Tag Archives: haslab

Dec 25 2023

G. I. JOE Classified (HasLab) Cobra HISS Tank by Hasbro, Part II

Merry Christmas everyone! If you didn’t check in yesterday, I kicked off a two-part look at the HasLab HISS on Christmas Eve. I like to try to celebrate Christmas by featuring a big toy or playset most years. You know, the kind that we would only have a chance of getting on that biggest of toy gifting days! I had a few contenders this year, but wound up pushing the HasLab HISS to the front of the line, because oh boy, I would have lost my little mind if I found something like this under the tree! In Part I, I covered the four included figures and today we’re going to tackle the HISS Tank itself. This big boi was a challenge to shoot, as I’m still working out the kinks on a bigger staging area, so apologies if the photos look rough. I’m going to start with some generalizations with the toy more or less straight out of the box, and then we’ll kit it out and take a tour around it!

First off, the HISS is suitably big without being obnoxiously huge, and the build quality is fantastic with only the act of attaching the canopy making me a little nervous. Just about everything about this toy and its features reflects careful thought and design. I’m also happy to report that the profile and general look of Cobra’s new Classified High Speed Sentry is as iconic as ever! There are few display options for the HISS, thanks to some of the mix-and-match parts, but when you take it out of the box and attach the guns and canopy, it’s extremely true to the original toy design, if that’s the look you’re going for. You get two options for the canopy: A simple clear one for that vintage look, and a modern one with red trim and opening gull-wing side hatches. These attach similarly to the way the vintage one did, by squeezing two nubs into the holes so pressure holds it in place and creates a hinge. There is no way I feel comfortable doing this more than once, so I decided to pick a canopy and stick with it, and I went with the modern one because I just think it looked cooler and more premium. It also makes it more convenient for the Driver to pay tolls and go pick up fast food at Drive-Thru windows. I’m not saying that you can’t safely swap these out without stressing or breaking the plastic, but I’m just not willing to try it.

The bulk of the toy is cast in black plastic with not a lot of paint on the main body, apart from some subtle black and gray striping. The bare plastic looks good, but it does tend to show finger prints here and there. You do get some dry brush weathering on the cannon, which looks like they have seen a lot of use. There is a sticker sheet included to customize the tank, but it also has all the markings it needs printed on it, so I won’t be messing with the stickers at all. The sculpted detail feels about right in line with the vintage toy with just a little more added for the bigger scale. These include panel lines, rivets, hatches, and the like. The front headlights and rear tail lights feature electronics, and I’ll take a look at those in a bit. The cannon turret rotates 360-degrees and uses the same tab-key system as the original toy, keeping it locked in until the tab lines up with the slot and then it will come out. One of my only nitpicks on this whole toy is that the turret doesn’t rotate as smoothly as I would have liked. The treads are rubber and do actually work, allowing for a pretty smooth roll. There is a folding tail hitch on the back, which will hopefully be used by a future SMS release, and oh boy is that going to look awesome!

And here’s a quick size comparison with one of the recent re-issued 3 3/4-inch scale HISS toys… Now, let’s start getting this thing ready for battle!

First off, you get two options for armor plating on the wheel assemblies. These plates peg in very easily and help to keep the damned JOEs from blowing holes in your wheels. The first gives you something closes to the original toy, but I’ll stick with the second more detailed one, as I’m going for the most modern look I can get. There’s some nice red paint on the vertical slats and some gray and light gray striping, as well as some more markings printed in blue and white. These look awesome!

You can also attach an extra armor plate on the turret between the cannon barrels, and this is another addition that I really love. I can’t imagine anyone enjoys sitting up there and getting shot at, so at least this shield adds some forward protection. It has some sculpted bolts and a raised cobra emblem, which looks great. It also helps that the Gunner is the smallest of the figures, so at least she presents the smallest target and can more easily hunker down behind that armor shield.

Hasbro has also included a pair of articulated miniguns to the sides of the gunning station. There are also optional ammo canisters for these, but I’m not crazy about the way they look and they make it even more busy in that turret, so I will leave them off. The miniguns can rotate as well as hinge up and down. It’s a lot of firepower for one person, so I’d like to think that the miniguns have some kind of autonomous motion tracking option, with the gunner taking control of them only when targets of opportunity get too close for the main cannon. Either way, giving the HISS some broadside and rear attacking capabilities is a wonderful upgrade! Just don’t shoot them behind you if you’ve got troops riding on the tailgate!

Another added bit of firepower is the chin gun. This whole assembly is beautifully detailed and plugs right into the socket under the nose of the tank. It’s a strong connection, but it is designed to be removed if you want to change things up. It has full rotation and can hinge up and down. There are some lovely paint details on this, including some red and silver accents and some metallic purple on the barrels to show a little stress from firing. You also get some crisp Cobra emblems printed on the sides. It’s another modern touch to the HISS that I will be keeping on all the time!

