Nov 14 2016

Marvel Legends (Rhino Wave): Kraven The Hunter by Hasbro

Another Marvel Monday, another Marvel Legends figure, and I’m continuing my slog through the old news that is the Rhino Wave. But I’m rather excited today, because I finally get to open one of my most anticipated figures in this wave… Kraven The Hunter! Hasbro did an incredible job on the 3 3/4-inch Marvel Universe version and ever since getting that figure I’ve been hunting (HA!) down as many comics as I could find in which he makes an appearance. I even went back and re-read Kraven’s Last Hunt earlier this year. That’s one of the cool things about collecting comic figures. Sometimes they make me take a second look at a character I didn’t give two shits about and suddenly my universe is expanded. Suffice it to say, I’ve subsequently grown pretty fond of Kraven and I have some pretty high hopes for this 6-inch Legends release.

The box is branded for Spider-Man at the top, along with a web-pattern illustrated on the tray behind the figure. This is another one of those instances of slot sharing and in this case the “Savage Force” consists of Kraven and Chameleon, which is certainly appropriate given their relationship. Indeed, this is one of the less tenuous character connections for one of these split slot packages that Hasbro has done in a while.

I’m not going to mince words, Kraven is absolutely freaking amazing. Thanks to his outrageous costume design, Hasbro had a lot to work with here and quite frankly they knocked it out of the park. About the only things really plain here are the upper legs and the bare chested buck and upper arms. Those legs get by with just brown paint for Kraven’s pants and the biceps have his animal print straps painted on. Everything else here is represented by beautiful new sculpting.

Kraven is sporting a pair of boots with sculpted wrappings and some wicked looking human skulls as knee pads with sculpted fringe around the legs.

The bare chest is covered by Kraven’s iconic lion head vest, which is basically a lion head split straight down the middle with the mane forming a rather large and regal looking collar that spills onto his shoulders and down his back. While I haven’t tried it, the vest appears to be pretty easily removed. Kraven’s forearms feature sculpted leather wrappings and fingerless gloves and he has a tribal necklace hanging around his neck. His belt is a separate piece that pegs together in the back and features enough pouches to make Deadpool jealous, as well as some sculpted sashes hanging down from his hips.

If all this wasn’t good enough, Hasbro ponied up for one of the better head sculpts that I’ve seen in any recent Legends releases. The detail in Sergei’s face is sharp, the skin tone is perfect and the paint… well, the paint looks fine until you get up really close and it starts to break down a little. Still, it’s fine.

The articulation on this guy is fantastic. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, there are swivels in the biceps, and the elbows are double hinged. THe legs are ball jointed at the hips, there are swivels at the thighs and tops of the boots, and the knees are double hinged. The ankles feature hinges and lateral rockers. There’s a swivel in the waist, a ball joint in the chest and the neck has both a hinge and a ball joint.

Besides one of Rhino’s gams, Kraven comes with a pretty cool spear accessory. It features a sculpted wood texture on the staff, a bronze painted tip, and some sculpted feathers strung around the base of the tip just to make it look pretty. His hands are sculpted so he can wield the spear in either hand or both.

Legends is a line that gets a lot of mileage out of simple painted bucks, but every once and a while a character like Kraven here give Hasbro a chance to shine.

Nov 10 2016

Transformers Universe 2.0: Skyfall by Hasbro

It’s Transformers Thursday and still no new Titans Return figures for me to look at this week. I do have that G2 Superion set kicking around, but I’m saving that for a real dry spell. Luckily, I have an older figure to gush over today, thanks to a fellow collector on Twitter who posted a picture of this fella in their collection and making me realize that I needed him. This was a loose Ebay grab, so I’ve got no in package shot to offer. So, let’s have a look at Skyfall from the Transformers Universe line and jump right into his alt mode.

SEXY! This alt mode might look a little familiar. If so, that’s because Skyfall is a straight repaint of Silverbolt. Yeah, for some reason Hasbro decided to make a one-off, non-combining Aerialbot for their Classics/Universe/Generations line. I always thought that was weird. I owned Silverbolt, he was a great toy, but I eventually traded him away when I started collecting TFC’s Not-Aerialbots. He seemed superfluous. The fact that he got a Decepticon repaint gave me a great excuse to get the mold back into my collection again and as a brand new character. In his original G1 colors, this mold had a passing resemblance to Silverbolt’s old Concorde alt mode, I suppose, but with the back-swept fixed wings and the jagged cut rear, this fresh coat of paint really goes a long way to make it look like a lean, mean, Decepticon fighting machine.

Besides being a great alt mode, it’s the colors on this toy that really sells it. The new deco features some lovely high-gloss black plastic with gorgeous red and gold paint apps, all of which conspires to bring out the stealth fighter in this mold. Toss in some silver Decepticon logos and registry numbers and this is one gorgeous aircraft. There’s also some translucent red plastic on the windshields, the back of the engines, and set into the intakes. Because Skyfall is an Ultra Class he has some added electronics. You press the button on his back to cycle through the different effects. The first press offers a flyby sound, the second press is the engines starting up and flashing, the third press are the guns firing with those intake lights flashing. I’m not usually a big fan of electronics in my Transformers toys, but here’s an instance where I think they work great.

