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Old 01-22-2020, 04:55 PM   #501
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

287-2
Hasbro- Transformers- Combiner Wars: Menasor.



Rating of worst to best of the Transformers movies continued; see review 208-2, 213-2, 217-2, 223-2, 226-2, 230-2, 234-2, 239-2, 243-2, 246-2, 249-2, 252-2, 257-2, 260-2, 264-2, 268-2, 269-2, 271-2, 274-2, 276-2, 280-2 & 284-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #1 The Transformers: The Movie.

The Ugly: I think it is important to call The Transformers: The Movie what it is: A blatent cash grab. Even as a kid it was pretty clear what with them killing off all the original characters in favor of new carbon copies with, I’ll just say it: less than impressive action figures to boot. This strategy was clearly an attempt to get parents to buy new and different toys to no doubt lessen the blow of them seeing their hero, Optimus Prime, MURDERED on screen.

I’m not sure if I really blame Hasbro for trying to keep it fresh (lord knows the current state of Transformers could use a different approach) but I’m not sure their plan was all that successful. Sure, Rodimus Prime was an interesting choice to fill Optimus Prime's shoes, he was clearly not Optimus Prime, Same for Galvatron and most of the new crew of Autobots and Decepticons. The other glaring issue, for me anyways, was that the movie era toys were not great. Most people at this point know the history of the Transformers toyline, but if you don’t check out the Transformers episode of the Netflix series “The Toys That Made Us” for a crash course. Why does this matter? Well the movie toys were the first figures that were were actually created as “Transformers” and not as some part of another toy line haphazardly blended together and somehow these new figures seemed inferior. Sure they all had the same scale and looked like they belonged together but there was something missing: they felt a bit cheap as compared to the originals.

Eventually Hasbro and their partners found their stride what with the bevy of new gimmicks that were quickly introduced (HeadMasters baby!) but it was clear that the charm of the original figures was gone forever. Ultimately, while I call this the Ugly part of this movie, I think it was important for Hasbro to kill off the past to make way for the future of the brand. It was a bold choice that probably lead to the current success of the brand. That said, killing off a beloved character and asking kids to move on, all to buy new toys, is a bit of a dick move on their part and I feel that they could have worked in something else.

Pros: Not sure I mentioned this before, but as a kid we actually had all of Menasor’s appendages, but did not have the appropriate feet / fists to form the robot. This was primarily due to the fact that I “acquired” Motormaster from a friend and he had long since misplaced the appropriate accutroments, so to have a completed one feels pretty great. As with the other Combiner Wars figures I apprately the overall look and stature of the combined figure and am impressed that Hasbro pulled it off.

Cons: Combiner figures are amazing on paper, but in real life are a bit of a mixed bag and Menasor is no exception. Limited ability to pose and a tendency to fall over is really his downfall, but what can I really expect? It's 5 plastic toys mashed together to form a big robot; mission accomplished I suppose.





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Old 01-23-2020, 10:04 AM   #502
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

over 50 pages of reviews. Congrats man.
I don't post on here often but constantly read your thread.
Love seeing all the figures I never knew about and your take on them.
Keep it up
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Old 01-23-2020, 01:48 PM   #503
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
over 50 pages of reviews. Congrats man.
I don't post on here often but constantly read your thread.
Love seeing all the figures I never knew about and your take on them.
Keep it up
Thanks so much! I started as a way to better appreciate my hobby and has turned into a labor of love. I’m thankful that others enjoy it as well.
There’s also a lot of cool stuff in the hopper that I’m excited about to share.
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Old 01-23-2020, 01:49 PM   #504
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Days of Future Past Wolverine




Given that the new Stan Lee marvel legends figure has recently been announced I feel that it is as good as any time to make this (probably) controversial statement, but I do not understand nor agree with all the praise that Stan Lee gets. Yes I am aware of his contributions to Marvel as well as comic books in general and I appreciated his consistent Marvel cameos over the years, but I think the fandom has incorrectly put him on a pedestal as the “god” of Marvel and possibly over exaggerating his impact on the comic world in general. This is certainly a direct result of him being the face of Marvel throughout the years, but if you actually look into it you’ll see that he has not been directly affiliated with Marvel since the early 90’s and event then it has been years since he has created anything long lasting or impactful. I suppose in his role as the face of Marvel he has become a bit of a character in the Marvel universe in his own right, but I still wonder if other creators, responsible for shaping the Marvel universe into what it is today, should also get their credit in pop culture.That said, very few people know the actual impact that Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr had on co-creating all these insanely popular characters and even less likely realize other modern greats like Todd Mcfarlane, Jim Lee, John Bryne, Chirs Claremont and even Rob Liefiled (He did create Deadpool after all.), in addition to hundreds of others that have made these characters what they are today.

Now i’m not saying that I want action figures of all these creators and I’m not trying to lessen Stan Lee’s impact on the world of Marvel, but lets just chill out on the whole “Stan Lee was the best thing that ever happened to comics and now that he is gone no other Marvel movie will be the same” commentary.

Pros: This Wolverine was released as part of the Days of Future Past Sentinel 2-pack and while I was not really keen on dropping the cash for the Sentinel, I was able to pick up Logan loose for a few bucks. Overall I LOVE the look and could possibly be my favorite Wolverine opened to date, which isn’t saying much as he is technically my only Marvel Legends Wolverine figure opened with the others being from the Toy Biz Evolution series (see my retro reviews) and the Mega Bloks Mini figure version, but still: pretty dang great. The script is great, the leather jacket is cool, the clawed hands are nice and the pistol and WORKING holser is amazing. This is just an all around solid figure.