As I mentioned earlier, the modern cockpit has gullwing hatches that open on either side. It would be a tight fit to extract the figure through these, but in reality, I’m sure the Driver could scramble through them if the canopy malfunctioned and the Tank was about to blow.

The interior of the cockpit is phenomenal with a five-point harness that fastens with a peg behind the Cobra buckle. The seat cushions are textured, and there’s a control yoke on the right arm rest and a throttle on the left. The Driver fits in perfectly and the straps to the harness can pull out and feed back into the slots to help make it snug after he’s seated.

The detailed dashboard has light up screens, as well as a translucent Heads Up Display. You also get a cool light that floods the cabin in an eerie red glow. This is without a doubt one of the coolest cockpits for any vehicle that i own.

There’s a removable engine access cover just behind the cockpit so you can give the HISS a tune up between missions.

There are two access ladders that fold down from the sides to help the Gunner or Driver get into position. These are cast in red plastic and I love how they close and secure into the recessed compartments. There are also grab bars located at the top to help a figure hang on.

There are no pegs on the rear deck plate, but there is a railing up top, so you can still have some troops riding on the back. They stay put pretty well when gripping the rail. Two fit comfortably, and you could even squeeze in a third in pinch. That will come in handy when the set of HISS Fire Team figures arrives. Although, I can’t deny that the regular troops look best on the back. I remember as a kid how badly I wanted an extra Cobra Trooper so I could have a couple on the back of my HISS.

The back of the HISS has a fold down ramp to open up the interior for access to The Tactician’s area. Here, there’s a Cobra-themed seat and a weapons rack on the wall across from it. When you drop the boarding ramp, it triggers a red interior light. It’s admittedly pretty cramped quarters in there, but it’s still a great addition to the HISS design. While I do like the weapons rack, I think I would have preferred to get a computer and instrument bank on that wall, or better yet have an option between the two. But, I suppose the Tactician can use his wrist device for computing firing solutions and mapping waypoints and the like, so maybe it isn’t necessary.

If you want even more firepower on your HISS, Hasbro included a pair of six-pack missile launchers and these look absolutely brutal! There are two holes with flip up hatches on the sides of the HISS that these plug into. The individual missiles are removable, the launcher assembly can angle up or down, and even extend out when they are ready to fire. I love the way these things look, but I’m thinking these should be reserved as a load out for special missions. They definitely make for a great variant if you were lucky enough to get more than one of these babies.

The external electronics include light up headlamps with an array of red lights between the top lights and a projector between the bottom lights that paints a red Cobra emblem on the ground in front of the tank. You also get red tail lights on the back. A lot of times, I can take or leave electronic features in toys, and will usually advocate for leaving them out to control costs, but I have to admit that I really do enjoy most of the lighting features on the HISS. The headlamps are nice and bright and really give the toy a premium feel, as do the red tactical lights in the rear compartment and cockpit, and the light up dashboard. I thought the Cobra projection was kind of cheesy and, while it is admittedly a really neat effect, I haven’t really changed my mind on that.

Hasbro absolutely hit it out of the park with this release! It’s not the biggest vehicle to ship this year, as it’s still dwarfed by Super7’s Thundertank or McFarlane’s Batwing, but it is as big as it needs to be and it is just packed with great options and well executed features. What’s more, the build quality is superb and the electronics really enhance the toy rather than feel like a needless extra. This feels like a rugged and proper high end toy, rather than just an expensive display piece. I have had it parked on my coffee table since I got it and I find myself constantly playing around with it as I’m watching TV or listening to podcasts and music. It really is that much fun and all I can say is that if the Dragonfly turns out half as good, I may lose my damn mind when it arrives. Of course, all of this should be the case because at $300, this toy wasn’t cheap. And in case you can’t tell from my ramblings, I consider it money well spent. Especially if you factor in the four figures that would have run about $25 a pop at retail and the Cobra Commander is going for upward of $100 himself on the aftermarket. It would be cool if Hasbro could put together a stripped down budget version of this beauty at a retail-friendly price point. but I don’t see that happening.

And all that’s left is for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas and extend my warmest thanks for stopping by and spending a little bit of your holiday with me. I’ll be back on Wednesday and Friday with the last reviews of 2023 and then we can kick off the New Year on Monday. Be safe and be well!