Skyfall also features a large missile launcher slung under the nose and canopy. It incorporates the black, red, and gold color scheme of the rest of the aircraft and it fires pretty well. There are three sets of hinged landing gear and yes, because this is a Silverbolt repaint, there’s plenty of boxy robot kibble hanging off the bottom of the plane. Thankfully, it all tucks away pretty neatly. There isn’t a whole lot to transforming Skyfall. You just fold out the arms and legs and fold the aircraft onto his back. Those lights and sounds come into effect for the head reveal. When you push his legs up into place the head pops up and you get that wonderful transforming sound from the G1 cartoon as well as flashing eyes.

If you didn’t recognize Silverbolt in the alt mode, than surely you can see him here, as Skyfall is just Silverbolt with a more sinister paint job. I absolutely adore this robot mode. The entire torso is so evocative of the G1 aesthetic and I really dig the way the landing gear hatches sit on his shoulders. How cool would it have been if they could have converted these to opening rocket packs for Skyfall! Anyway, the deco retains the same black and red palate with a little gold and silver and once again the coloring on this figure is gorgeous. My only complaint here is that I think the empty gold square in his chest is an odd choice. They should have just moved the Decepticon logo from his right shoulder to there. But, now I’m really nitpicking.

As mentioned, Skyfall wears the entire jet mode folded it up on his back. It packs away pretty well and isn’t nearly as kibbly as one might expect. It also doesn’t make him too back heavy. I think it looks fine, but it would have been even better if there was a way to rotate it so the nose was pointing down and the wings swept out like a cape.

The head is the same Silverbolt sculpt and it works surprisingly well as a Decepticon. What was a noble hint of a smile as an Autobot becomes a slightly smug smirk for a Decepticon. I dig the gold paint used for the face and those eyes look fantastic for that brief moment when they’re flashing after the transformation. In this mode you can still press the button on his back to get the firing sound effect.

The articulation here is nothing special by today’s standards, but not bad for a 2009 release. The arms and legs feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and hips and hinges in the elbows and knees. You also get swivels in the biceps and thighs and the head swivels as well. Nearly all the joints on this guy are strong ratchets and heel spurs help stabilize him. He’s a solid figure that can really hold a pose.

Naturally, the gun in his aircraft mode becomes his rifle in robot mode and he can hold it in either hand.

It’s been a while since I was able to gush all over an older Transformer, but Skyfall is definitely worthy of the attention. I think he scales really well with the Leader Class Decepticons, especially Combiner Wars Megatron and the Seekers. The aesthetics of both his alt and robot modes still hold up splendidly and while he’s a relatively simple toy for his size, he makes up for it with some value added electronics. He’ll serve my Decepticon forces well as a long range aerial spy. I mean with a name like Skyfall, he’s got to be a spy, right? I seem to recall these Ultra Class toys selling for around $30 new. I was able to pick up Skyfall in beautiful condition for $20, but half of that was shipping, and well worth every penny to get this mold back into my collection.

Nov 7 2016

Marvel Legends (Rhino Wave): Ghost Rider by Hasbro

How about that Ghost Rider on Agents of SHIELD, eh? I actually haven’t seen it, I’m just trying to make a review of a figure from a very old assortment sound topical. I love me some Ghost Rider, but I’ve suffered through almost two seasons of AoS. That was more than enough to know it’s not for me and not even Ghost Rider is enough to get me to come back for more. But hey… we got a new Ghost Rider in Marvel Legends, so Yay!

While I believe this is generally considered to be a Spider-Man themed wave, there’s no such branding on this package. Although, I’ll give this one to Hasbro as Spider-Man and Ghost Rider have had their share of Team Ups. This is also one of those figures that shares a slot, in this case with Misty Knight, so neither name appears on the front, just “Heroes for Hire.” That moniker works for Misty, but Ghost Rider? Mmm, not so much. This is actually the second appearance of Ghost Rider in the modern run of Marvel Legends. He was actually one of the first figures released way back in 2012. Of course, that was based off of his contemporary look and this is…

Classic! Yup, we’re getting back to Ghost Rider’s roots here, albeit with a black suit instead of blue, but that’s alright. I’ll gladly take it! While this body has been around the block a few times, this is my first hands on experience with it. I never did find an AIM Soldier and I didn’t pony up for the comic version of Peter Quill in that Guardians boxed set. Whatever the case, it looks absolutely fantastic here. The lanky body fits the character perfectly as does the sculpted button down front flap on the tunic. I think the Marvel Universe figure did the same buck sharing for its versions of the AIM Soldier and Quill. You gotta go with what works, whatever the scale.

From the neck down the coloring here is about as simple as you can get. The buck is predominantly glossy black with some white trim painted on the outline of the tunic’s flap and around the inside of the high collar. Throw in a little tarnished silver paint for the belt and chain and you’ve got the extent of Ghost Rider’s color palate.

