Tag Archives: mcfarlane

Aug 31 2022

Legend of Vox Machina: Vax’Ildan and Vex’Ahlia by McFarlane Toys

I haven’t been all that into Amazon Prime’s original content lately, but I gave Legend of Vox Machina a try and I wound up really loving it. And that surprised the hell out of me, because I had sampled Critical Role a short while prior to seeing the show, and boy was that not for me! Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised by LoVM’s ability to blend the snappy quips and action with some pretty solid character studies, and it only took a couple episodes for me to be completely invested in this crazy gang of mercenaries. And then figures were announced and I was all… Oh, YAY! And then I saw who was making them and I was all like, Oh, NO! But seeing as how I thought McFarlane’s Witcher figures were pretty OK, I decided to give these a try. Four figures have been released so far, with an initial wave consisting of Vex’Ahlia and Percy and the wave that just shipped populated by Vax’Ildan and Keyleth. I decided to mix things up by checking out one figure from each wave and pairing up the twins, Vax and Vex.

The figures come in your standard McFarlane window box, which do a nice job of showing off the figure inside, but are otherwise unremarkable. You do get some decent character art on the side panels, and I like that the purple box is adorned with a D&D dice pattern. These boxes are mostly collector friendly, but you will have to tear open the bubble that secures the figure stands if you want to get at them. McFarlane stands are nothing special, so I usually leave them attached to the tray if I’m going to save the boxes. I prefer to use the larger, clear NECA stands anyway. Let’s take a look at Vax first!

Turning 2D stylized animated character designs into 3D plastic action figures isn’t always easy or successful, but I think McFarlane did a very nice job here. Granted, both Vax and Vex’s Elven physiques aren’t too far out there when it comes to their body types. Vax here is a little gangly in the limbs, but otherwise he conforms to normal human proportions. His costume, by design, is on the drab side, mostly black with gray trim, some brown belts and straps, and a green belt providing the only splash of color in the ensemble. There isn’t much in the way of texturing here, in keeping with the more simple animated look, although you do get some nice sculpted fur on his shoulders, at the top of the cape. The cape is sculpted so as not to hinder Vax’s range of motion too badly, and it conceals the two sheathed daggers he wears across his lower back. The cape does, however, make him pretty back-heavy and I had some difficulty keeping him upright.

I do like the portrait here quite a bit. Again, it’s simple in keeping with the animation style, and I think it captures the character very well. The hair is sculpted separately from the rest of the head, giving him a sharp hairline, both across his forehead and around his pointed ears. His eyes, eyebrows, and lip coloring are all executed with halftone printing, which can look a little blurry when you punch in close with the camera, but looks fine with the naked eye. With that having been said, the eyebrows on my figure could have used a bit more paint.

Articulation here is rather standard stuff for McFarlane’s modern figures. Highlights include double-hinges in both the knees and the elbows, rotating hinges in the shoulders, wrists, and hips, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. He even has hinges in the middle of his feet, and there’s a ball joint in the waist. I don’t know what it is with McFarlane’s figures, but even with all that articulation they tend to feel a little stiff to me, but on paper everything here is pretty solid. You only get the one set of hands, and those are designed to hold his three daggers. Well, two at a time anyway! The daggers are simple sculpts and cast in gray plastic. Let’s turn our attention to Vex!

It may not be a fair comparison, but it only took a moment for me to realize that Vex was going to be my favorite of the two. But to be fair to her brother, and McFarlane’s efforts, she’s just a much more interesting looking character to me. The bright blue tabard certainly helps catch the eye, especially since the rest of her outfit is mostly brown and more brown. I like the network of belts that cinch her waist, the high V-neck collar looks sharp, and the one tuft of gray fur on her right shoulder is quite chic. What’s especially impressive is that her top appears to be sculpted separately and actually worn over the figure buck! There’s just a lot more going on here to please the eye!

And sure, some of that may have to do with the fact that she’s one pretty Elf lady, and boy did the team at McFarlane do a wonderful job on this portrait! Now, it’s worth pointing out that McFarlane takes some well justified heat for overusing the side-eye, that is painting the eyes of figures looking off to the right or left. It’s fine for a statue, but I’m not usually a fan of it on action figures, but I just think it looks so damn good here, I have to allow it. When paired with Vex’s flashing eyes and crooked, naughty smirk, I think it connects with the character all the more. Also worth pointing out is the wonderfully complex hair sculpting. The bangs over her forehead, the licks of strands in front of her ears, and the strategically placed blue feather all make for a wonderfully kinetic coif!