Dec 24 2023

G. I. JOE Classified (HasLab) Cobra HISS Tank by Hasbro, Part I

It’s Christmas Eve and it’s time for my semi-annual “If-I-Have-Time-For-It” Super-Special Christmas Review. I like to squeeze these in on the years when time allows, and check out something extra big or cool or both. Growing up, Christmas for me was all about hoping to get that one big playset or toy vehicle that I could never have hoped to get any other time of the year. Yes, there were some toy wants out there that even outclassed a mere birthday. But on Christmas? Well, anything was possible on Christmas! And coincidentally, the HasLab Classified Cobra HISS Tank arrived a short while ago, and I knew I had to put this under the proverbial tree for this year’s Christmas Review. I’m breaking this review up into two parts, so today we’ll check out the figures that were included and tomorrow we’ll have a look at the HISS Tank itself.

To the unaware, HasLab is the moniker Hasbro uses for their big crowdfunded projects. These are solicited releases that are considered too big and expensive to get retail space. They show off the toy, set a price, and let you know how many backers they need to make it a reality. So, it’s basically a pre-order, but if not enough people pre-order it, then it doesn’t get made. It’s a bit controversial, as many will tell you that the second largest toy company in the world shouldn’t have to resort to these tactics. Maybe so, and I do reckon there are some sketchy things behind it, but if I see one I like, I back it. So far I’ve backed four: The Mandalorian Razor Crest, which I have not yet reviewed here, but someday. The giant Marvel Legends Galactus figure, this HISS Tank, and the GI JOE Dragonfly Helicopter, which is currently in production. The HISS comes in a big box to hold this 6-inch scale tank with some beautiful artwork on the box, and some assembly required for the HISS and all it’s parts. You also get a separate box inside which has the four individually packaged figures that were included with the project: Cobra Commander, The HISS Driver, The HISS Gunner, and The HISS Tactician. Let’s start with the Classic Cobra Commander…

Only not really, because I’m not going to open this guy just yet. Sorry, but I’m betting we are going to get a wide release variant and so for now I’m leaving him carded. We got a Classified version of Cobra Commander a while back, and it was a pretty good figure, but Hasbro decided to offer a more classic version of him for this HasLab project. For the record, I think that was an awful idea, because you shouldn’t bundle figures this important and desirable with expensive and limited vehicles and playsets. But, since they gave him the infamous Mickey Mouse misprint on his chest emblem, I would bet that we’re going to see him as a wide release with that emblem fixed, thus allowing this one to still be an exclusive and yet still allow the figure to be had by all. I’ll just say that the figure looks great, he has some cool accessories, and the card is magnificent. Hopefully we’ll get confirmation of a retail release before my willpower gives out and I tear this one open.

The HISS crew all come in fully enclosed boxes, numbered 99-101. While the boxes are similar to the regular Classified releases, the artwork is specialized to make them stand out as unique. You get the Cobra HISS logo at the top of each peg flap and a red tint to the lettering and artwork. The Tactician even has a Ron Rudat facsimile signature on the front, which is a pretty cool way to commemorate the 100th figure in the series. Rudat, of course, being a legendary designer who logged something like three decades at Hasbro before moving on to other things. Each figure comes in a cardboard tray with an illustrated back along with a cardboard foot locker containing their accessories sealed in a branded tissue bag. Let’s start with the Driver!

This guy is based very closely on the vintage figure that was bundled with the original Real American Hero HISS Tank, and he looks damn sharp! He dons familiar red fatigues with an armored chest and shoulder piece with a blue front shield and a bold silver Cobra emblem. This rig is actually worn by the figure with soft plastic straps holding it in place under his arms and across his back. The shoulder piece is painted with a rich and glossy red that stands out against the duller matte finish of the fatigues. He has a sculpted belt with some blue accents to the buckle, a molded holster strapped to his right thigh and some serious kicks in the form of thigh high armored boots. These have a chonky angular design and a high gloss black finish. The HISS Driver is probably the most iconic Cobra vehicle operator to me and this figure offers a fantastic update to that classic design.

The helmet really hasn’t changed much at all. It features the silver visor and featureless black faceplate. There’s a mohawk-like crest ridge on the top and an stylized snake head in the center. The generic and impersonal nature of the helmet always made this guy seem extra intimidating to me. The helmet has a lovely gloss finish, but the paint on the top edge of my figure’s visor could have been a bit sharper.

A new addition to the design is this cool control device on the right arm. It has a bit of a Fallout Pipboy kind of vibe with arrays of buttons and a display screen. I imagine it can be used for everything from communicating with the HISS crew to receiving data. How about a less useful addition…

Boxing gloves? The HISS Driver comes with a pair of fists, but these are enlarged and reinforced face punchers. I honestly don’t get these at all. Is it some reference that I’m missing? I don’t know, but it’s a weird thing to give a Tank Driver. I guess if his tank gets disabled he comes out swinging? Yeah, these are going into The Dreaded Tote of Forgotten Accessories. Regardless, articulation on this fella is right in line with what we’ve been seeing in Classified up to this point, even including crunches in the shoulders. His joints feel good and he’s fun to play with.