But it’s really what Hasbro did with the portrait here that takes this figure up a couple of notches. I mean, damn this is great stuff. The sculpt of the skull mixed with the beautiful orange translucent plastic used for the flames around the neck and crown. This looks absolutely amazing and even the way the skull is painted but the orange bleeds through it is a fantastic effect. And we even got a hinged jaw. So cool! Also, thank god the flame effect on the head is all one piece. The extra piece of flame on my previous Ghost Rider Legends figure constantly pops off and goes missing.

Unfortunately, this figure isn’t an entirely smooth ride, so let’s talk articulation. The points that I’ve come to expect from my modern Legends are all there. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels at the biceps. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double hinges in the knees, and swivels in the thighs. The ankles are hinged and have lateral rockers. There’s a swivel in the waist and ab crunch in the hinge, and the neck is ball jointed. So what’s the problem? Well, for starters the hinges in the elbows and knees are super soft and gummy. It’s bad enough that my figure’s right leg was warped in the package and I had to do some heat treatments to straighten it out. The other issue is the top hinges on the elbows are really loose. The right one even has trouble staying up. And there’s no amount of heat that’s going to help that. Bummer.

I’m also a little bummed that there are no accessories included, other than the BAF part of course. Even the 3 3/4-inch Marvel Universe version of Ghost Rider came with a chain. It seems like a reasonable expectation, but nope. Fortunately, I was able to raid my Thundra figure for her ball and chain and it works quite well. So well, she may never get it back and I might just snip the ball off the end.

If it weren’t for some soft plastic and loose joints, Ghost Rider could have been very nearly a perfect ten. I still dig the original release of the character from Wave 1, he looks so bad ass, but this is the Ghost Rider I know and love and Hasbro did a beautiful job on him. One of these days, I may hunt down another and see if I make out any better with the joints the second time around.

Nov 1 2016

Star Wars Rogue One: Moroff and Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader by Hasbro

It’s been a few weeks since my little binge on Rogue One figure reviews, so it’s probably time I started up again if I’m ever going to get through all of these before the movie comes out. I’ve already looked at the first wave of 6-inch Black Series figures, so today I’m beginning to turn my attention to the 3 3/4-inch stuff. Let’s start with one of the two-packs!

We’ve seen these nifty little window boxed two-packs for The Force Awakens and Hasbro is continuing to release them for Rogue One. These used to be called Mission Packs, but they’ve added VS. between the character portraits, so I’m going to start calling them Versus Packs. The new branding, with the Death Trooper art on the upper right corner looks great, as does the rest of the character art. The presentation here is so colorful and exciting, I’ve been tempted to keep the boxes, and considering my space limitations, that’s a high compliment indeed! Let’s start off with Moroff!

Wow, look at this guy! He’s a Gigoran, his species basically looks like what you would get if a Wookie and a Wampa had sex, and I love him. I don’t recall seeing Moroff in the trailers. I’m hoping this won’t be another case of Zuvio Syndrome, where the character doesn’t even show up. But even if it is, I think he’s a great looking character and figure. If Hasbro gets us this guy in the 6-inch Black Series, that’s going to be one massive beast of a toy. According to his bio, he’s a heavy gunner mercenary, and that’s all the information I really need to enjoy this figure.

The sculpted detail in the fur covers the entire figure and he has a chest harness and some gear sculpted right onto the body. Further detail includes some leather texturing on the harness and the tiny rivets that hold it in place. The head sculpt features two tiny wide set eyes and some kind of breather apparatus over the lower part of his squished face. This character doesn’t feature a very diverse color palate, but the paint operations that are here are very good. The gear is neatly painted brown and gray, the insides of his hands are brown, and you even get some yellow wash on parts of his white fur and a darker shade around his eyes.

Moroff comes with a pretty cool gatling-gun style rifle, which is both a great sculpt and a pretty unique design. But if you want your giant Wampa-Wookie to pack a little more punch, Hasbro’s got you covered with this…

GAH! As if Hasbro didn’t invest enough plastic into the figure, the backpack and heavy guns he comes probably uses enough plastic to make two more regular sized figures. The attention to detail that they put into this formidable piece of kit is truly amazing for this scale. It has a painted bed roll strapped to the top and a bunch of extra missiles sculpted to it. The two launchers come with translucent red missiles and they can be fired by pressing the button on the back of the backpack. Lord knows, I’m not a big fan of over-sized missile launchers with my Star Wars figures, but I absolutely adore the way this thing turned out. It looks great and it’s actually fun to mow down Stormtroopers with the missiles.

While probably not intentional, you can also clip the rifle to the backpack so he can lug all his gear at once. This figure is so much fun and packs so much personality, he’s instantly become a favorite of mine. Let’s move on to the Scarif Trooper.

As I understand it, Scarif is the tropical planet we see in the trailers featuring the AT-ACT Walkers on the beaches, which would make these Scarif Troopers the beach troopers we see in that battle. This figure is specifically referred to as a Squad Leader, so I’m assuming the regular Scarif Troopers will feature different paint schemes. Now, I do like all the trooper designs we’ve been seeing so far, but I do get a sense of kit-bashy elements in these designs.

