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| MATTEL HOT WHEELS SPEED RACER SKY JUMP PLAYSET. Rating: * * * * * 5/05/08 |
I have to admit it's been about four decades since I've tried to assemble a Hot Wheel track, but this one came together quite nicely. The full color instructions were detailed enough to help even a oldster like myself get racing in about 20 minutes.
The track pieces were of good quality and marked for ease of contruction. What appears from a mountain of parts is a four intersection base/motor with loops and high velocity banked turns (one which sports a gap to hurdle over). On the other end is the jump. It's straight up, the cars shoots up and falls into a funnel, at terminus is rotating tunnel. The car enters the tunnel and it rulls around until it's wheels allow it to be deposited back onto the base/motor where it gets shot down the track once more.
Adding a second car increases the chance of a collision, which as we all know adds to the fun of the playset! The included exclusive Mach 6 was a nice treat, but you'll want to pick up some other cars for some crash effects!
No tools required. Takes fout D size batteries.
It's a heck of a ride!
| JOHNNY LIGHTNING V-BOT! Rating ***** 4/24/08 |
Not quite a car, not quite a robot, it's both! RC2 / Johnny Lighting, makers of last years Editor's Choice Award winning toy, Battle Wheels, has brought out another cool offering for us to play with.
The V-Bot is a fully functioning R/C car, it goes left, it goes right, it goes forward and reverse, as do a great many other R/C vehicles. The huge difference is that this bad boy also transforms into a fully functioning R/C robot! One second you cnn be rolling down the driveway, your wheels squealing on the blacktop, the next the V-bot has transformed into a great robot with full mobility and sound effects.
The V-bot also has the capacity to store your MP3 player on board and can play your favorite tunes as you wheel or walk about.
The box comes with a Try Me button built into the box and makes the robot play a short burst of music and flick his arms about.
The gearing, fit and finish are well done, the outer shell of the car is a metallic red, and robot parts are pretty much blue. The toy has built in dance routines for the bot that show off all the moves you can get him to perform manually, kids can figure out the controls in a few minutes, we older folks take a little more time.
This has to be one of the best tranforming toys I've ever seen, and it ends up being like two toys in one package.
Available now at Toys R Us and other fine retailers.
| WWE Wrestling figures hurt by mass production! 4/17/08 |
| GREEN LIGHT DIE CAST CARS 4/17/08 |
| DST STAR TREK DS9 WAVE 1! 4/17/08 |
I got hooked on this line way back when Art Asylum (AA) was putting it out. Since getting the license (and subsequently AA too!) DST has had some growing pains, but it seems DST is slowing making strides with this line.
Packaging - ***
There is nothing really special about the packaging. it's a standard bubble on a cardboard backed card in the same format and style as the the DST TNG figures. The deco is changed slightly to depict DS9 cast instead of TNG, and the back shows all the different figures in the wave. Probably the bigeest reason to ding it is that each card is the same. DST missed an opportunity here to put a blurb about the character on the backside and so I'm dinging it 2 stars for a 3 out of 5.
Sculpting - Odo & Ezri ****; Sisko ***; Jadzia **
Of this wave, Odo is the standout for me, followed by Ezri, with Sisko and Jadzia bringing up the rear.
Odo is an all new sculpt , and the only nit I can even find with him is that the back of his uniform should have had a sculpted seam around the shoulder area that would have been painted different. But since it wasn't sculpted it wasn't painted the correct color, so I'm knocking it on the sculpt not the paint.
Ezri looks to be a new sculpt from the waist up, but reuses the Lower body sculpt from Troi. Overall it looks OK, but Ezri is more slender than Troi, and in the end the Troi Lower body looks to be a bit too long in the legs and wide in the booty to really work perfectly.
Sisko's head sculpt looks great, but he reuses the base Cmdr Data body all the way, and the scale is just wrong. The good thing is that Sisko doesn't suffer from the same quality issues that Data had, such as 'wonky' legs or soft plastic. Obviously DST stepped up the QA and shows us it was the manufacturing, not the design or mold.