The HISS Driver comes with a standard automatic pistol as a sidearm. This trusty weapon has some great detail in the sculpt and it’s nice and compact. The barrel has a hole if you want to use some effect parts from other Classified releases, but there weren’t any included here.

He also includes this rather unique sub-machine gun. I’m not usually a big fan of these crazy modern gun designs, but this one is kind of cool. It has a rather large detachable magazine, a very short barrel, and a fixed bayonet, which is painted silver. On the downside, the design makes it really tough to get it into his hand, making me wish for something a bit more practical. But, minor quibbles about accessories aside, I’m pleased with what Hasbro did with this design. It pays homage to the vintage figure, while giving it a little shot of modernity. Not bad for a figure that’s going to spend most of his life in a cockpit. Next up… The Tactician!

I won’t spend nearly as much time on The Tactician, because he’s just a straight repaint of the HISS Driver right down to the accessories. The Tactician’s suit is mostly black with some red paint on the shoulders and the front panels of the lower boots. The belt is red and the Cobra emblem is red. The only thing left unchanged from the Driver is the helmet. I wasn’t really excited for this figure, but now that he’s in hand, I think he looks great, and it only occurred to me that his deco is such a close match for the HISS Tank itself, being mostly black with some red trim.

The pistol and rifle each have a lick of red paint to personalize them a bit, and yes he comes with boxing gloves too.

In my mind, The Tactician is just Cobra’s name for Tank Commander, so this guy will sit inside the bowels of the HISS and relay orders and run the show. Like the Driver he’s got one of those fancy wrist computers, so I’d like to think he can use that to receive new data, and bark his orders to the Driver and Gunner. The Driver will always be the iconic face of the HISS, but I love that Hasbro created this guy. Sure, the concept isn’t original, but he may be one of my favorite additions that Classified has made to Cobra canon.

And finally, we have The Gunner, who is basically a female version of The Driver with all the same beats on the uniform design, but in a slighter female build. As a result, you can interchange her with the official Driver if you want. As we’ll see tomorrow The Gunner fits fine in the cockpit, but it would be a bit more roomy for this lady. On the other hand, she makes for less of an easy target for GI JOE sharpshooters while she’s exposed up in that turret. I think the uniform translates well to this body and all the same wonderful sculpted details are present. She also shares the same articulation in the arms, including the shoulder crunches. It’s a nice surprise to have none of that single rotating hinge elbow nonsense here! The same wrist device is present here as well, so she can communicate with her teammates or work out firing solutions.

Unlike her peers, The Gunner gets a whole new head sculpt, and I’m not just talking a smaller lady head, but it has some subtle changes, including added detail to the face mask, which is interesting. Instead of being completely smooth, you get a defined stipe down the center in line with her nose and some angled vents on each side of where her mouth is. The forehead emblem is also angular here and she has sculpted disks over her ears. I’m not sure what purposes the variations serve on the female helmet, but it’s cool to get some additional detail in the sculpt.

The Gunner shares the same weapons as her two teammates, with the pistol and rifle being painted exactly the same as The Driver’s.

And yes, she even comes with the reinforced fists, which don’t look as enlarged as the ones included with the Driver and Tactician. They actually look like normal fists with a bit of reinforcement over the knuckles.

You want more guns? How about this kick ass tactical shotgun with a removable drum magazine! Damn, this thing is really sweet. You get some sharp sculpting on the rails and the foregrip, and the shells in the drum are individually painted. Very nice!

And we’re not done yet, because she also comes with a couple of melee weapons: An entrenching tool and a pick-axe-hammer and these are a bit of a poser to me. The entrenching tool kind of makes sense, as you might need to dig under the tank to repair the tread, but the hammer-pick-axe just looks like some kind of crazy Dreadnok weapon. Also, I’m not sure why there looks like a bite has been taken out of the shovel. Weird!

And that’s the HISS Tank crew and I must say I dig them a lot. The Driver is pretty much a perfect update to the vintage figure, which was always a favorite of mine. And doing the Gunner as basically just a female version of the same figure lets me swap her out as Driver if I want to change things up. I also like that the Tactician is repainted to set him apart from his subordinates, and the fact that his uniform color coordinates with the tank is both hilarious and awesome. The boxing gloves are pretty weird, as are the melee weapons, but I don’t hate them. Also, the choice to give The Gunner, the one unique sculpted figure in this set, all the extras wouldn’t have made much sense if these were individual retail releases, but as a group I guess it doesn’t matter. And now that we have the crew together, it’s time to get to sleep and see if Santa leaves them a big tank under the tree for them to crew!

Have a happy and peaceful Christmas Eve, everyone, and I hope to see you back here in the morning!