That having been said, this is still a pretty cool looking figure. The sculpted detail in the armor is very sharp, particularly on the backpack and chest area. The contours of the armor pieces are clearly developed and the paint is very clean, except where it’s intended to look weathered. Even the cloth effect on the plastic kama is well executed.

The trooper comes with a cabine that has an over-under barrel, a site, side mounted clip, and a short stock.

Of course, both figures feature the straight five points of articulation. And with all the talk we get from Hasbro about reduced articulation in favor of better sculpts and paint and accessories, this is one of the first packs in a while where I can see that truly being the case. These are some great quality figures and I love the idea of getting a Versus Pack with a couple of adversaries to fight each other. You can give this box to a kid and he could have plenty of fun with it. Plus, with a retail of about $15, it feels like you’re getting a lot of plastic for your money here. Due to some overzealous ordering, I wound up with two of these and I’m OK with that because I think Moroff works as a pretty cool troop builder too.

Oct 31 2016

Marvel Legends (Rhino Wave): White Tiger by Hasbro

No, you haven’t fallen into a time warp, I’m just really behind on my Legends figures and I’m only now in the process of making my way through the rather dated Rhino Wave. Today I’m checking out White Tiger, so let’s kick it off with a quick look at the packaging…

White Tiger shares her package with a giant Rhino torso piece that probably consists of more plastic than she does. She’s also packaged so that she’s un-enthusiastically raising her hand either to strike down one of her foes, or hail a taxi cab. I’m not sure which. I think this is actually the Ava Ayala version of the character, but I could be wrong on that one. I haven’t encountered White Tiger much in my Marvel readings. I’ve got nothing else to say about the package here, so let’s get her out and check out the figure… uh… wait, what?

JOL:”Hey, what are you doing? It’s Halloween and it’s Marvel Monday. You should be doing a Feature on me. I have a Jack O’Lantern for a head. And my name is Jack O’Lantern. I’m basically Halloween personified.”

What the hell, Jack? I did a Feature on you already.

JOL:”Well that showed poor planning. You should have saved me for Halloween. Look at how Halloweeny I am!”

Dude, I reviewed you back in June. I couldn’t wait. It would have held up my look at that whole wave.

WT: “Do you mind? I’m being reviewed here. You already had your turn!”

JOL: “Hush up, woman! The men are talking!”

WT: “Excuuuuuse me? What did you just say?”

JOL: “All I’m saying is that I was a perfect fit for Halloween on a Marvel Monday and you screwed it up. I ooze Halloween. Just look at me. I’m scary.”

SW: “I lost an arm. That’s kind of scary.”

JOL: “GET OUT!!! We’ve all seen your stump, woman! Now take it away!”

WT: “Yeah, seriously Jessica. That review was like a year ago and nobody remembers it. You need to get over that.”

SW: “Aww… It’s not fair. Hasbro used the same female buck for us, and your arms both work.”

JOL: “Jeezus. She’s a real downer”

Look, can I get on with it? I have to do six of these Features a week and I’m already a borderline alcoholic. You’re holding me up.

JOL: “Ooooh, poor you! You drink a lot and have too many toys to review… Fine! Piss all over Halloween with this crappy choice of a figure review. I wash my hands of it!”

WT: “Grrrrr…. THAT’S IT! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!”

JOL: “Unhand my face, you wretched woman!”

WT: “You want a review? Here’s one. Let’s talk about articulation. For starters, your head is on a ball joint…”

<POP>

WT: “GOTCHA!”

JOL: “Is this a good time to point out that this is just the author’s way of diverting us from the fact that he has no real interest in you as a character and nothing really worthwhile to say about you as a figure? Or that he mainly just bought you so he could get a Build-A-Figure part?”

Happy Halloween, Toy Hounds! …And for what it’s worth, I actually kind of dig White Tiger.

GR: “You know, I’m in this wave. You could have reviewed me. I’m a little Halloweeny.”

Shit. He’s right. Whelp, next week on Marvel Monday… GHOST RIDER!

Oct 27 2016

Transformers Titans Return: Rewind by Hasbro

Well, I’ve done two days of horror figures for the week before Halloween, but today is Transformers Thursday and unless I want to run my feature on Mindwipe again, I got nothing both Halloweeny and Transformery to look at. Thinking back, I should have picked up Wheelie for today because he’s orange and slightly pumpkin shaped. But hindsight is 20-20, so instead, let’s check out Legends Class Rewind!

I find this packaging to be almost indistinguishable from the Combiner Wars Legends figures. Still not a huge fan of the design here, but I’m just going to shred it, so it’s no big deal. I will say that I dig the character art, especially since it isn’t a goofy picture of the character’s head flying off or docking. The sticker on the bubble tells me in four different languages that he’s compatible with something, but not what. Flip it over and I find that he does indeed work with the Leader Class Blaster because he’s a cassette… right? RIGHT??? Well, no.