Vex’s articulation is identical to that of her brother, so kudos to McFarlane for not skimping on the ladies’ arm articulation like Hasbro does. She’s a little more fun to pose than Vax, mainly because she can balance a lot better, even with the quiver on her back. And yes… you observant readers may have noticed that Vex comes packaged with her quiver angled to the wrong side, even if the way she wears it on the show doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Her animated counterpart angles the quiver over her left shoulder, but holds the bow with her left hand and draws with her right, which means she has to reach across her body to pull an arrow from the quiver. Here, the figure’s right hand is sculpted to hold the bow, which means her quiver should be angled over the opposite shoulder for her off-hand to pluck arrows from it. Fortunately, the quiver is attached via a peg, so you can easily adjust it to angle over the opposite shoulder, but the figure will always be holding the bow in the wrong hand.

Obviously, Vex’s acessories include her bow, which is a decent piece, but I really wish they had gone with actual string instead of sculpted string. It just looks so thick and unrealistic. You also get a cluster of silver arrows, which slide into the quiver, but no single arrow for Vex to knock in her bow. I suppose you can consider the quiver an accessory, since it can be removed from her back.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with these figures, and while I clearly liked Vex more, Vax certainly gets the job done. The sculpts are very faithful to the show and while the accessories aren’t mind-blowing, they aren’t really lacking either. Still, I would have liked to get an extra pair of hands with each figure, particularly with Vex to allow her to hold the bow in her left hand and knock with her right. And while I do like this pair a lot, I’d really like to see the twins get the Figma treatment, because I think that would be something really special. I have two more figures in this line to check out, and I’m hoping that McFarlane sees it through to give us all of Vox Machina, because I’d be on board for the rest.

Aug 5 2022

Doom Eternal: Classic Doom Slayer by McFarlane Toys

It’s hard for me to think of a video game franchise that has stayed as consistently fantastic as Doom. It’s one of those games that I can vividly remember playing for the first time when it was released, and it’s crazy to look back at how unnerved playing it made me. Little did I know what was to come! The series spawned some amazing sequels and map packs, before going away for a while. It came back as Doom 3, and while this wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I thought it was a pretty great game, albeit a very new direction for the series. The modern updates, Doom and Doom Eternal, would eventually deliver that one-two punch of pure visceral action that most fans were looking for, and these two remain among my favorite video game updates of all time. I’d go so far to consider the 2016 release of Doom about as perfect a game as I have ever played. Crazy to think that until now I didn’t have any Doom toys, right?

Well, in fairness there haven’t been a whole bunch. Heck even Quake II did a lot better on that front. McFarlane eventually scooped up the license, and it took me until their release of the Classic Doom Slayer to get me to bite. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of McFarlane’s figures, but I thought The Witcher releases turned out pretty good, and so I’ve been picking up a few of their other figures here and there. Doom Slayer comes in a window box with a giant gold sticker, proclaiming this as part of their Gold Label Collection. I honestly have no idea what that means. I’ll also point out that this is released under the Doom Eternal license, because the Classic Doom look was available as an unlockable skin. Let’s check out Mr. Doom Guy!

Out of the package, I think this guy looks pretty sweet, even with one glaringly non-authentic element. McFarlane built him like a tank, which he would have to be to face the unending onslaught of hell demons. I am not at all a fan of the Predator-style shoulder cannon, as it’s just a little too much on the nose and looks really out of place with the Classic gear, but the rest is just fine. This cleaner and simpler look really scratches my itch when compared to the hyper-detailed look of the modern Doom Slayer armor. Hell, I love how OG Doom Guy is barely even wearing much armor. Hell, he’s got short sleeves, and a little exposed window in his gut that basically says, “Dear Hellspawn, Please Slash Here! Go On… Try It!” His upper body is kitted out with shoulders and protective hear not unlike that of a Football player. And even this setup is bulkier than what we saw him wearing in the original art, but it still looks great to me, complete with the wear and tear sculpted into the armor. The military-style trousers have some very nice detail in the stitching and the various rumples and wrinkles. He’s got some heavy duty knee pads, and some big chonky boots. The belt is nice too, with sculpted pouches and some ammo across the front of his waist.

If the sculpt takes a few liberties, I think the colors really nail the original look quite brilliantly. The bright green on the upper body really pops and contrasts with the darker greens used for the rest of the fatigues. The flesh tone for the exposed skin looks nice, and you get some additional silver paint hits for the fixtures and snaps on his gear. I really dig this deco!

And the helmet! Oh, boy do I love this helmet! You get the grill on top, the chonky cheeks, and the snout-like breathing unit on the front. It’s a nice mix of functional design and possibly intentional intimidation factor. The silver-gray paint looks sharp without looking shiny and new, and the sculpt has plenty of battle wear, including scrapes and some pock marks. The visor is exceptionally well done, in that it has a bit of a clouded look to it, and while it’s completely opaque matte paint, it almost looks like if you get in close enough you could catch a glimpse through it.

