hinge and ball joint in the neck. So what’s the difference? Hasbro upgraded to the lateral hinges in the shoulders, and that’s pretty damn cool.

 

Apart from the extra hands and head, T’Challa doesn’t come with any additional accessories, and that’s fine. I can’t really think of anything he’s missing.

If I had missed out on the Civil War release, I’d be very content to have this figure representing the MCU Black Panther in my collection. Yes, aesthetically I gave the edge to the previous one, but this is still a beautiful figure and the added articulation makes it all the more fun to play with. Not to mention the unmasked head is a huge improvement. Initially, I wasn’t really sure we needed another Black Panther figure so soon, but this release proves me wrong. On the next Marvel Monday, I’ll check out Killmonger!

Mar 5 2018

Marvel Legends (Man-Thing Wave): Man-Thing by Hasbro

It’s that time again at the end of a wave of Marvel Legends where I get to collect all the pieces together and cobble together my Build-A-Figure. Now, I don’t always like to admit it, but there are holes in my Marvel knowledge that come from being selective about my reading. There are characters I only know by name and history, and Man-Thing is certainly one of them. I don’t think he makes an appearance in a single book on my shelf. Still, he’s got a truly twisted background that I really should explore someday, but for now I’ll just have to be satisfied knowing that he’s one of the few Marvel characters that originated from my adopted home state of Florida.

Man-Thing consists of six parts, spread out over the entirety of the aptly named Man-Thing Wave. That includes two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head. Now, I’m not one of them fancy plantologists, but I was able to figure out how to put him together. Doing so, however, require a lot of strength and tolerance for pain in my hands, because this guy did not go together easily. Both the head and the legs required a lot of force and left plant texturing imprinted on the palms of my hands.

While I don’t read his books, I’ve always really liked Man-Thing’s design. It reminds me of something out of the old Inhumanoids action figure line. Hasbro really went all out on the sculpt with this fellow, and other than the bottoms of his feet, I can’t find even the tiniest spot that isn’t covered with some kind of intricately sculpted veggie motif. Even the hinges in his elbows are covered in sculpted detail. That’s pretty cool.

Amidst the tangle of vines, you get some shaggy looking grass hanging off his forearms, palm fronds on his feet, some mushroom caps jutting out of his right thigh, and a mossy buildup on his back. Despite the overload of detail in the sculpt, there isn’t much going on with the paint on this figure. The body itself is mostly just green plastic, with some wash to give some areas more of a yellowish-green look and give the sculpt some depth. Also, he does have his fingernails and toenails painted. I guess what I’m trying to say is some individual paint hits to some of the specific detail would have been nice, but still the figure still looks great. Nonetheless, I’ll bet some people with skills (not myself) could do a beautiful job painting this figure up.

The head sculpt is every bit as good as the body, and this is where I think this design really shines. I noted earlier that he reminds me a bit of The Inhumanoids line, Tendrill to be specific, although going back to a picture of that figure there really isn’t that much resemblance. It’s probably the distinctive tendrils that are formed from his uni-brow that gives him that Inhumanoids/Eldar God vibe. Those rooty tendrils are painted brown and they frame his large red eyes. It really is a great design and this figure carries it splendidly.

The articulation is pretty standard BAF fare. He has rotating hinges in his hips, and these come already attached. The legs attach via the rotating hinges in his thighs. He also has double hinges in his knees, and both hinges and rockers in the ankles. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The torso has both a swivel in the waist and a hinge for an ab crunch. The neck is ball jointed, but because of the hunched shoulder he can mostly just tilt his head from side to side and look up just a little bit. I should note that my figure’s left arm was fused at the elbow, but a little heat loosened it up.

Of course, in the category of comic book based plant-thing figures, Mattel still takes the top prize with their DC Universe Classics Swamp Thing figure from a little ways back. It’s probably not fair comparing them, since Man-Thing is a retail Build-A-Figure and Swamp Thing was an SDCC Exclusive that ran around thirty or forty bucks, but I couldn’t help myself from checking them out side-by-side. Swamp Thing’s spongy rubber skin is still really cool, but it’s the extra paint apps that really make Swamp Thing stand out.

One of the greatest things about universe building with action figures is that it lets me discover characters I had little to do with before. Sometimes it’s just the design and artistry that I dig, but more often then not it will spark an interest and I’ll go find some books and do some reading. That’s probably going to be the case here with Man-Thing.