OK, Hasbro, so you call this mode a “Spy Tablet.” I want to follow you on this. It’s the 21st century. Nobody uses cassettes anymore, so you don’t want to have the cassettes turn into cassettes. Tablets are a thing now, so you think, “let’s do that!” …But we’re also going to make the tablet’s screen look like a cassette for absolutely no logical reason at all. Well, here’s an idea. If you’re going to print a cassette tape on the screen of the shitty “Spy Tablet” mode… JUST MAKE THE GOD DAMN ALT MODE A CASSETTE!!!! I mean, seriously, for the love of Primus… what’s the point? Not to mention this thing looks more like a micro cassette recorder to me than any kind of phone or tablet. And not to kick an alt mode when its down, but the stickers on these look like crap and are already starting to peel off. I could end my rant right now, but I’m not going to.

Because, nothing about this alt mode makes sense to me. I think if I were eight years old, I’d be less confused about getting a toy that turned into a cassette. Especially since my parents are going to have to explain what that is on the sticker anyway. Not to mention the fact that he’s still designed to go into a portable stereo alt mode. And now I’m thinking about how happy I am they didn’t make Blaster transform into an iPod docking station. Also… HIS NAME IS REWIND!!! Hell, if I had a kid, I’d rather have to explain to him what a cassette tape was than have to explain that and why there’s a picture of a cassette on the screen of a data tablet… that’s named Rewind. Jeez! Who knew a slab of plastic could get me so upset? But, I’d seriously rather they just went with a straight out slab of plastic and called it a Data Slug mode. Or, here’s an idea… some kind of digital video camera.

If I had to say one good thing about this mode, the designers were clever enough to make it so that he can store his gun by tucking it in the side. That’s pretty cool. Well, at least he has another mode…

The tank mode! This isn’t exactly appropriate for Rewind as I know him, and as far as alt modes go, it’s pretty weak. It’s a tank in the most abstract sense of the word. At least the red and silver paint looks pretty sharp. Still, at least this is something I would be able to play with as a kid. There’s a port on the side of the turret that can take another weapon and there are tiny pegs on the top of the turret where you can stand some little head robots. All in all, it’s OK for a tacked on second alt mode, and frankly much better than the first.

Luckily the robot mode is here to save the day and make me quit my childish bitching over a toy designed for eight year olds. Yeah, his arms are a little beefy in general, and his forearms in particular are a bit ugly, as the right one looks finished and the left one is all hollowed out. Y’all know by now I’m not a big fan of this bare gray plastic, but in small amounts like this it doesn’t bother me so much and at least the red, silver, and yellow paint apps smarten him up quite a bit.

I also kind of dig that you can see a good part of the cassette sticker on the back, so I can delude myself into believing he turns into one. He does have hollow leg syndrome, but on a Legends Class toy, that’s to be expected.

The little head sculpt is fantastic, and they even sculpted on the little camera beside his visor. I wish they had painted it, but that will be an easy fix with a Gundam Marker. Yup, this is undoubtedly Rewind to me and i really dig this robot mode. Overall, there’s a good range of articulation here and that, combined with how solid he is, makes him a fun figure to play around with.

Rewind can hold his gun in either hand, or you can plug it into his forearm. That’s pretty cool.

Reunited and it feels so good!

I’ve been avoiding buying any of the so-called cassettes, simply because the animal ones look pretty lame. Keep in mind, that may change, because they’re pretty cheap and I’m a hopeless Transformers addict. But, I picked up this one simply because he’s Rewind and I needed him to put next to my Chromedome and finally reunite these two bots. He was a character I cared nothing about in the G1 continuity, but he sure as hell gave me the feels in MTMTE. And so shitty alt modes be damned, I’m glad I bought this guy because he’s a great little figure and he and Chromedome look great together!

Oct 24 2016

Marvel Legends (Rhino Wave): Scarlet Spider by Hasbro

After a brief hiatus to look at a rather unsatisfying statue, I’m throwing Marvel Mondays back into another stretch of Marvel Legends. This time, I’m tackling the long overdue and backlogged Rhino Wave so that I can press on to more current matters with the Doctor Strange figures and somewhere, somehow find time to check out that Abomination Wave, which I have not even begun collecting yet. Phew. You make it tough to be a Legends collector, Hasbro, but don’t ever stop!

It’s a new wave, but the packaging is the same old collector friendly window box. This time it’s once again Spider-Man themed. Someone over at Hasbro sure digs Spider-Man. Alls I’m saying is I got a lot of Spider-Mans on my Legends shelf. Not a bad thing. This is actually the second time we’ve seen the Scarlet Spider moniker appear on a modern Legends package. Previously it was the Joe Wade incarnation released in 2013 as part of the Rocket Raccoon BAF wave.

Aw, yeah… it’s hoodie time! In the seemingly never ending number of variant Spider-Man costumes, this is certainly one that stands out. Blue hoodie over spider costume? Check! Slightly askew spider emblem to show attitude? Check! Ankle pouches? Check! This is a cacophony of ideas that should not work, and yet there’s something about it that tickles me. What’s more, this figure just pulls it off brilliantly.