If there’s one place this figure stumbles it’s in the accessories. Doom Guy should have an arsenal at his disposal, and the figure only includes a gun and an arm blade attachment. And yes, the arm blade is the same one that came with McFarlane’s regular Doom Slayer, and it doesn’t really belong on this Doom Guy. Oh what I wouldn’t give for a chainsaw! Still, it looks really cool, and it’s a beautifully sculpted piece, so it’s hard to get mad at it. Plus, it’s entirely removable if you’d rather not display the figure with it. When all is said and done, I believe I will leave it on him.

And that brings us to the Doom Eternal Super Shotgun with the meat hook attachment. Once again, it’s a beautiful accessory and a very nice representation of the weapon from the game. And yet this one pisses me off, because the least McFarlane could have done was sculpt us a Classic Super Shotgun for this figure. I’ll also toss it out there that with the limited range in the elbow articulation, he can’t really pose with it all that well, nor could I get his off-hand to cradle the foregrip.

And finally, you do get a standard McFarlane figure stand, and these things are just the bare minimum worst. It’s a black disc with a peg and the Doom logo stamped on it. These always seem too small for the figures, and I’m not even bothering to take it off the packaging.

Yeah, I’m kind of missing the point of this figure, since it is emphatically not supposed to be the Doom Guy from the original game. But I knew that going in, and tried keeping that in mind while taking a look at him. I would have liked a legit release of the original Doom Guy, and this is simply my consolation prize, and it’s a damn nice figure at that. I’d definitely be down to pick up some of the Demons from the game if McFarlane committed to making a bunch of them, but for now I think this figure will be a one-off for me to place in my Gaming Room.

Sep 10 2021

The Witcher: Eredin Breacc Glas by McFarlane

Well, looky here! I actually made it back on a Friday for some hot and tasty end of week content! It wasn’t easy to carve out the time, but I’m glad I was able to. And hopefully, I can start to make this a habit again. Today I’m digging into another McFarlane release from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it’s the leader of The Wild Hunt himself, Eredin Breacc Glas!

Needless to say, I was pretty impressed by Geralt when I reviewed him a few weeks ago. So much so, that I quickly set about picking up some of the other figures in this line. The packaging is pretty much the same as we saw last time, sans the Gold Label. You get a collector friendly window box with a stylish red backdrop behind the figure, and a photo of the figure on the back. Nothing mind-blowing in terms of art design here, but I have to respect McFarlane for letting the figure do all the talking. Let’s get out The King of the Wild Hunt and have a look!

This character design feels like it was tailor-made to get the action figure treatment, and McFarlane did a fine job with it. Eredin’s nightmarish armor is fully realized in what is a pretty complex and layered sculpt. The crimson armor is designed to summon up the horrific image of a flayed man, with bronze accents giving off the hint of exposed bone amidst the quilted and armored plate red meat and muscle. And it is quite glorious! Easily my favorite thing here is the breast plate, which is not only adorned with a rib-cage like motif, but also has rib-like spikes protruding over it. These are cast in soft plastic, so as not to be brittle and breakable, and it just looks simply amazing. His forearms are protected by crudely hammered bronze bracers full of pitting and rough texture, while a series of brown “leather” strips cascade down from the center of his belt, both front and back. Intricate details include the sculpted rivets on his armor plates and stitching on the belts and straps.

The skeletal visage is carried over to his back, where more brass fixtures mimic his spine and the back of his ribcage, meanwhile his right shoulder is protected by a collection of boney barbs and a tattered textured cloak. The cloak is cast in soft plastic and is designed so as not to impede the arm’s movement.

Eredin’s head is fully enclosed in a helmet with a skull-faced visor that reminds of General Kael from Willow… and that ain’t a bad thing! The bronze colored helmet has its share of cuts and crags, no doubt the remnants of many battles. Nothing of Eredin’s face can be seen through the black void of the eyeholes, but his black coif of hair can be seen cascading out the back of the helm. The headpiece is punctuated on top by a series of tall spikes forming a crown.

The packaging claims Eredin sports 22-moving parts, and that certainly comes across in just how fun a figure he is to play with. Articulation points include rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hips. The knees have single hinges and the ankles have hinges and lateral rockers. There are swivels up in the thighs and the toes of his boots are hinged. Finally, you get a ball joint under the chest and another in the neck. The jointing on these McFarlane figures feel satisfyingly solid and chunky.