Nov 7 2022

Marvel Legends (HasLab): Galactus by Hasbro

It took some doing, but I was able to set something up where I could adequately photograph something as big as HasLab’s latest Big Boi and so, having checked out the three Heralds that came with him last week, I’m going to try to tackle Galactus himself. And yes, I realize that I’ve now dedicated three different posts to this guy, so if you’re getting Galactus fatigue, I can promise you this should be the last time. But, hey… It was a long wait to get this guy in hand, and he was stupid expensive, so just humor me this one last time! If you aren’t familiar with the concept of HasLab, it’s basically Hasbro’s own version of Kickstarter. They propose a toy that could not comfortably be sold at retail due to size and price, and if they get enough backers, the project goes through. I have only supported three of these so far. The Mandalorian Razor Crest was the first, and I received that a little while ago. Galactus was the second, and the third is the GI JOE Classified HISS Tank, which will hopefully arrive sometime next year. As a method of selling toys, HasLab has been somewhat polarizing among collectors, with some embracing the idea and others crying that it will invoke the end of reasonably priced toys. As for me? Well, I back what I like and let everyone else enjoy what I don’t. The process has been pretty hit-and-miss for Hasbro, with a number of their projects not reaching their respective goals. Anyway… I’ve shown the box a couple times already, so let’s just jump in and look at the figure!

Measuring in at nearly three feet tall, Galactus comes out of the box mostly assembled. All you have to do is attach the two spires onto his head. These pieces do not appear to be designed to come off again, and I’m not willing to risk trying it, so if I want to put him back in his box, I would have to deep-six the styrofoam tray insert. Also, if you want to enjoy the light show, you’ll need to have a screwdriver handy and install four AAA batteries: Two into a compartment hidden under the top of his helmet, and two more into the compartment hidden at the base of his neck. Yup, even with a $400 price tag, Hasbro couldn’t toss in four generic AAA batteries. I’m of the opinion that they should have not only included the batteries, but probably a screwdriver as well. My first impression of the figure was that it felt very much like an upscaled version of Hasbro’s Masterwork Galactus from the Marvel Universe line… that is until I put the two together and realized just how much more detailed and complex this new version is. Everything about this guy is taken to the next level, and I am mighty pleased with what we got! The sculpt is suitably detailed with some of Galactus’ costume cast in softer plastic and layered onto the figure. Much of the coloring is achieved through colored plastic, but we do get some nice light blue paint hits, which sort of resemble illuminated points that match the actual lights.

I did not back HasLab’s Sentinel figure, but from what I’ve seen it had some issues with the articulation holding up the figure’s bulk. I’m very happy to see that Hasbro addressed those issues with Galactus, as he has some crazy strong ratchets in his knees and hips to keep him upright, and even his ankles are impressively up to the task. I’ve had him standing on display in various poses for over a week now and haven’t had any issues with him toppling over or flopping. I can’t say I’m happy that Sentinel backers had to take the bullet on this issue, but I’m still glad to see the lesson was learned by Hasbro and improvements were made. Remarkably, most of Galactus’ articulation mirrors that of a regular Marvel Legends BAF, and that includes double-hinges in the elbows and knees, full rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, and up in the thighs, and hinges in the ankles. It’s hard to see what’s going on up there in the torso, but I’m going to guess he has a ball joint in the waist and an ab crunch further up, but whatever the case, the torso articulation seems mostly for adjusting his balance, rather than dynamic posing. The separation of the electronics between the head and torso, means that his neck is articulated, but mostly to turn left and right. I was pretty sure his skirt would inhibit the range of motion in his hips, but it really doesn’t, and the fact that his harness is soft plastic, it doesn’t hurt his torso articulation too badly either. You also get fully articulated fingers, as well as rotating hinges in the wrists. I was sure he didn’t have lateral rockers in the ankles, but eventually I discovered them while playing around with him. The chest and shoulder piece does inhibit his shoulder range a bit, but it’s nothing that really irked me while playing with him.

The head sculpt is dominated by Galactus’ rather elaborate helmet and I am extremely pleased with the way it came out. There’s a lot going on and it looks absolutely smashing! You get three different face plates, which are cast in a soft, rubbery plastic and can be swapped out pretty easily, by just grabbing the nose and giving it a wiggle. The softer plastic works well to give it more of a fleshy appearance, especially when contrasted with the hard plastic of his helmet. I really dig the way the eyes are done, as they are recessed and behind clear plastic lenses. This was probably done to facilitate the lights, but even when not lit, it makes the eyes look so mysterious and more realistic. The default face is a wonderful sculpt, featuring a dour expression, with some excellent detail paid to the lines in the face and texturing of the lips.