Jadzia reuses the Dr. Crusher body and just adds a new head. The sculpt is OK, but she has a silly expression on her face, and the Dr. Crusher body has a bit of pose to it that really makes it look like the same figure even though it has a different head! DST really needed to make a new sculpt for her as the Crusher body just doesn't do it for me!
Paint - Odo*****; Sisko & Ezri ****; Jadzia **1/2
The paint is an area that DST really has improved the quality on with this wave. All the black parts of the uniforms have a nice consistent 'flat' look, while most of the head sculpts are well painted. Odo is really the best of the lot and the paint has something to do with that! Ezri and Sisko both have minor issues that I'm cutting a star for. Sisko because of some obvious paint slop, and Ezri because I think her portrait looks a bit off and I don't think it's the sculpt. Jadzia , unfortunately, looks like a painted whore... just too much and too bright on the lips, and the flesh tone seems off as well.
Accessories - ***** Sisko has a Padd, his baseball, a Baseball Cap (with the correct logo on it!) a hand phaser and a Phaser Rifle!
Ezri: Coffe Cup, Baseball cap, Sniper Rifle, and Sniper Ocular head piece.
Odo: Bajoran Tri-Corder, Padd, Phaser and his Bucket!
Jadzia: Batleth, Phaser, Phaser Rifle, Padd, and klingon knife!
Value ****
I bought a case of this wave and adding in shipping, my averaged cost per unit is $12 ea. MSRP is closer to $15 (w/o any shipping or tax) and at that price I think I would have cut another star, but at $12 that's pretty much what I'm paying for HML or LCBH at retail... and these can't really be found at retail for that price.
Overall - *** 1/2
Odo **** 1/2
Ezri Dax ****
Sisko ***
Jadzia Dax **
This is another superb offering from SideShow. It has some flaws, but they are relatively minor. While I’m glad to have this character as she’s a bit unique, there are enough issues that I have with the costume (and the value score reflects those issues) to warrant only four out of five stars. Even though the overall is docked a full star, this is still more than a solid offering and fans should be sure to get
Things to watch out for
There can be paint slop, and since I ordered a case I was able to pick through two sets and open the best of the two. Odo and Sisko didn't seem to have as much issues, but Jadzia and Ezri both had a standout difference just looking at them in the package. Also Jadzia's head is really wobbly, and I've confirmed with other collectors that this seems to be a systemic issue. Other than that, the quality of the this wave seems to be an improvement on the part of DST.
Overall this is a solid offering for Star Trek fans, and while I like it better than the TNG wave 4, I'm only giving this wave an overall 3 1/2 stars out of 5 where I gave the TNG wave four a 4 out 5 stars. A lackluster Jadzia weighs down the score and even the superb offering that is Odo isn't enough IMO to pull it up to **** or higher. Also, unlike the TNG 4 wave, the PX exclusive (Odo) is really a different character, making this a a 'true' 4 figure wave, whereas I reviewed the TNG wave 4 as more of a 3 figure wave since the PX exclusive was another Dr. Crusher.
If your only going to get one figure from this wave though, make it Odo!
_________________
| BATTLE WHEELS - RADIO CONTROL ROBOTS GONE WILD! Rating: * * * * * 12/01/07 |
All the characters are on different frequencies so it allows you to play with six 'bots at a time! This allows you to fight in groups or sock each other in a wild free for all.
The Battle Wheels characters are molded in bright colors, so it's never hard to pick your guy out in a crowd, and each comes with character specific weaponry. (But the pieces are all transferable, so you can make your assembled bots into custom warriors.)
Each figure comes with a shield, a weapon, wheel spokes and shoulder pads. The heads come off when the blue button on the figures' chest gets hit, and that guy is the loser. The carnage and fallen pieces of armor are left on the battlefield and add to the difficulty in fighting, and could cause your bot to be up-ended.