Eredin comes with one accessory and that’s his rather distinctive sword. This piece of plastic cutlery is a lot more impressive than either of the blades that came with Geralt, thanks mostly to a great paintjob on the blade and hilt. The turned grip is painted crimson to match his armor, and is extended to allow for double-handed wielding. And thankfully, the figure’s articulation is up to the task! The vicious looking blade includes multiple angles to the edge and a jutting spike, and I really dig the rather utilitarian hand guard that plunges parallel with the grip. It’s a great looking piece that clearly favors function over aesthetics in its design.

And finally, you get a figure stand, which is easily the least impressive thing in the box. Yup, it’s the same one that came with Geralt, complete with The Witcher III branding. It’s simple, small, and totally inconsequential. But it does a decent job of holding him up, and I’m never going to complain about getting a stand.

I absolutely have to keep resisting the urge to plunge into McFarlane’s DC figures. I just can’t open that floodgate again. I’ve been wronged too many times! BUT, THAT REBIRTH SUPERMAN SURE IS TEMPTING!!! So, it’s nice to have a small and manageable line like The Witcher to sample what has been some truly excellent work by McFarlane. And just for an added treat, when I went to hunt this figure down along with Ciri, I found him on clearance for about $11. Not too shabby, as I would have been perfectly happy with him even at the full $20. I don’t think I’m going to go nuts with all the repaints of Geralt that McFarlane is pushing out, but I’ll likely keep grabbing any new sculpts that come my way.

Aug 18 2021

The Witcher: Geralt of Rivia (Gold Label) by McFarlane

I remember buying the original Witcher game, hoping to slum it with the graphics turned all the way down, but even then my computer at the time just laughed and spat out the disc. A short while later, The Witcher II came to the Xbox 360, and I rejoiced, as I would finally get to sample the series I heard so much about. But after jumping in, I quickly felt like I was dropped into the middle of the dense lore and missing out on a lot of backstory, so I decided that I would shelf the game until I could eventually experience the first. Time passed and eventually even my new mediocre computer was capable of running the original Witcher, which was at that point a rather old game. With all the settings turned up, I quickly lost myself in the deep and rewarding game world, and it was everything I hoped it would be. And the rest is history. I still haven’t made the time to play Witcher 3, but I have since enjoyed the hell out of the comics and the TV series was… well, it was OK. And that brings us to McFarlane’s Geralt figure!

his is the Gold Label release, which is proudly called out with gold foil on the top left corner of the box. What’s that mean? I dunno. It seems like just a repaint of the regular version. I think these were supposed to be some kind of premium chase figures, but I got mine on clearance at Gamestop, so I’m not sure how difficult that chase was. They had both versions, but I went with this one just because I thought the more colorful deco showcased the sculpt a little better. The window box is collector friendly, unless you want the stand, which is secured to the back of the insert under a sealed bubble. For that, you’ll have to rip and tear!

And here he is, Geralt of Rivia, looking intimidating as all hell. Straightaway I’ll say that I absolutely love the sculpting they did here, but then McFarlane has always been known for delivering great sculpts! As I already intimated, I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time in the first two games, but have still yet to crack open my copy of Witcher 3. That having been said, his armor appears to be patterened after the suit he starts the game with, and the one featured in most of the game shots I’ve seen, so I’m at least passingly familiar with it. The sculpt features some intricate detail in the chain mail, as well as some textured quilting in the upper legs. There’s stitching recreated on the leather bits, and boots, and the armor is layered onto the figure to make for a very complex and convincing look. When it comes to detail, it seems like nothing was overlooked. The torso armor is sculpted in soft plastic and wrapped around the figure, concealing the articulation in the chest. It’s executed very well, without making the figure look too bulky or throw off his proportions. Other cool little additions are his tiny amulet and the trophy hook hanging from his belt.

On his back, Geralt has two functional scabbards for his swords. These are partially open on the side facing his back, which is unfortunately a little unsightly, but they acommodate the swords very well. The scabbards are also the only place on the figure where the paint disappoints a bit. It just isn’t as sharp as it could be. The original version of this figure was quite drab and dark, but this Gold Label release features a more colorful tan and brown deco, which as I said earlier, really brings out the detail in the sculpt. The boots are black, he’s got a reddish-brown belt, and the silver paint used for the chainmail and the fixtures, is quite striking. I may still look at picking up the regular release, but right now I’m pleased that I went with this one.