There’s nothing outrageous about the sculpt here, it’s just that hoodie sculpt torso with some mostly generic arms and legs. But you do get the silver web shooter bracelets and those aforementioned ankle pouches, complete with painted silver buckles and snaps. The belt is also nicely painted and the overall coloring of the figure utilizes some bright red and pale blue plastic. The spider emblems are also neatly printed on the front and back. This is a snazzy looking figure!

The portrait is as basic as basic can get. It’s just too huge, painted eyes, and that’s really all that’s required here. But whatever Hasbro may saved on a head sculpt, they invested in extra hands. Scarlet Spider comes with three pairs total: Fists, splayed fingers, and… yup, you guessed it! Thwippy hands!

The articulation here is solid enough. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows and knees, swivels in the biceps and thighs, ball joints in the hips, hinges and rockers in the ankles, a swivel in the waist, an ab crunch hinge in the chest and both a hinge and ball joint in the neck. True, he’s missing those shoulder crunches, which make for a really good Spidey body, but it probably would have been tough to do with the hoodie.

Spider-Man, Star Wars… my standing motto is, “screw clones, they ruin everything,” but as I said earlier, I’ve always been fond of this costume, so I was actually looking forward to getting this figure on my shelf. And it didn’t disappoint! He’s fairly simple, but the gaggle of extra hands and solid articulation makes him loads of fun to play with, and I’m always happy to add another figure to my Spider-Man shelf. And at this point the associated characters are about to get bumped off, because I’m going to need that whole shelf just for my Spider-Mans.

Oct 20 2016

Transformers Titans Return: Nucleon & Galvatron by Hasbro

It’s been a long while since that ultimately disappointing Deluxe Class Galvatron figure from Universe 2.0, but here we are finally getting a new treatment of the character. He’s a proper Voyager Class figure now and he’s part of the superb Titans Return line, so how could things possibly go wrong? Well, buckle up kids, because I’m about to tell you. But before I begin, a word from our sponsor: Jameson. When you’ve had a hard day at work and you come home to relax and enjoy that new Transformers purchase that turns out to be a giant plastic turd, Jameson is there. From that first sumptuous sip that coats your soul in warmth and comfort, to the last drop as you greedily coif down the glass to help you cope with crushing disappointment that only a middle aged collector of toy robots could possibly understand. Jameson. It’s there to be your friend, even when Hasbro isn’t. Now… on with the show…

Galvatron is my first Voyager Class figure in the Titans Return line and so this is my first look at the boxed packaging. It’s largely the same as the Combiner Wars deco only now with the character art showing off the headmaster gimmick and, as we’ll see, in this case it’s very misleading. The figure is packaged in his robot mode, but I’m going to start with his alt mode… oh, in this case, that should be alt modes… plural. Yup, he’s a Triple Changer.

So the primary alt mode is this giant cannon and I like this thing a lot because it’s the first solid homage we got to the original G1 toy’s alt mode in… perhaps ever? That lovely orange gun barrel sits on a pair of tank treads ready to blast holes in any Autobots that come into range. God, I loved the firing sound effect they used for Galvy’s cannon in the cartoon! I’d say this would have been a great opportunity for a sound chip, but I don’t think they could have done that sound justice. The coloring on this toy is mostly comprised of some gorgeous purple and some of that hideous off-white-gray plastic. Blah. Still, that purple and translucent orange are almost enough to win me over… almost.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this mode, other than mine doesn’t seem to fit together all that well. I’ve checked and double checked that everything is packed in properly, but the hatch on the top simply will not sit flush like it should, and the two halves of the back don’t lock together very securely. I’m tempted to blame this on designing the figure to be a Triple Changer, but I’m really not sure that’s the case. And that brings me to the jet mode.

This garbled mess would look like an afterthought it it weren’t for the fact that the entire nose and cockpit section is on the figure expressly for this second alt mode. I’m tempted to cry foul, but the truth is I don’t think any of the engineering involved in creating this second mode is the root cause for any of this figure’s problems. I suppose it was also necessary to give Galvatron’s little head robot buddy a place to sit.

Nucleon sucks. Oh, at heart he’s the same as the other little head robots, but in this case he’s cast in that same terrible gray plastic that I just can’t stand. It looks so cheap and unfinished. At least they painted his little eyes red, but that’s it. To add insult to injury it’s the same plastic they used for the cockpit, so when I sit him in there he just sort of blends in. This is bad comedy. But I haven’t even started to get to the really bad stuff yet. Let’s transform him.

OK, so when he’s just standing there, I can find a lot to like about this figure. The overall sculpt is fantastic. I love the chest and those legs, it’s all extremely evocative of the original G1 design that I loved so much. And that makes me happy. He’s also an impressively bulky figure for a Voyager Class and his fusion cannon looks absolutely stunning on his arm… until you realize there’s no way to turn it to the side. But more on that in a moment. You see, it’s that first glance that makes me want to love this figure so badly. But everything after that brief instant is like chewing tinfoil.