Battle Wheels have two motor, with wheels on either side of the fully articulated figures, with smaller balance wheels on front and back. The controller moves each motor forward or revense, so if you want to move forward, push both control switches up and both down for reverse. When you push one controller up and the other down the bot goes into what we like to call the Whirling Dervish! Very cool when he's holding the mace and he can slug an opposing player.
They seem to work best on hard, smooth floors, but we used them on a rug and they still fought well!
Characters VUL “The Savage Protector of Venus”
Born of fire and untamed like the flames of Venus, he decimates his opponents with his lightning sword and chain mace
TYR “The Cold arm of Pluto’s Justice”
Cold and calculated, Tyr is heavily armored with a shield that staves off any opponent and a relentlessness that will stop nothing short of victory
BASHAMON “The silent enforcer of Saturn’s law”
Lurking in the misty shadows of Saturn’s ring, Bashamon is ready to deliver a quick end to his unsuspecting foes wielding a sneaky cat-o-nines and powerful mallet
KAGU-TSUCHI “The fury of Mercury’s fire”
Explosive rage like the molten springs of Mercury, Kagu-Tsuchi’s combat skills are a testament to his furious battle rage and crushing blow at intense speeds
These are on the shelves now, from Johnny Lightning. A pair of these would be a very cool present for your favorite kid to find under a Christmas Tree, parents, should get one too, as I've seen as many adults playing with these as kids.
Rating: * * * * * =More fun than a sack of monkeys!
Price and Availability $29.99
Available fall 2007
| UNDERGROUND TOYS - DR. WHO DALEKS IN MANHATTAN AND 10 FIGURE GIFT SET! 11/02/07 |
The set contains: 1 Pig Guard, 1 Dalek Sec Hybrid figure, 1 damaged Dalek Thay figure and the Tenth Doctor.The set also contains a sonic screwdriver.
Set in 1930's America, deep in the throes of the Great Depression, the Doctor and Martha discover the plan of the Daleks to create a victorious army, and using humans in their evil genetic experiments in the shape of Pig Men. The Daleks will never rest until they are victorious and we are exterminated.
The paint ops and articulation on these figures is pretty straight forward, the sculpts are clean and resemble the characters they portray. I like getting a sonic screwdriver as it is an important prop for the Doctor.
The Pig Man comes dressed in reddish overalls, His scowling expression means he's so ever happy to meet with the Doctor.
The Dalek Hybrid comes dressed in black pinstripe suit with patent leather shoes. His tentacled head, exposed cerebral cortex and single eye set into his forehead are equally threatening.
The golden "damaged" Dalek Thay is a reissue of the Dalek Genensis four pack. Rollers on the bottom, with removeable laser and eye stalk.
The Doctor is dressed in brown overcoat with dark suit and tie, and of course his trusty sonic screwdriver.
Joints are tight and the figures can hold a pose and balance well. I like the fact that there are plenty of bad guys for the Doctor to battle with.
The window box package makes a great display for those that hesitate to open packages. But you have to break these guys out... These figures need to be played with.
The ten piece gift pack comes with tons of figures. Good guys and evil aliens alike. Although, I do miss the inclusion of a female companion for the Doctor.
The set includes:
The 9th Doctor
The 10th Doctor
Captain Jack
Auton
Sycorax Leader
The Empty Child
Dalek with Mutant Reveal Feature
Moxx of Balhoon
Slitheen
Space Pig
As above these figures have well done sculpting although joints are noticed they don't interfere with the lines of the toys. The large window box is covered by two flaps whose inner covers have photos of the characters from the show and a short history of each.