They did a beautiful job on this portrait, recreating a solid likeness to the in-game model. The rather intricate hair sculpt is cast separate from the rest of the head, making for a clean hairline. His scar is carved right into the plastic, there are some subtle lines in his face, and the facial hair is quite remarkable. But beyond an excellent sculpt, the paint really turned out to be amazing. From the gray used for his hair to the gloss on his bottom lip, the life-like eyes and the razor sharp deep crimson gash, everything here is just superb. Even the skin tone is nuanced.

I was most curious to see what the articulation was going to be like, since the last time I was collecting McFarlane figures, they were little more than semi-poseable statues. Well, that certainly isn’t the case any more. The articulation here is well thought out and feels great. The double hinges in the elbows and knees are chunky and allow for tight bends. I was especially surprised to find there were even hinges in the toe of the boots! He’s capable of wide stances in the legs and his arms have the ability to reach back to draw his swords. My only gripe here is that the neck doesn’t allow for the head to look up enough. And that’s probably mostly because of the long hair.

Naturally, Geralt comes with his two swords. The “silver” sword features a sharply downturned crossguard, whereas the “steel” sword has the straight guard. These each have painted grips, but unfortunately the blades and hilts were left as bare gray plastic. I really think these needed actual silver paint to make them look more snappy, especially for a premium Gold Label release. Heck, even if they just painted the silver one to distinguish it, that would have been cool. The sculpts on the weapons are fine, and the blades aren’t too bendy, but they just look rather unfinished without the extra paint.

Geralt’s hands are sculpted so that he can wield the swords in either hand, or dual wield at the same time, for those particularly desparate battles against both humans and monsters! The articulation also allows for him to wield either weapon two-handed, which is excellent!

Other than the swords, Geralt comes with bubkis, so he’s a little light on the accessories. I would have liked to see a magic effect part or maybe some daggers. He does come with a branded figure stand, but it’s pretty small and unimpressive. Maybe I’ll dig into my Marvel Legeds effects parts to give him an Igni spell.

I was really close to passing on this line, since I’m trying to limit myself to what I’m already collecting, and not expand into new areas. But, when I’m face to face with a great looking figure on clearance, you just know it’s going to come home with me. And I’m glad I made that decision, because this is an all around wonderful figure. Yes, the unpainted swords irk me, but it’s nothing I can’t fix with a silver Sharpie. In the end, the best compliment I can pay Geralt here is that after playing around with him for about an hour, I went ahead and bought the rest of the line!

Jun 1 2013

Terminator 2: T-800 and Endoskeleton by McFarlane

Yes, folks, it’s Pub Night for me and in the interest of doing a really quick feature more quality Toy Closet Finds features, I’ve crawled into the back of my storage and pulled out a random file box. Inside was a wealth of goodies from my glorious KayBee Toy Outlet days. No, actually, it contained a bunch of shit that I should probably go drop off at Goodwill, but there are a few decent pieces in there. I used to hit the KB Toy Outlet once every week or so with a goal of spending no more than $20 and it’s amazing some of the stuff I used to come out with. I really miss that place. A lot of the figures I used to buy were from McFarlane Toys and today we’re going to talk Terminators: Specifically, the T-800 and the Endoskeleton from the Movie Maniacs line. I was really impressed with these guys when I picked them up way back when. Let’s see how well they aged.

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Kicking things off with the Endoskeleton… he’s a good example of how investing in McFarlane figures isn’t always a good idea. Sure a lot of them go up in value, but they also deteriorate right before your eyes. This guy was sealed in a nice safe baggie and carefully packed away in the box. When I withdrew the bag, it was full of parts. Did he disassemble himself? I guess after ten years anything is possible. Happilly, I was able to piece him back together, and ultimately the only thing wrong with him is one of the cables on his left shoulder separated. We’ll call it battle damage and move on.

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I think the Endoskeleton holds up really well. This is a pretty complex design that can’t be easy to reproduce at this scale, and yet the sculpt is certainly amazing. There are so many little fantastic details here, particularly in the head and the upper body. It’s funny to think that a decade later, Playmates couldn’t come close to reproducing anything close to this quality of detail with their shitty take on the Terminator: Salvation license. In addition to the superb sculpt, the weathered steel look of the paintjob makes works well. Obviously a mirror polish finish wasn’t going to happen, so it was smart to go with the gritty look. It just makes him look all the more realistic. I’m pretty sure he came with a couple of guns, but I have no idea what became of them.