From the back things aren’t quite so pretty. He’s got that whole front of the jet hanging off his back. Hey, remember how Galvatron had the front of a jet hanging off his back because he could turn into a jet? NO, I F’CKING WELL DO NOT!!! I would have been perfectly happy if they left that second mode out and cleaned up his back, but to be honest, that jet kibble doesn’t detract from the figure the way so many other things do. It’s actually the least of his problems… unlike those tank treads hanging off the backs of his arms. But I’ll come back to that. First, let’s talk about his head.

Yes, that package art sure was misleading. It shows the whole head, “helmet” and all, coming down and attaching to the body. But the purple portion of his noggin is not actually part of his noggin. It’s a sort of face-frame that springs up out of his chest and hovers a in front of his head. What the hell is a face-frame, you ask? Why, it’s what I call this, because the idea is so insanely stupid that I had to invent an equally insanely stupid term to describe it. WHAT IN THE NAME OF HOLY PRIMUS WERE THEY THINKING WHEN THEY DID THIS??? Not only does it look like garbage, but he can barely turn his head because of it. It seems pointless to even point out how much I hate that his head is made of that rotten gray plastic. DAMN YOU FOR THIS, HASBRO… DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!

But I’m not done yet. No, don’t pass out on me, yet. We haven’t reached the most frustrating part of this abomination. The articulation. Forget how many points he has. Forget that his elbows are double hinged. From the waist up nearly every move of his arms bumps up against something else. Those hinged things on his shoulders, those treads on the back of his arms… and the cannon! Oh, that cannon that sticks on the front of his arm like a giant dead porpoise going through the final stages of rigor mortis. He can stand prone with it or with a lot of fiddling you can get it into a firing position. Everything else I try to do with this figure is so heartbreaking.

I’m at the point now where talking about this toy is making me sad and angry, and he is absolutely no fun to photograph, so I’m going to call it a day. Congratulations, Galvatron. Not only were you the first true disappointment for me in the Titans Return line, but you actually broke me. I don’t wanna celebrate Transformers Thursday any more today. You’ve ruined it. RUINED IT!!! Even if I just stand this guy on the shelf and don’t try to pose him, I still have that stupid head looking back at me. I truly and honestly want to know what inspired that feature. How did they think that was value added? Was it just necessary to make him a Headmaster? If that was the case, they shouldn’t have done it. There’s a decent figure here buried somewhere under a bunch of bad decisions. And so here we are, another failed attempt at Galvatron and who knows how long it will be until they try again.

Oct 15 2016

Star Wars Black: Stormtrooper Voice Changer Helmet by Hasbro

Just a quick note: If you’re here for Anime Saturday, I’m sorry to say it’s been bumped this week for an impromptu marathon of Star Wars toy reviews, but things will return to normal next week, I promise! And now, on with the feature…

The action figure aisles are full of Marvel and Star Wars roleplay toys from Hasbro. There’s everything from cheap plastic masks that turn you into your favorite Avenger on the playground to Blaster-style Nerf guns cast in bright plastic to keep you from robbing liquor stores with them. Wait, what? But what’s missing are quality reproductions of some of those movie props. Not roleplay toys, not really prop replicas, but something in between. Well, Hasbro has stepped up with a new line of items to fill that void and today I’m checking out their Stormtrooper Voice Changer Helmet.

The helmet comes in a box branded to match the Star Wars Black action figure line. It’s a fully enclosed black box with a little red, and some pictures and line drawings of the helmet on each panel. It’s a big box, but the helmet still comes in three pieces and requires some quick assembly. Inside the box, each of the pieces are wrapped in plastic and you get a very simple illustrated instruction booklet, which doesn’t really tell me anything I couldn’t have figured out already. The quality of plastic used on the helmet is very solid, but it’s still a toy. It makes for a very sturdy helmet, but it probably doesn’t have the heft of one of the true replicas on the market.

All assembled, this thing is pretty damn big. Having never held an actual 1:1 scale Stormy helmet, I thought it might be a little too big, but that thought was dispelled when I put it on. More on that in a bit. The sculpt on this thing looks pretty good to me. I’m not one of those people who can pick out all the inaccuracies in things like this, so the die-hard experts can probably poke all sorts of holes in it. I’ll just say it looks close enough for me. I think the sculpting on the induction filters and the vocader look particularly good.

The finish here is simple plastic. It’s nice and glossy, but it doesn’t quite have that new car finish look to it. There are a few very minor marks from the molding process, but nothing too obvious. The paint is all very clean, but certain parts, like the blue on the exhaust filters, do look a little more toyish than others. On the other hand, I think the paint on the mouth vent and the heat dispersal vents on the cheeks looks really nice. The eye lenses are tinted green and in a lot of conditions they look fine, but sometimes, when displayed under bright lights, the tint doesn’t look quite dark enough. Depending on where I wind up displaying this thing, I may put cards behind the eyes to darken those up. The rubber guard strip that runs above the eyes is indeed rubber and adds to the build quality. The auditory sensor on the right ear presses in to activate the voice changing gimmick, which is a good segue to talk about the electronics.