And that’s another fantastic wave of Marvel Legends in the bag. Part of me wishes that this was a full-on Netflix Wave with both Luke Cage and Danny Rand included, but then I realize that Blade and Bullseye are my two favorites in this assortment and I should probably be careful about what I wish for. Either way, Hasbro continues is still killing it with Legends. I was originally going to backtrack to either the Sandman Wave or the SDCC Battle For Asgarde set, but instead I think I’ll jump to the Black Panther Wave next, so I can actually look at some of those figures while the movie is still in theaters!

Mar 5 2018

Marvel Legends (Man-Thing Wave): Bullseye by Hasbro

It’s an especially glorious Marvel Monday because it’s the first day of my vacation and all is right with the world. It’ll be a week of toys, video games, comics, booze, and other expressions of geek debauchery. I’m also wrapping up the Man-Thing Wave of Marvel Legends with a look at the last packaged figure… Bullseye!

Damn, do I love me some Bullseye! What’s he doing in this wave? How the hell should I know? Why didn’t they save him for the Deadpool Wave? Again, you’re asking the wrong person. Alls I know is anytime Bullseye shows his ugly mug in one of my funnybooks, I’m a happy camper. Hasbro released two different versions of him in the 4-inch Marvel Universe line and I snapped up the both of them. Suffice it to say, his appearance in the modern Legends line is long overdue.

Every thing about this figure makes me happy, and that’s not just the good vibes of the vacation talking. The classic costume is achieved mostly through paint, white over very dark blue plastic. That’s usually not a good thing, as it often results in bleeding and drab colors, but happily that’s not the case here. The whites are bright and vibrant, there’s no evident bleed through from the darker plastic, and he has some crisp stripes painted on the boots, gauntlets, and collar. This is a great example of a simple painted costume done right.

The little bit of original sculpting comes in the form of his belt and holster rig. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s new. The white belt features three sculpted magazine pouches running across the front, a thigh strap to secure the holster, and a horizontal scabbard running across the back for his knife. Some great details include the tiny stitching on the ammo pouches and holster, as well as the sculpted wrap that holds the knife sheath in place.

Bullseye comes with two heads, and both are winners. The personality that Hasbro has been pouring into some of the villain sculpts has been one of my favorite things about this modern Marvel Legends line from the get-go. I just have to think back to Constrictor and Klaw and how much fun they must have had sculpting those portraits. The stock head features the dark blue hood-like mask with the big white bullseye on the forehead, and it’s absolutely perfect, right down to his broad gap-toothed smile.

The alternate head goes for that Dark Avengers look with no hood and the bullseye emblem carved right into his bald head. And oh boy just look at that expression! If this were a common figure around these parts, I’d definitely pick up a second to display the other head. As it is, I’ll be sticking with the hooded one, and it feels a shame to pop the other one into a baggie somewhere. The detail inside hte mouth really blows me away. The glossy paint they used for his tongue looks particularly good.

As for articulation, Bullseye is one of the proud few characters to be given the shoulder rocker treatment, which gives playing with him that extra bit of fun. The arms also include rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, double hinges in the elbows, and hinged pegs in the wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs and lower legs, and have double hinges in the knees. The ankles have both hinges and rockers. The neck is both ball jointed and hinged. Bullseye is a hard figure to put down, and I have a feeling he’s going to have a go against several of my other Legends figures.

In addition to the extra head, Bullseye comes with two extra left hands. One is a pointing finger hand, the other is an effects part hand throwing three knives. Both of these are welcome additions, but the knife-throwing hand really goes above and beyond. It just looks great. Would it be too much to ask to also get a playing card holding hand like the Marvel Universe version? Yeah, I don’t want to push my luck.

As for regular accessories, Bullseye also comes with a combat knife and a pistol. The pistol is one we’ve seen before. The design reminds me of a .22 target pistol and it’s cast all in gray plastic with some nice attention to detail in the sculpt. It fits pretty well in the holster, but it has a habit of popping out when I’m playing around with him.

The knife is a standard tanto-type blade with black painted grips. Bullseye’s right hand is sculpted with a trigger finger to hold the gun, while the left hand is sculpted to securely hold his trusty knife.

Bullseye is a great example of simple classic comic design being perfectly realized in plastic. When I really love a character, I tend to be pretty demanding when they get a figure, but I’ve got no complaints here. The extra articulation makes him loads of fun, and Hasbro really captured the character beautifully, from the execution of his classic costume to the wonderful personality that’s packed into both of the heads. I saved Bullseye for last, because I suspected he was going to be my favorite figure in this wave, and that certainly turned out to be true. And keep in mind, this was an all around very solid wave, so giving Bullseye the top spot is high praise indeed!