The second face is definitely more expressive, and it may be my favorite of the three plates. The sculpting on the exposed teeth is just beyond fantastic, and the snarl really suits him. I’m debating whether or not this one will be the one I primarily display on the figure. This one is definitely the creepier of the two regular faces, but the first one feels more in character to me, and there’s something about the calmer face that makes Galactus seem all the more sinister. Luckily, they are easy to swap out, so I can do it as the mood strikes me!

The final face plate is the half-skull look, which is probably the most impressive sculpt of the three, and it looks like pure nightmare fuel when attached. Still, not really the look I want to go for most of the time, so this one will not be utilized a lot. Yeah, that’s a shame because of the beautiful work that went into it, but it’s not like I’m going to buy an extra Big Boi Galactus just to show off another face. I may be crazy when it comes to toys, but not that crazy! Before checking out the final portrait option, let’s check out the electronics…

Straightaway, it is disappointing to report that Galactus has lights but no sound. Sure, I knew this going in, but I think that somewhere along the way I had forgotten it. I honestly don’t see why they couldn’t have just taken the sound clips from Masterworks Galactus and put them in the big guy, because those are excellent. But at least it gives me reason to keep Galactus Jr. in the collection. Even some kind of start up sound would have been cool. But, with that being said, at least I can report that the lights are beautiful! You get a blue light up effect in the center of his chest, center of his back, the eyes, the helmet, and the two ear pieces and they are all bright enough to show up even in a bright studio environment. They will even pulse from time to time. As someone who is seldom impressed by lights in toys, I have to say that this really looks great. It’s a shame Hasbro couldn’t have included a motion sensor, but that’s no big deal, because activating them is as simple as pressing the circle on his chest. But, not having a mode where the lights will stay on is a strange omission. Indeed, you can’t even seem to turn them off manually, but rather have to wait for the timer to run out.

Oh yeah… Remember that time Doctor Doom transferred his mind into Galactus? Well, you get a Doctor Doom head to sort of recreate that! For me, this really teeters between being unbelievably cool and something I could have done without. I guess I’d need to know what the alternative pack-in could have been if we didn’t get the Doom Head. The sculpt on the mask is pretty good, but the exposed skin inside the eyeholes isn’t terribly convincing. I also don’t like the gaps between the neck and the hood. There are no light features with this head, but the chest and back lights can still be activated with Doom Head attached. All in all, it’s fine, but I can’t see myself ever displaying it on the figure. I’ll likely try to find something that will work as a stand and display it somewhere nearby.

I already checked out the Heralds last week, but here are some shots of them interacting with their Master. As mentioned last time, both Silver Surfer and Nova have effect bases that fit into Galactus’ hands and they work really well at keeping them put for long-term display. Surfer’s connecting part is pretty self-explanatory, whereas Nova’s was a little tougher to figure out and even now I’m not sure I’m using it correctly. Morg doesn’t have anything like that, but I’ll probably just put him at Galactus’ feet along with Cosmic Ghost Rider, Terrax, and Herald Thor.

And before wrapping things up, here are a few comparison shots of Masterwork Galactus with Haslab Galactus. I still like the Masterwork figure a lot, but I can’t deny it looks a little rough and dated compared to the new HasLab Hotness.

Was Haslab Galactus worth the wait and money? For me, the answer is an unequivocal YES! Sure, there are a few things to nitpick here, but not a single one of them has hindered my enjoyment of this toy. This is a gorgeous figure that looks amazing on display and he appears to be extremely well made. I’m not going to lie, at $400, I think his price tag probably should have clocked in at around $50-75 less. It is a direct-to-consumer deal, and while Hasbro still had to throw some money at Disney for licensing, they didn’t have to give retailers a cut, and since these were made to order, there was less risk involved with sell-through. I don’t pretend to know all the economics behind this operation, but I do know when it comes to a giant Galactus figure, my financial judgement cannot be trusted. Hasbro named a price, and I said said, “Let’s do it!” I’m actually looking forward to displaying Mezco’s One:12 Fantastic Four when they finally ship.

Oct 31 2022

Marvel Legends (HasLab): Heralds of Galactus by Hasbro

It’s Halloween afternoon, and I had hoped to have some special spooky content for today, but that figure in question did not arrive in time, and so we’ll have to raincheck him until later in the week. Instead, we’ll press on with Marvel Monday but still look at something special by tackling the three Heralds of Galactus that came with the HasLab Galactus release! I mean, this set was scary expensive, so that’s sort of in the Halloween spirit. I showed a brief look at Silver Surfer, Frankie Raye, and Morg when I did the unboxing and first impressions last week, and I’ve since had a little time to play around with them. I suppose you can consider this Part I of the overall Galactus Review, because I’m shooting on getting a better look at the Big Guy for next week’s Marvel Monday!