The electronics gimmick unfortunately reveals itself on the back of the helmet, both through a speaker and the seams of the battery compartment. It’s easily the biggest defining factor that pushes this into the toy category. It’s not terribly unsightly, but it will forever remind me when I look at it from behind that this is an expensive toy and not a proper replica. It’s a shame because when you get down to it, the voice changing element is not very good at all and I would have much rather they left it out entirely or just maybe put some dialogue clips in it from the films. As it is, I’ve already taken the batteries out and have no plans on using the feature.

Here’s a peek inside the helmet. Even as a 44 year old dude, this thing fits pretty well, but it’s still close quarters in there. The straps on the top are adjustable to fit your dome, but I have them expanded all the way out. It does have a habit of resting right on my nose, which could get a little uncomfortable after a while. That’s OK for me, since I didn’t buy this to wear, but I think it would be perfectly serviceable for a cosplayer. Of course, that begs the question, if you’re a cosplayer with a full set of Stormtrooper armor, do you really need this helmet.

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect when I opened this thing, but it turned out to be a really nice surprise. The helmet retails at about $80 and I’m OK with that price. I would have rather they left out the electronics and knocked the price down a bit, but I’m still happy with what I got and very glad I bought it. It’s going to be interesting to see how these sell, but I’m hoping Hasbro has a lot of success with them. I’d love to see them produce some more, particularly a Tie-Pilot helmet and a First Order Stormtrooper.

Oct 14 2016

Star Wars Black (Rogue One): K-2SO by Hasbro

DC fans, don’t hate me, but DC Friday is being bumped this week in favor of The Star Warses. I’m working my way through the first four Rogue One figures in the Star Wars Black 6-inch series and here comes the one that I intentionally saved for last, because I thought he was going to be the coolest of the bunch… and I was right! It’s the reprogrammed Imperial Security Droid, K-2SO!

I’ve got nothing new to say about the packaging, but heeeey, did you see the new Rogue One trailer? I’ll be honest, I’ve been excited about this movie since that first teaser, but each trailer is getting me more excited. It feels like we’re going to get to see a lot more of the Star Wars Universe in this one, along with some genuinely cool new characters. And one of them happens to be this deadpan warrior droid, HK-47… Whooops, I mean K-2SO!

Let me start out by saying how much I love this droid’s design. What’s the first thing I think of when I see him? He’s wearing General Veers’ chest armor! Yeah that piece is very evocative of the AT-AT Commander uniform. It’s kind of a random design to borrow from, but it works because one look and I know that this is an Imperial droid. Well, that and the familiar “O II” Stormtrooper pattern on his backpack… and maybe those Imperial insignia printed on his shoulders give it away too. The other thing I love about this design is that it’s a robot that looks like a robot and not a guy in a robot suit. Despite having a really powerful looking upper body, the rest of K-2SO is comprised of spindly limbs, which reinforces that idea that he’s a droid and not a guy in a costume. It’s kind of like 2-1B in The Empire Strikes Back. He had the transparent mid-section and the super thin arms and it just looks so convincing. Sure, that was an animatronic puppet and this is CG, but the end result was the same. But enough rambling. How does the figure pull off this great design?

Pretty damn well! There are some lovely sculpted details on this guy and while the deco is mostly a dark gray, some paint flourishes include the orange rings around his shoulder and hip sockets and the a little silver, red, and blue here and there. There’s also a lot of weathering on K-2SO’s chassis, from splotches of silver where the paint has worn off to just general abrasions. Even the Imperial insignia on his shoulders look like they’re partially scraped off. The eyes are painted bright white to simulate illumination, which looks pretty good. I wonder how light piping might have worked here, but that would have left a transparent plug in the back of his head, so maybe it wouldn’t have been a good idea.

What’s really amazing about this figure is how solid it is and how much articulation is here. The shoulders and wrists are rotating hinges, and the elbows are hinged and have swivels above and below the hinge! The legs are ball jointed at the hips, hinged at the ankles, and the knees mirror the elbows with hinges and swivels above and below. There’s a ball joint in the torso and the neck is ball jointed at the top and bottom to give him some pretty expressive head movements. I really dig how the pins in his elbows, knees, and ankles are clear plastic.

K-2SO doesn’t come with any accessories, but his claws are capable of holding a gun and Captain Andor just happens to have an extra!

As I said going into this review, I suspected K-2SO was going to be a favorite and he certainly is that. He’s both a great new design for the Star Wars Universe and a great action figure too! And overall, I’d say that this entire first assortment from Rogue One has been pretty solid. Yes, I had some issues with the lack of likeness in Jyn and Cassian’s head sculpts, but everything else about these figures has been great. You’ll notice that I passed for now on the unmasked Kylo Ren and the re-issue of Rey that shipped with this assortment. I still may pick those up at some point down the road, but these four were my priorities. And with the 6-inch line covered, I’ll be moving into the 3 3/4-inch figures next week, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. Meanwhile, I’ve got one more bit of Star Wars content to serve up tomorrow.

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

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