Oh yeah, I’ll be back tonight to have a look at Man-Thing Build-A-Figure!

Mar 2 2018

Marvel Legends: Mr. Fantastic by Hasbro

Welcome friends… It’s DC Friday and… oh. Sorry about that. Force of habit. DC Friday is still on hiatus and just to rub a little salt in the wound, I’m checking out a Marvel Legends figure on DC’s turf. I’m not trying to be a dick about the fact that DC doesn’t have a comparable action figure line, honest! If they did, DC Friday would still be going strong. As for today… well, I happened to find Mr. Fantastic while running into Walgreens for a frozen pizza and I really want to open him up without cutting into my already over-booked Marvel Monday slots. And like I said, it’s not like I have any new DC stuff to look at here yet. The DC Multiverse pegs in my area are all still full of the Wonder Woman movie wave. And unlike Marvel Legends, the recent DC Multiverse releases sell for scalper prices on Amazon. Maybe I’ll pick up one of the many DC statues on my want list, but for now let’s thank to Reed Richards for stretching his way in to save the day!

If you’re keeping score at home, Mr. Fantastic is the third member of Marvel’s First Family to get an exclusive Walgreens release in the Legends line, right behind Sue Storm and her brother Johnny. And now that we finally saw some production shots of The Thing, we know Hasbro and Walgreens are riding this one to the end. Unless, you wanna give us The Amazing Bag-Man, Hasbro, because I’ll happily take that figure too! To say I love The Fantastic Four would be an understatement of epic proportions. It’s one of a handful of comics that I’ve been reading since I was a kid, it’s one of my overall favorite Marvel Comics series of all time, and well… I miss it a lot. I’m misting up a little right now. These figures do help, though.

As far as the body goes, Reed is more or less exactly what I was expecting: A painted costume on a generic buck. That’s not a knock on the figure, as it fits the bill perfectly. The blue matches the shade used for Sue Storm pretty closely, but it might be a shade darker here. Naturally, you get black paint for the boots, gloves, and belt. The “4” emblem is printed neatly on his chest, and you get more black around the collar. There isn’t really any unique sculpting needed to make Reed stand out, and the costume looks… well… fantastic.

The head sculpt is also a winner. The definition in the facial features is very well done, his eyes are straight and sharp, and I really dig the one raised eyebrow suggesting that he was fascinated by something while doing the science. The sculpted hair features a few stray licks over his forehead and his trademark gray wings look spot on. My figure does have a birthmark just off to the side and below his left eye. It’s actually a flub in the paint, but I’m choosing to call it a birthmark, dammit! I think this is an all around excellent likeness to the character that I know and love. And sometimes hate to love. And other times love to hate.

The articulation holds few surprises for a modern Legends figure. The legs have ball joints in the hips, double hinges in the knees, swivels in the thighs, as well as both hinges and rockers in the ankles. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, there are swivels in the biceps, and double hinges in the knees. The torso features a waste swivel as well as an ab crunch hinge. The hinge is placed a little awkwardly, and while I don’t think it would have worked on any other character, it gives Reed a very little bit of an elongated look that fits his special abilities. Lastly, he has both a hinge and ball joint in the neck.

Reed does come with one accessory and holy crap, it’s The Nullifier! I remember bitching about getting Phlish instead of The Nullifier back when Nova came out. Now I can’t remember why I was so hell bent on getting this little lump of gray plastic. But hey… Nullifier!

Of course, the big draw in the package are the swap out stretchy arms. When I heard that the FF were going to be Walgreens exclusives, I was really worried about Hasbro cheaping out on these and I honestly wasn’t expecting to get any stretchy parts with Reed. Oh boy, am I glad to be wrong on that one. The regular arms just pull right out at the shoulders and the stretchy arms pop right in, easy-peasy. They do have a bit of bend-ability to them, but nothing too crazy. They do, however, make the figure loads of fun. I bought every version of Reed that Hasbro put out in the 4-inch Marvel Universe line, but it’s so cool to finally get him with some stretchy parts.

Seeing just the three of the Fantastic Four assembled on my Legends shelf gives me the warm and fuzzies. It’s not lost on me how many things about these figures feels like a miracle. The fact that we’re getting toys at all with the comic having been cancelled is one thing, but actually getting them as Walgreens exclusives is also pretty crazy. But frankly, this whole Walgreens partnership has been working out wonderfully for me. I have some chance of finding Target Exclusives, almost no chance at Walmart Exclusives, zero chance at Toys R Us Exclusives, but I’ve never had a problem finding any of the Walgreens ones, and I don’t even have to hunt. Indeed, the one right around the corner has been a goldmine for all kinds of Marvel Legends waves.