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As we’ll see in a moment with the T-800, McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs line weren’t known for their articulation, so it’s ironic that the Endoskeleton turns out to be more action figure than statue. His head swivels, and his shoulders can rotate and have lateral movement. His arms have swivels in the biceps and hinged elbows. His legs rotate at the hips, his knees are hinged, and he can swivel below the knees. He can even swivel a bit at the waist and he has an ab crunch! Even better, all his joints have working pistons! It would have been cool if his head angled up and you could get him in a decent crawling position, but considering this is McFarlane we’re talking about, I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

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Moving on to the T-800, this is Arnold from the end of Judgement Day where he’s seriously messed up. It was a cool decision to base the figure off this point in the movie because the battle damage really gave McFarlane’s sculptors a chance to shine with all the little details. Let’s get one thing out of the way first, this is a statue with a few points of articulation to tweak the pose. He has swivel cuts in the neck, shoulders, wrists, waist, thighs, and boots. It may sound like a lot, but it’s not. The Endoskeleton may pass as an action figure, but Arnold here does not.

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But what Arnold lacks in articulation, he makes up with in sculpt. The detail on this piece is insane. His face is blown off, revealing bits of endoskeleton and every little chunk of jagged flesh is lovingly recreated. The leather jacket and pants are replete with little wrinkles, stitches, and zippers. The jacket itself is sculpted separately so it can hang loose around his waist. His bandoleer strap of grenade rounds is also a separate piece, and it’s even missing three of the rounds in the front, and cleverly plugs into the bullet holes on his back. Bullet holes? Oh, the tiny little bullet holes! He’s absolutely riddled with them. Fantastic! A great deal of Arnold gets by with the matte black paint for his leather, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some impressive paintwork on display here, particularly on the head where there is a delightfully disgusting mix of flesh tone, glossy red gore, and burnished steel. The torn up knee is pretty cool too!

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Arnold comes with two weapons: A grenade launcher and an automatic pistol. They are both decent sculpts and the grenade launcher will even break open for loading the breech. They can both be removed from his hands, but there isn’t much point since each weapon is designed for a specific hand and he looks rather funny posed without them.

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Generally speaking, McFarlane figures leave a sour taste in my mouth because a lot of mine didn’t survive storage. And even if they do, they often have a habit of breaking of breaking rather quickly when I take them out and handle them. Case in point, out of all my Viking Age Spawn figures, I think only one has survived to this day. That having been said, this pair do hold up really well even a decade later. I’m not really that into the Terminator franchise anymore, so I doubt these will be on display again anytime soon, but it’s nice to know I can still pull them out and admire them the next time I decide decide to bust out my Blu-Ray of Judgement Day, a movie that I still consider to be one of the best science-fiction-action films ever made.

 

Feb 12 2013

Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorne and Adranath by McFarlane

I know there’s a little thing called Toy Fair going on and I’m burning a lot of my spare time pouring over the reports from on the scene. I don’t do news here, so I won’t be doing any regular updates about it, but at some point this week I will post some random thoughts about what we’re seeing. As for today… like duct tape holding together the middle of the week… this is more Toy Closet Finds! It’s frightening just how many loose McFarlane figures I have rattling around in the bottoms of totes. It’s even more frightening considering I unloaded dozens of these things at a yard sale once. How do I still have so many? Are they breeding? Since this isn’t the first time I’ve featured one of the Ultima Online figures here, I’ll skip the long prelude about the adoration I had for the Ultima game series growing up and the bitter soul-crushing betrayal I felt when the franchise turned into an MMORPG. Good thing I never have to feel that kind of disappointment again, right? I mean, a single-player game that I love turning on its roots and becoming exclusively online. I don’t have to worry about that happening again…

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Oh… Right. Anyway, when I stumbled upon a nearly full set of these figures at KB Toys’ liquidator store many years ago I bought them based on the novelty of actually owning some Ultima figures. It didn’t matter that the characters were unfamiliar to me. There weren’t any Shamino or Iolo figures hanging on the pegs, so these would have to do. It also didn’t hurt that they were $4.88 each. The packages are long gone, but suffice it to say they came in your typical McFarlane clamshells. Let’s start with Lord Blackthorne first.

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Lord Blackthorne was one of the coolest twists of the original Ultima games. He was basically a guy who took over the kingdom of Lord British and warped the Virtues to serve his autocracy. He turned The Avatar from a hero to an outlaw and boy did I learn to hate that bastard. There are times when I think, “maybe I didn’t give Ultima Online a chance. Maybe I missed out on something that respected and enriched my beloved franchise.” And then I see this figure and banish all such thoughts from my head. Yes… apparently somewhere along the way in Ultima Online he turned into some kind of f’ing steampunk cyborg. Sigh.

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I’m going to do this guy a favor and completely detach it from Ultima. Once I stop thinking about this guy as Lord Blackthorne I can really get behind this figure because everything about him is awesome. He’s only about three-quarters of a torso as his entire lower half has been replaced by a giant spike and his left arm has been replaced by a massive robotic claw. His hard plastic cape is sculpted to serve as a base and make him appear to be hovering. It’s a clever design and it supports the figure really well. He has some kind of giant tank strapped to his back, shoulder armor, and hoses and wires running all over the place.