High points: The Mutant Dalek is cool with his removeable panel and gooey alien within. Also, I like having the 9th and 10th Doctors aboard. The Empty Child is just creepy.
| HML3 Rating **** By: Gemini Jones 10/25/07 |
For Pictures:
| GI JOE ADVENTURE TEAM REDUX! rating: ***** 9/13/07 |
Wal Mart Exclusive Adventure Team Series
fans of g.i.joe got a surprise this summer when walmart delivered a set of the five members of the adventure team of the 70s[back when joe went from military to adventure in response to vietnam war protests]included were the bearded land ,sea and air as well as the beardless but still fuzzy headed man of action and the black adventurer complete in reproduction boxes and looking just like they did in the 70s.each figure's costume looks just like it did and the body and heads are exactly like they were back when joe was just known as a 12 inch toy .[it should be noted the sea adventurer's hair seems to be a few shades brighter then it was back in the 70s]the land adventurer by what i can tell is exactly the same as the one which came out last year at christmas time as an exclusive to the HOT TOPIC chain of stores[his gun,like the HOT TOPIC VERSION is a luger where as all the other figures come with a silver repro pistol]all the figures come with the famous kung fu grip hands but this time the hands are made of a sturdier plastic then the rubber hands you find on their vintage counterparts.they are still flexible but it seems the fingers won't tear off as the vintage one have a tendenacy to do.at only 9.97 a figure you can have supreme quality figures of the adventure team without paying vintage prices .to anybody who is a fan of the 12 inch joes,had these figures as a child or wanted these figures but couldn't afford the vintage figures ,go to walmart and get these wonderful members of joe's "adventure years".but hurry these things seem to move out fast
| DC SUPERHEROES TWO FACE! rating: *** 9/13/07 |
DC Superheroes line :Two Face (from epinions.com) ***
Pros
High articulation, fine details, outstanding sculpt...
Cons
Hard to find, more expensive than other action figures...
The Bottom Line
Flip a coin...if you can find one.
Full Review
Because I already have around 100 Justice League Unlimited action figures from Mattel, I was reluctant...for my sake and my wife's...to get on board with a new line of superhero action figures. And then I saw what Mattel was doing with their DC Superheroes line, and I had to go against my better instincts and start buying them.
Through the end of 2007, the DC Superheroes line of action figures is focused on Batman and Superman--DC Comics' two most famous heroes. So we've gotten some great versions of classic characters like Batman, Batgirl, Superman, Supergirl, and Steel. But what's been best about this line for me has been the villains--Superman's foes Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, and Mongul have all been great figures, with impressive sculpts, detail, and articulation. Batman, who actually has the better Rogues Gallery, hasn't been as impressive yet: we've had mostly rehashed and rereleased versions of Scarecrow, Bane and Joker, and been teased with pictures of Catwoman, Clayface and Man-Bat that haven't been released in stores yet. So when I saw Two-Face looking back at me from a store shelf last week, I picked him up and made a run for it.
Two-Face is also knows as Harvey Dent, and used to be Gotham City's District Attorney. He worked side by side with Batman and Commissioner Gordon, fighting the good fight until a crime boss threw acid in his face, permanently scarring the left half. This causes some sort of psychotic break in Harvey, and he started committing crimes as "Two-Face." Batman's former ally became one of his greatest villains. Two-Face is compelled to commit crimes based on the number "2" ...stealing 2 million dollars from the bank, a statue of the two-faced god Janus, committing crimes on February 2nd, etc. Kind of a silly premise, but ultimately a tragic figure. We'll see Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent in the next Batman movie, "Dark Knight" coming in summer 2008. I don't know yet if we'll see Two-Face, or if Eckhart will just play the District Attorney. I'm looking forward to it.
Mattel's version of Two-Face is both beautiful and hideous, just like Two-Face should be. The unscarred (right) side of his face is matinee idol handsome, with hair slicked back and a piercing blue eye. His expression is almost serene. The scarred (left) side of his face is mottled and twisted into a grimace. The purple skull-like features are topped by a gray frightwig of spiky hair. His right hand is also purple and scarred, with blisters and lesions covering it. It's a great likeness and sculpt, and it's surprising that Mattel has taken so long to give us such an iconic character.