Feb 26 2018

Marvel Legends (Man-Thing Wave): Blade by Hasbro

It’s Monday and I got a short week at work and then I’ll be cruising into my second vacation in two months. Life is good. Even better, since I’m opening a brand new Marvel Legends figure. And while I’m chomping at the bit to get to the Black Panther-inspired wave, I’ve got to finish what’s on my plate first. What’s that? The Infinity War and Deadpool Waves are already hitting? OMG, I’M NEVER GOING TO GET CAUGHT UP!!! Anyway, I’ve already checked out the Netflix-inspired portion of this wave and now I’m starting to look at the pair of comic-based figures so I can assemble my Man-Thing.

Behold, it’s Blade! It says so right on the package in that awesome font! It seems like ages ago (maybe 2013?) that we were promised Blade as a running-change variant to The Punisher. We all know how that worked out. But some four years later, we’re actually getting a modern Blade in the modern Legends line. It’s not the same figure we were shown back then, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Because… damn! Check him out! I maybe biased because I was really looking forward to this figure, but in hand I’ve got to say Hasbro did him proud. The Daywalker comes wearing a tactical vest with some heavy texturing and silver painted clasps around the shoulders and sides. He has a fairly non-descript pair of pants with knee guards and high boots. His arms are sleeveless, but he does have fingerless gloves on his hands, which is not smart when you’re fighting vampires because it makes it just that little bit easier for them to bite your fingers off. Separately sculpted pieces include a strap on his left thigh with what look like silver stakes, and he has a bandoleer strap across his chest with good old fashioned wooden stakes. The paint is pretty subdued, but the silver apps give him a little well needed pop.

From the back we can see that the bandoleer also holds the scabbard for his katana sword, as well as even more stakes running down his back. The scabbard features some sculpted ties securing it to the strap and there’s no tip, so you can see the point of the sword peeking out at you. Oddly enough, the scabbard looked pretty straight when I got the figure out and I was worried that the curved sword blade wasn’t going to fit, but it goes in real easy and stays put. The sword hangs on his back a little low, but he can still grab the hilt to draw it out.

Blade includes two heads to choose from. One features a standard looking haircut, groovy pink shades, and a handlebar mustache. It’s also an absolutely amazing face sculpt. The definition in the details is superbly executed and the paint is damn near perfect. Also, unlike the new facial printing Hasbro has been using, this is not a paint job that suffers breaking down as you get in real close. Absolutely fantastic!

The alternate head features a bit of a crazier haircut, if you can call it that. Here, Blade is mostly bald and just has a pair of lightning bolts cut into his hair. I’m all for options, but I prefer the first one, which makes this head a bit of a waste for me. The expression and the glasses are identical, and I would have much rather got a second head showing some more emotion. Screaming or smirking or anything but just a different haircut. Of course, if you prefer this hairstyle, then you may likely feel the same way about the other head. It just seems like a wasted opportunity.

As for articulation, Blade has all the points he needs to get all rough and tumble with the nightstalkers of the Marvel Universe. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The torso has a rotating waist, an ab crunch hinge just under the chest, and both a ball joint and hinge in the neck. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs, double hinges in the knees, and the ankles have both hinges and rockers. The joints feel great on this guy, and he’s loads of fun to play with and pose.

Blade’s one accessory is… his blade! The katana sword includes a silver blade with a gold tsuba guard. The sculpted wrap on the hilt is painted black with some gold peeking through underneath it. The blade is pretty bendy, but mine doesn’t seem to have a problem staying straight. Blade’s hands are sculpted so that he can hold the sword in either one, and his articulation allows him to wield it with both hands, if that’s your preference.

In the end, this release really hits home for me. Not only am I a fan of the character and his comics, I’m a big fan of vampire comics in general, and I’ll confess I still enjoy the Blade movies a lot, even if they do seem hopelessly dated now. The character is also almost as old as I am, first appearing in Tomb of Dracula #10 in 1973, the year after I was born. And, oh man, would I love to get a Legends figure of him in his original costume, complete with that green jacket that was pure 70’s! Blade is simply one of Marvel’s most bad-ass heroes and while it was tough to wait this long to finally get him in Legends, I think the wait was well worth it. I’m much happier with this figure than the one that was previously shown off.