In case you missed it last time, here’s a look at the box, and how the regular sized figures come inside it. They are each resting on a very large clear plastic tray with their accessories and extra bits beside them. Given the cost of this set, a big part of me wishes Hasbro had actually given them individual boxes, but that would have probably made the box even bigger, so I’ll let that slide. Let’s just start from the top and work our way down!

The Silver Surfer was previously released in Marvel Legends as a Walgreens Exclusive. It was a figure that I never did find in the stores, and one that goes for all the monies now. Since I don’t own it, I can’t make a direct comparison, but based on pictures, this one appears to use the same body but has a new head sculpt. And yeah, that kind of makes this bundled figure feel a little less special. Granted, how could they not include him in the box? Even Masterworks Galactus came with a 3 3/4-inch Silver Surfer! Obviously there’s not a whole lot to talk about here, as he’s a generic buck painted all in silver. Ah, but what a beautiful coat of silver he is! The paint on this guy really feels premium and looks great. I also appreciate that they used the extra-articulated body with the lateral crunches in the shoulders.

The new head sculpt looks good, but I do not think it looks as good as the pictures I’ve seen of the Walgreens release. The expression here looks a little more dour, and whether that’s good or not is down to just personal preference, but I think the definition in the face is a lot softer on this version. I would have really liked to get that other head in the box as well.

You get the exact same three sets of hands with this figure as came with the Walgreens release. That includes fists, flat karate chop hands, and splayed fingers that look good for flinging the cosmic powers, or just balancing on his board. Honestly, I don’t think the flat, closed finger hands are necessary. I do, however, really like the effect part he comes with. The purple plastic looks really nice. Of course, it’s something else that we’ve seen before. Many, many times before.

The board is simple and effective. It has a single peg, which holds the figure fairly well. You also get an effect part that doubles as a stand. This piece grips the board snugly and can be stood on its own, or attached to Galactus’ left hand, which we’ll see next week. I like this figure a lot, but it’ll still just be a consolation prize for me not getting the Walgreens release. Maybe someone who has both can tell me otherwise, but I think this is the inferior of the two, albeit still being a decent figure. Moving on to Frankie Raye…

The Human Torch! Nova! Frankie is a most welcome addition to the Marvel Legends line up… so much so that it might have been a bit unfair of Hasbro to lock her away behind this paywall. Like Silver Surfer, Raye gets by with a single colored buck, this time a brilliant gold and it looks marvelous! The body doesn’t feature the same level of muscular detail as Surfer, but it still looks great, and I was very happy to see the double-hinges in the elbows and swivels in the biceps, as opposed to just putting rotating hinges in the elbows.

I absolutely love the head sculpt here, especially the amazing flaming coif, which spreads out behind her. The translucent mix of orange and red plastic really catches the light well, and makes for quite the spectacle.

You get three sets of hands with Frankie, and these include splayed finger hands, fists, and accessory holding hands. And, yes, the accessory holding hands feel unnecessary, since she doesn’t come with anything to hold.

Like surfer, Raye comes with an effect-stand, which is designed to fit into Galactus’ hand, but it also serves as a pretty good base all on its own. There’s a sculpted footprint and peg inside this geyser of plastic flame, to keep her attached with the flames snaking around one of her legs. I love it! OK… Let’s wrap this up with Morg!

Morg The Executioner has the most original sculpting of the three and as such it’s probably no coincidence that he comes with the least extras, and that means no effect parts and no extra hands. You can easily see the give and take with each figure when it comes to cost to produce. The sculpting here, however, is superb. I love the way they sculpted his craggy red flesh, and the spikes protruding from his shoulders and the biceps. His armor is also awesome, with the sleek and organic curves of his wrist bracers and knee guards, which flare out beautifully. The segmented, spiked leg armor looks pretty bitchin too! This is an epic looking figure!

The portrait is excellent! Just look at that fiendish, toothy grin and beady read eyes! But easily my favorite thing here is the way they sculpted his long, flowing white hair.

It’s somewhat ironic that Morg doesn’t come with any extra hands, because Hasbro couldn’t even get the two he does come with right. MY MORG HAS TWO RIGHT HANDS!!! Yeah, you’d think for how much this little package costs, the highly paid toyologists at Hasbro Labs could get a simple left and right hand correct. Hell, I have over 300 Marvel Legends in my collection and not one of them came with two of the same hand. Very disappointing!

Morg does, however, come with his trusty ax, and it’s OK, but nothing special. I do try to keep him away from Nova when he’s holding it. And I suppose since he does have two right hands, that makes him ambidextrous.

And that’s the three Heralds of Galactus. They’re all fine figures, even double-righty Morg is still plenty cool. I stand by what I said about Silver Surfer probably being the lesser of the two when it comes to the Walgreen’s Exclusive release. But seeing as I don’t have that one, I’m happy to have this one in the collection. In the end, I’m going to give Frankie the nod as my favorite of the three. I’m going to do my darndest to get a proper review of Galactus together for the next Marvel Monday and we can look at all these figures together!