The body is a reuse of the Clark Kent suited body from last year, which works for Two-Face just fine. They've made the classic Two-Face suit, with the right side off-white and the left side a black pinstripe. The shirt and tie underneath continue the split theme, with the right shirt black, the right white, and the right tie white and left black. It's a striking look that doesn't let you forget the dichotomy raging within poor Harvey. At least his shoes match.
The action figure is very articulated--one of the consistent selling points of this line of action figures. Ankles, knees, thighs, hips, waist, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists and neck are all jointed, so you can move him and pose him however your twisted little heart desires.
He comes with a tommy gun--perfect for a gangster like Two-Face, and a cardboard diorama stand for display, if you're into that kind of thing. I'm not. I was disappointed that Two-Face didn't come with his signature accessory--a two-headed dollar coin with one side scratched and scarred. He flips the coin to make decisions--if he has a hostage, for example, he'd flip the coin to see if the hostage lives or dies. I realize in this scale (Two-Face stands roughly 6 1/2 inches tall) that the coin would be tiny, but I'd rather see him sculpted permanently holding it than having it missing from the figure completely.
This is a classic Batman character who's been around since the 1940's, and who will be gaining prominence with the next Batman movie coming out next summer. If you're a fan of Batman, you can find these on shelves at Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, and other major retailers.
Starting in 2008, the DC Superheroes line of action figures will expand to include the entire DC Universe, but we'll still be getting more of Batman's villains to fill out the ranks. In the first few waves, we'll get Penguin and Harley Quinn, who have both been sorely missed. I still don't know when we'll get that fantastic Catwoman, but I've gotta keep hoping that she'll be showing up in stores soon.
| Gothneo Reviews SSC's Asajj Ventress!!! Overall rating- **** 8/30/07 |
Packaging - *****
The packaging is the standard Star Wars design we’ve seen before. It’s beautifully done with great pictures on all sides and a nice description of the Asajj Ventress. The front opens to a window box that displays Asajj and all her accessories nicely. The left shutter of the window has a description of the Sith Lords, while in the center there is a description of the dark apprentice herself. There is nothing really to complain about this packaging, and so it gets a 5 out of 5!
Sculpting - ****
The sculpt here is a difficult one to critique. Mainly because there is nothing really to hold it up to, but also because as a character, she is really quite clean, sleak and simple. I’m reviewing the exclusive version, which comes with a second portrait, which is really the same sculpt, but a different paint deco. For this reason I’m knocking it 1 star as the comic portrait and the clone wars show portrait really do look like two different sculpts to me. Maybe I’m being picky, but this is a mature line now and I think it’s right to raise the bar accordingly.
Costume ***
This score should have easily been a five, but the cheap boots that SSC supplied with her actual detract in such a manner that I docked a full star for it! The detail and quality of Asajj Ventress costume are simply superb, with emphasis on the ‘simple’. As color goes her costume is quite bland, but the suite and cloak are tailored well. One other nit I have is with her belt. It really has no fastener on the buckle, and as such will fall off easily, as such I docked another 1/2 star for that. Finally I think that the costume could have done with a few more details. The problem here is that I can’t find a single costume (clone wars or comic) that this look is from. But I think some added paint deco to the vambraces and to the light saber hilts would have more closely matched both! Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on the costume score, but other than the portrait, this is why we are shelling out the big bucks to SSC, and I expect they should have learned to fix such issue by now.
Paint - *****
There’s not allot of paint on Asajj, but what little there is, is very clean and tight. The comic portrait has a bit more paint ops, but both are great. I really felt that a few more ops would have benefited the figure as a whole, but I decided that the lack of paint ops detracted from the costume.