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The sculpted detail and paintwork on Blackthorne is beyond impressive. The metal parts have all their sculpted rivets, screws, and panel lines. There are welding marks along the seams of the tank on his back and all the artificial bits have rough, hammered surfaces. Even the organic bits are beautifully recreated. He has veins in his arms, staples along a gash on his head and a grim expression. If you’re into nasty looking steampunk cyborg dudes, this is a guy that belongs in your collection.

Blackthorne’s articulation features a head that rotates, rotating shoulders, and a waist swivel. His robotic arm has an elbow hinge and one of the claws is hinged as well. There’s also a hinge on his left shoulder armor to allow for greater movement in that arm. Unfortunately, a couple of points of articulation are better left unused. Rotating Blackthorne’s head will cause the cable running into his head to tear and rotating him at the waist will cause part of his cape to come away from its socket. Like most McFarlane figures, he’s best left to stand on the shelf and look cool.

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And then there’s Adranath. I had to look this guy up because after hundreds upon hundreds of hours spent in the Ultima universe, I had no idea who this asshole was and that’s because he was a new character introduced in the online game. I still couldn’t find a lot of info on him, so it makes me wonder if all the characters in UO are so shallow that this guy deserved an action figure over the others. Apparently he’s some kind of necromancer and he dresses well.

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Either way, the character means nothing to me, but I really dig this figure. Unlike Blackthorne with all his steampunkery, Adranath looks like he’d be right at home in any fantasy setting. His face is wrinkled and puckered, like he’s been chilling out at the bottom of a lake for a couple of hundred years, but the rest of the figure is characterized by a magnificently sculpted lordly outfit. The detail work on his finery really blows my mind and it’s stuff like this that reminds me why I bought so many McFarlane figures back then in the first place. Just looking at all the sculpted detail on the back of his cape, right down to the tiny crosshatch texturing, impresses the hell out of me. He comes with a gnarled twisted wood staff, with gold string hanging some beads from it.

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Adranath has six points of articulation. His head will turn, his arms rotate at the shoulders, his left elbow has a swivel cut and his hands swivel at the wrists.

And that’s all I’m going to have to say about McFarlane’s UO figures. I should hate these figures because they’re tied to the fact that Lord Betrayal British sold out and raped my childhood, but these are amazing figures and I still have to respect that. In spite of what they represent, I usually find a place to display them somewhere, and that says a lot about how good they are.

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Besides these two and the previously featured Juggernaut, there were three more in the series, two of which I owned, but I have no idea what happened to them. There was also a big dragon or wyvern or something, which looked very cool, but he never showed up at the KB Toys closeout store, so I never got him. I guess I like these guys enough that they managed to survive a lot of toy purges, and that’s saying a lot because when I purge, McFarlane figures are usually my first target to go.

Oct 25 2011

Ultima Online: Juggernaut by McFarlane

Rooting around in the FigureFan Toy Closet today, I came up with this little gem from an otherwise deservedly forgotten figure line from our friends at McFarlane toys. I grew up playing the Ultima games, ever since playing the originals on a pea soup green monochrome monitor on my old PC, I stuck out the series through it’s ups and downs until it went online and then I bailed. As a result, I know very little about the Ultima Online world or this character for that matter. Nonetheless, I picked up this entire action figure series one Saturday at a KB Toys Outlet for a total of around $20. Most of these figures were instantly forgettable, but there were two that still hold up really well. One was Lord Blackthorne and the other is Juggernaut here.

Living up to his name, Juggernaut is a huge, bulky figure. He’s a cyborg and it’s tough to say how much of his organic stuff is actually inside his massive, armored hide because all you can actually see is his shriveled raisen of a face. He rolls along on one giant wheel with a small wheel on an outrigger. His arms end in a robotic claw and a drill. Juggernaut doesn’t stand well on his own, but McFarlane was good enough to include a little clear stand to prop up him up.
As we’d expect from McFarlane, the sculpt here is absolutely fantastic. The armor is pitted and worn and you can see the bolts that hold it together as well as additional plates that were bolted on as repairs. His arms include rubbery hoses and cables and under his arms  you can make out all the extra mechanical detail that really shows off the extraordinary amount of loving at work here.
If the sculpt is excellent than the paintjob is extraordinary. The armor has a olive matte green color but it’s washed over with rust and wear that looks simply amazing. The sculpt and paintjob on the armor is so convincing that I’m often surprised at how lightweight the figure actually is when you pick him up. It’s brilliant.
McFarlane’s figures from this period aren’t known for their articulation but Juggernaut fares pretty well. His arms rotate at the shoulders and have lateral movement as well. He has swivel joints in the biceps and hinges in the elbows. There’s not a lot else on him that’s designed to move, although he does roll along pretty well.
My favorite thing about this figure is how well he fits in with my Stroggs from Resarus’ old Quake II lineup. Forget Ultima Online, this guy looks like he was made for the Quake II universe and that’s where I’m content to display him long after the other UO figures have been stowed away at the bottom of some tote in the back of my storage.
Oct 25 2010