Oct 26 2022

Opening HasLab Galactus!

If you follow me on Twitter, than you may be aware of what a harrowing three days it was to get HasLab Galactus home. He was supposed to be delivered last Saturday and since there was a signature required, I hung out all morning and all afternoon waiting, only to find that Fed Ex didn’t bother knocking or ringing the bell, but rather just stuck a Sorry We Missed You note on the door some time around 2pm. Now, that driver must have been a goddam ninja, because I was walking past the front door in anticipation probably five times an hour, and my front door is mostly glass. And there’s no way he could have pulled that off dragging the huge ass Galactus box to the door, so I suspect he just left it on the truck. I grant you 100 points for stealth, Fed Ex Man, and take back 1,000 points for DO YOUR JOB YOU LAZY F*CK!!! Since I wasn’t going to be home the next day to sign, I diverted it to a local hold location where it was supposed to be delivered by end of day. Two days later, I was able to pick it up. And thankfully it just about fit in my backseat. Anyway, here’s the giant box!

The HasLab Campaign ended in August of 2021, so it’s been a little over a year of waiting, which all things considered wasn’t too bad at all. I’m shooting today’s content in my office, guerilla style, because I have no proper staging area that will fit this behemoth and no way to properly light it either. Eventually I hope to fix up a work around for that, but until then, this isn’t really a proper review, but more of an unboxing and first impressions. I do really like how the box turned out. The artwork is both colorful and beautiful. I especially like the mural on the back panel. The front panel not only shows Galactus but also Silver Surfer, Morg, and Frankie Raye. It really feels like we’ve been building toward this, given that the very first wave of modern Marvel Legends featured Terrax as a Build-A-Figure!

Open the box and out comes a giant slab of styrofoam! The big guy slumbers under tissue paper covers, which are wrapped at the bottom to make two adorable booties! Also visible on this side are his two alternate face plates and the full-on Doctor Doom alternate head. The blades of his headpiece are positioned to the right, as are the three Heralds, each with some accessories. The only assembly required is to attach the blades on his head, and sadly it feels like they aren’t meant to come out again, so while the package is collector friendly, Galactus probably isn’t going back into his styrofoam bed again.

You get one slip of instructions, and that’s just to show you how to install the batteries. Yup, $400 and batteries aren’t included. Sons of bitches! I don’t have a fresh set, so I’ll have to pick some up to test out the electronics.

And here he is perched on his very own table! Aesthetically, the body strikes me as being very similar to the Masterworks Galactus and I’ll do some comparison shots when I do a proper review. I’m very pleased with the overall detail and heft of this beast. I also appreciate how heavy his feet are, giving him a nice low center of gravity and making him feel sturdy and balanced. I did not opt in for the Haslab Sentinel, but as I understand it, that figure had some loose legs, which seems to have been corrected here with some decent ratchets.

The head sculpt is phenomenal, with the stock face plate being appropriately dour. He definitely looks hangry. The face plate is soft and rubbery, so you can easily swap it out without having to dismantle any part of the head.

The other two plates include skull face and exposed teeth. These are both pretty terrifying. I’ll likely swap these out for display every couple of weeks or so, but right now I’m leaning with the snarling teeth as my default. I neglected to snap the Doom head, but I’ll leave that for the proper review.

The fingers are all fully articulated, so Galactus is capable of balling up his hands in fists as well as making all sorts of unsavory gestures. I’ve only just started to explore the rest of the articulation and he’s got some great range of motion in the arms. I’m interested to see whether he’ll be able to hold any kind of action poses from the waist down.

Silver Surfer has an effect part which allows him to perch on Galactus’ hand and this is incredibly well designed. The board slides into the top and the bottom is contoured to snugly fit around the open hand. I’ll confess, I am considering displaying him with my 3 3/4-inch Marvel Universe Silver Surfer to give the big guy an even more impressive scale by comparison, but this works so well, I may have to go with this for the regular display.

Frankie also has an effect part that works with Galactus’ hand, this time the right. This piece is a little less intuitive than the other, so I’ll need to experiment with it some more.

And Morg doesn’t get any effect part, but he does get his axe.

By all respects it looks like Hasbro really knocked it out of the park with Galactus. Even the wait didn’t seem that long. This is only my second experience with HasLab, the first being the Razor Crest, but I’m very pleased with the whole experience. Well, not the Fed Ex part, but that’s not Hasbro’s fault. I’ll have to pick up some batteries to power him up and check out the electronics. As of now, I’m planning to check out the three Heralds this coming Monday, and maybe by the following Monday I can get something rigged up to do some better pictures of the Big Boi and give him his due.