Articulation - ****
This is the standard SideShow female body form with the normal articulation. This body style suite the application to Asajj well as her body suite hides all the articulation points and the hips on the standard female body don’t suffer from the huge gaps that the SSC male body has. Her hands pop out from pegs in the lower arm, which make it possible to remove her bracers… or just to adjust her body suite, which is what I had to do. I actually like this body more than the male but until SSC innovates on the basic body I’m going keep giving it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Accessories - *****
I have the SSC exclusive version which comes with the extra portrait. Aside from that Asajj has everything she should. The magnets in the hilts of both the lighted and unlighted sabes was an especially nice touch, and it’s this type of innovation and execution to attention of detail that we expect from SSC. Her cloak has the same wire that we’ve come to expect, and she comes with an extra hand as well. Five out of five for perfect execution!
Value ***
The version I got was $59.99 plus shipping from Sideshow directly. I’ve said it before, and it’s not worth repeating, so the score will say it all. Good, but not a great value. I think if I had not gotten the extra portrait I’d have docked this another 1/2 star.
Overall - ****
This is another superb offering from SideShow. It has some flaws, but they are relatively minor. While I’m glad to have this character as she’s a bit unique, there are enough issues that I have with the costume (and the value score reflects those issues) to warrant only four out of five stars. Even though the overall is docked a full star, this is still more than a solid offering and fans should be sure to get
Things to watch out for
There’s not much to watch out for. These aren’t going to be sitting in mass quantities at retail, so you can’t really pick and choose paint applications, but there really isn’t a need as SideShow’s quality is usually pretty consistent. The main thing I think one should be careful of is the interchangeable portrait. It’s hollow, and I could see paint ops getting cracked from changing it.
| Gothneo Reviews: DST Star Trek TNG Wave 4 Ratings: (overall) **** 8/30/07 |
DST's 4th wave of Star Trek TNG figures is Arriving in the US now, and with this installment, we offically have a complete season 7 bridge crew.
Overall this wave is much more solid than Wave 3, which suffered form numerous Quality issues.
The standard Wave consists of Dr. Crusher, Wesley Crusher and Q (who is the short-packed figure of the wave)
An AGT (All good Things) version of 'Captain Beverly Picard' is a Previews Exclusive.
While Dr. Crusher has a new lower body and sculpt (but looks to use the troi upper body), Wesley uses the Data Body from Wave 3 and Q uses the Riker Body from Wave 1.
Not surprisingly, Wesley has the biggest QC issues. Mostly with his legs, which seems to be a problem in general with the wave 3 molds. Also, Wesley has ball socketed shoulders while Crusher and Q have the hinge and pin shoulders.
Overall the sculpts on all three look good, and only the paint on Wesley seems to detract a bit from the sculpt for me.
The Crushers both come with ample accessories, Dr, gets a Medical Tricorder, PAAD, Desktop Computer Interface, and a Hypo Spray, while Wesley has a PAAD, Science TriCorder, Phaser and Luggage. Q is a bit sparse on accessories, but comes with a nice model of the Enterprise with which he can play with for hours on end! (its always great when your toys have toys!)
I'm not going to break the three down, rather give them overall scores.
Dr. Crusher *****
Q ****
Q would have gotten a five out of five too, but his legs are a bit spread and he was a bit sparse on the accessories... I docked 1/2 a star for each issue.
Wesley ***
Wesley has some scale issues, paint issues and obvious QC issues with his legs, and is undoubtedly the weakest of the wave and I think his score should reflect it.
Overall this is a much better wave than wave 3 in terms of Quality and fans of this line should be generally pleased with it!
| BRINKERHOFF LOOKS AT COMIC 2 PACKS - 8-9! 8/09/07 |
#8 - A'Sharad Hett & Dark Woman
Comic:
It does a great job of telling us who these characters are. The Dark Woman was Ki Adi Mundi's master, as well as that of the bounty hunter Aura Sing. A'Sharad Hett is a former Tusken Raider who's now a padawan of Mundi who takes on Sing in a pretty cool little battle.
Sculpt and Paint:
Hett is probably my favorite of the bunch so far. He's got a well-crafted sculpt and good paint apps.