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 1:6 Scale Leatherface by McFarlane

I wanted to do a few things for Halloween week. I mean, I’m already going to watch a different favorite horror film every night this week and eat half of the bag of bite-sizes Snickers that I bought for the trick-or-treaters, but I aslo wanted to throw out some Halloween themed toy reviews. Unfortunately, I don’t have all that many horror themed figures, which kind of surprised me, since I’m such a fan of the film genre. Once upon a time I had a whole bunch of McFarlane’s horror creations, but not so much these days. So I figured, I’d just do what I can. Let’s go right for the jugular, with the biggest and most impressive horror piece I have left. McFarlane’s giant tribute to Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I’ve had this guy for quite a few years now, so the packaging is long gone. I do remember it came in a huge window box, which I probably would have saved. But this figure, or statue if you prefer, usually gets tossed into a storage tote along with my assortment of spook-decor after Halloween is over. I tend to give McFarlane a hard time because they spent a long time trying to pass off semi-articulated statues as action figures, but this 1:6 scale Leatherface is standing proof that McFarlane new how to craft a great looking statue… er, figure… whatever.

The figure itself is simply amazing. All too often, we’re used to seeing these large scale statues turn out to be just soft, hollow rotorcast. Not Leatherface, here. He’s a hundred percent solid plastic. If I threw Leatherface at your head, it would most certainly hurt like a bastard. He’s got all the heft of a nice chainsaw. Although his shirt and apron are actually separate rubbery plastic, which you can feel come away from the core body. Every inch of this sculpt is pure love. The skin mask almost looks like it’s removable, and there are a ton of wrinkles in his shirt, apron and trousers. Even the rings on his fingers are present, and of course, Leatherface is classy enough to wear a necktie along with his mask made out of human skin. It’s just an all around freakishly great likeness. The chainsaw is pretty huge and it is fully removable from Leatherface’s hand. It’s also chock full of detail, especially around the blade and the controls on the handle.

The paint apps are nothing to sneeze at either. Granted, this isn’t a bright and cheery figure, but there’s a ton of excellent detail work. The individual stripes on his shirt are painted on, and the wash on his mask, particularly around the eye holes is fantastic. The dried blood on the chainsaw is just the icing on the gore cake. There could be some slop here and there, but truthfully, this guy is so nasty, how would you even know?

As expected with McFarlane, this figure has just a few points of articulation. His head can turn and he has swivel cuts on each arm. He’s basically designed to be holding the chainsaw aloft in one hand, although you can have it facing outward or turn it back in toward himself. I think I would have preferred him holding it in both hands, or perhaps even above his head like he’s doing his trademark chainsaw dance. But this is still a decent enough stance.

McFarlane also went all out with the backdrop. Leatherface comes with a base that is nicely sculpted and littered with bones and an old rusted skinning knife. There’s a gallows that towers above him, which comes with a couple of hooks and a winch with a real tattered looking piece of twine rope. There’s a nice delapidated wood grain texture on the gallows, and it just adds a ridiculous amount of height to this whole display. Oh yeah, the set also comes with an extra severed arm that you can place whever you like, or just save it for later to snack on.

I seem to recall Leatherface retailing for around $29.99. At least that used to be the price point of these bigger McFarlane pieces. I’m pretty sure I got this guy at Spencer Gifts during one of their post-Halloween sales and I don’t think I paid more than $15 for him. Either way, he’s well worth the money. A lot of work went into bringing this guy to life.

In retrospect, it’s funny I own this and not a big Jason or Freddy Krueger, because Leatherface is my least favorite of the Big Three of slasher horror icons. Of course, that’s probably a compliment, since I can sit back and laugh at Jason and Freddy’s antics, but the Texas Chainsawmovies are just fucked up and uncomfortable to watch. And that’s what true horror should be about. Either way, the reason I hung on to this as long as I had is because it’s just so damn impressive and no doubt an example of some of McFarlane’s finest work, before they turned into a company that now seems content to just churn out sports and Halo figures. Sigh.