Dark Woman is nice, but she went a little heavy on the makeup that morning. She's got good detail, as well, including her left hand in a Force gesture pose.
Articulation:
Hett scores well again with cut elbows and forearms, ball shoulders and knees, hips, and waist. My only quibble is the straight-cut neck.
Dark Woman has cut ankles and forearms, ball shoulders and neck, hips, and waist. That's it. No knees and no elbows. Limited, but not too bad.
Accessories:
Dark Woman's got a removable hilt lightsaber. She should've come with Jedi robes to match her comic appearance, but alas she does not.
Hett is decked out with his removable mask, removable neck bandages, his father's lightsaber (non-detachable), and his own cool lightsaber which can detach the blade to be replaced by a club to turn it into a Gaffi stick. A very cool idea.
Overall:
A'Sharad Hett - ****
Awesome mash-up of a character with great articulation and accesories.
Dark Woman - ***
A nice female added to the lineup that could have used a bit more articulation and her robe.
#8 - Princess Leia & Darth Vader
Comic:
This set is from an Infinities comic, which is to Star Wars what What If? is to the Marvel universe. This is an alternate reality where Luke dies during the Battle of Hoth and Leia goes on to train under Yoda on Dagobah. Vader shows up looking for Luke and Yoda jumps into his mind while Leia's off fetching a crystal for her lightsaber. While Vader's in his nightmarish dream-state, he's assaulted by the spirits of Ben Kenobi, Mace Windu, and Qui Gon Jinn before learning the truth of Luke's demise. Leia then comes back to rescue Yoda (who needs some rescuing) and confronts Vader.
Sculpt and Paint:
Leia is done pretty well. She doesn't look a thing like Carrie Fisher, but that's to be expected these days. Her footwear resembles Luke's Hoth boots, and her garb is a very femine paisley blue ensemble.
Darth Vader is a cool departure from the constant repaint and rereleases we've seen. This look is from his dream sequence, wih some armour changes and cool battle damage across his shoulder and chest from his early forray with Kenobi.
Articulation:
For such a small figure, they packed quite a bit of articulation into Leia. She's got ball neck, knees, shoulders, and ankles, cut wrists and elbows, hips and waist. The ball neck is somewhat limited by the hair sculpt.
My only real gripe with Vader is the lack of some crucial joints. He's got ball ankles and elbows, cut wrists, regular swivel hips, shoulders, and neck. It's really to bad we couldn't get ball shoulders and something in the knee department, as well. It really limits the posing of a great looking figure.
Accessories:
Leia's got a lightsaber (removable hilt), but no hole in the waist for the hilt peg.
Vader's got his lightsaber (non-removable hilt), and a removable mask revealing a kinda/sorta likeness of a more adult Hayden Christensen.
Overall:
Princess Leia - ***
Well done, but a little boring overall.
Darth Vader - ***
Great look, but it's hard to swing a lightsaber with your elbows locked to your sides.
| Marvel Toys: Legendary Super Heros - Pitt Series Marvel Toys: Legendary Super Heros - Pitt Series rating **** 7/23/07 |
I waffled for a day or so after seeing this set of figures on an endcap at my local Wal-Mart. I never really got into the whole Build-A-Figure thing with either Toy Biz or Hasbro. As much as I would've loved to have a huge Sentinel or Apocalypse, I just didn't feel the need to buy a bunch of extra figures I didn't want for my collection.
This morning I changed my mind, however, when I thought about how great the Pitt figure looked. I don't know a whole heck of a lot about the character, but for some reason I couldn't resist the toy. I recently got a little scratch from some shirt sales for my comic, so I decided to take the plunge.
I picked up 4 of the 6, leaving Judge Dredd and Super Patriot for later. There are variations in the line, but theyre not too scarce. In this series, Savage Dragon comes with or without his t-shirt and Super Patriot comes with or without his mask (also with alternating gun arms).
Witchblade**1/2 -
Tons of articulation and paint apps, but really pretty weak overall. She looks like one of my old baby sitters. Hot, but kinda' barfly hot. Especially if the barfly was covered in Witchblade metal. Her hair is a huge hunk of "windblown" stuff that restricts neck movement. She's all right, but not a'ight. She comes with no accessories beyond Pitt's head, chest, and shoulders piece.
Savage Dragon *** -
A pretty cool rendition of this figure, again with loads of articulation. He suffers from some chicken legs, like he spent all of his gym time working the upper body and forgetting to do a couple of leg lifts. Every one of his fingers is articulated at 2 knuckles, all without being flimsy.
His biggest fault is the lack of any trace of a gun. It's a rediculous omission for this Chicago cop. I got the t-shirt version, because I didn't really want to stare at a hairy green chest. To each their own, I guess. His only accessory is Pitt's left leg.
Madman **** -
Another character I'm not too familiar with, but a cool action figure. All the great articulation is here, and they gave him a gun. I sure hope it's iconic enough for the character moreso tha a gun would've been to Dragon. I dig the way he's got cut joints at the forearms and pivoting wrists at his gloves. I can't find much to fault with the figure. He's solidly done. Aside from his gun, Madman also comes with Timmy (mentioned below) and Pitt's middle torso piece.
Rip Claw **** -
My favorite of the bunch. Rip Claw kicks some serious hiney. The articulation, the detail, and the overall look of the figure is awesome. The only downside is the movement hinderence due to his locks, but the sculpt makes it easily forgiven. His ponytail has a cut joint so he can be posed catching the Southern wind from atop the corner of your shelf. His expression is dark, calm, and intense. It's an expression that belies the fury he unleashes with the razor talons he once called fingers. See Wolverine, you don't have to grimace and growl all the time to be a badass. Ripclaw's got no accessories beyond Pitt's right arm.
Pitt ***** -
It only takes 6 figures to build this incredible 10" behemoth, while it takes 8 to build The Blob. You do the math. This guy dwarfs The Blob, and eats his babies, too.
This guy is truly awesome, and makes me glad I decided to take the plunge into this series. He's rotocast, so he's not to heavy, but he's still sturdy. He's got great articulation. The only issue I have is a loose cut joint on his calf, but that's easily remedied. All the other joints are tight, with the big joints clicking for added strength and stability. His chains and jacket are molded in a sturdy rubberized material that looks great and doesn't hinder joint movement. I was a little worried about neck movement until I saw that his ponytail is articulated just like Rip Claw's, so no worries there.
Pitt has an accesory in the form of his brother Timmy, who comes packaged with Madman. Timmy is basically a painted PVC, with no articulation. He's a logical and unique sidekick for the figure with his look of wide-eyed innocence and ready-for-adventure pose.
Pitt's very existance as a figure should be all you need to know about Hasbro's handling of the Marvel license. The Blob and Abominus are a joke next to this thing.
Get Pitt. Don't argue. Just do it. He is worth it. Maybe not $60.00 worth, alone, but you're getting a bunch of great figures with him. There aren't any real dogs in the group, aside from Witchblade who is at least serviceable. Even if you aren't really familiar with the characters, they all make action figures. All of the toys have an edge that's been missing from the more slick "cartoony" offerings from Hasbro.
I hope this line gets good support. I'm not too interested in building Monkeyman (yet), but I'd like to see what they can come up with next. There's still lots of great indy comic and superhero characters that could finally see the light of day in 3D action figure goodness.
Sidenote: The case assortment I saw also contained figures from the Monkeyman series: Judge Death (regular and clear variant) and Ann O'Brien.
| GENTLE GIANT: STAR WARS LUKE SKYWALKER ANIMATED MAQUETTE! 7/12/07 |
I like the transparent, tinted goggles on the helmet, and the paint application and all details are very fine. The flowing animated styling sets this statue apart from others in your collection. It's a winner!
Check out the video:
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