Cons: As is typical with most Wolverine figures the claws never keep their shape. I recognize that there are 3rd party companies that do metal claws, but I have a hard time with spending money to fix something that shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.








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Old 01-24-2020, 11:52 AM   #505
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

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Hasbro- G.I. Joe- Sigma 6: Storm Shadow



Here’s a question for all you collectors out there: Is it better to have many different versions of the same character, or many different characters?

It's a tough question as a can see pros and cons for both. For example having many different versions of the same character pretty much guarantees that a kid can walk into a toy aisle and find a version of the character that he or she likes. This would have been VERY helpful during the original release of GI Joe figures where I would have loved a Snake Eyes, but as there was only one or two versions of him every few years I would have to settle for a Captain Gridiron in his place (just kidding I woudl have loved a Captain GridIron, but my brother convinced me that a football themed GI Joe figure woudl have been stupid). Other examples of this would have been picking up an original Turtle brother or even an Optimus Prime.

Nowadays that has really changed with no shortage of all types of the main characters filling the store shelves, but leads to a significant problem: I mean, how many Storm Shadows and Snake Eyes do you need before you have too many. Consequently, this is also a big issue with most other toy brands. Transformers has Bumblebee, Marvel Legends has Spiderman and DC has Batman. And while this is not an issue if you are a fan of these characters, it becomes a bit routine and boring as a collector to just get the same character over and over. This type of character fatigue was never really felt by the original Joe figures as they were still able to take changes to make some really interesting characters, much like the aforementioned Captain Gridiron!

Pros: A nice Sigma 6 Storm Shadow figure with a nice sculpt/softgoods, decent articulation and a good amount of accessories with loads of added play value.

Cons: There’s really nothing special to this Storm Shadow that is not present in previous or future release and I think that Hasbro could have made the set more appealing if this was released repainted as a simple Red Ninja.












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Old 01-27-2020, 09:17 PM   #506
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

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DC Collectibles- DC Icons: Green Lantern John Stewart



Way back in review 263 I embarked on a quest to re-watch all the DC Animated features to date and give some thoughts regarding 3 key touchpoints: Animation Style, Voice Acting & Story. These are really just rough notes as I watched the movie and might not make a whole lot of sense unless you have recently watched it.

Superman – Doomsday. Release date: 2007

1. Animation Style- A really nice upgrade to the “Timverse” animated style, but I can’t seem to get over the lines outlining Superman’s face. I suppose it is supposed to give his face depth, but it just ends up looking weird.
2. Voice acting- Overall pretty good. Both Superman and Lois were good, but Lex Luthor was not my ideal sounding version.
3. Story- Lois didn’t know that Superman was Clark Kent at this point? I’m sure that she was aware in the comics during the Death of Superman story run. Doomsday just born? Very abridged fight between Superman and Doomsday with very little overall stakes. Death was emotional/ The Luthor angle was interesting and somewhat mirrored the original story, but the new Supermen story was something that I really appreciate. Odd that they incorporated the toyman. Some really great fight scenes throughout the movie, but overall I felt the abridged story was a bit of a cheat what with not involving other members of the DC universe and the new characters “born” out of the Death of Superman story.

Pros: **Sigh** I love DC Collectibles Icons. If you look past the size and lack of a thigh swivel these are easily some of the best DC figures to date and certainly can go toe to toe with most Marvel Legends. The sculpt is amazing, He comes with a few different hand/fist combos and the MULTIPLE energy effects are not only unique (not the same old ones that Hasbro does) but also look amazing attached to Johns fist. Every Icon figure is getting better and better.

Cons: I feel like a broken record, but IF these figures had a thigh swivel they would go from good to amazing. Also it is a MAJOR let down that DC scrapped the series.











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Old 01-28-2020, 12:25 PM   #507
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

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Hasbro- Transformers- Reveal The Shield: Perceptor



As a collector I often get the same question from people after they learn about my hobby: “So, do you keep them in the package?” And I typically answer the same way: “No, I’ve always opened them as I like to play around with them” That said, Preceptor here makes me want to rethink my choice to open ALL my figures as he is equal parts frustrating and disappointing. I say that because his robot mode really sucks and, unless I’m doing something wrong, becomes a floppy mess if I look at him wrong. This is also disappointing as I have had him, MISB, for years where I was perfect ignorant to the major flaws under that little plastic bubble, And this happens more than you might think, especially since I have amassed a rather large backlog of figures. To be honest It was not like I was really counting on Preceptor to be some amazing figure, but after Jazz was a letdown (for the same reasons) I’m starting to a) adjust my expectations & b) appreciate the current Transformer offerings.

Pros: Aesthetically Preceptor looks wonderful in both modes: An interesting truck with tank treads is an interesting choice and actually works for Preceptor given that his G1 mode was a Microscope with treads. Robot mode looks reminiscent of his G1 self and features a lot of nice details throughout.

Cons: One of my biggest pet peeves with Transformers is when a figure does not stay together when it is supposed to stay together and Preceptor is WAY guilty of that. I’m not sure what the designers were thinking as it’s certainly a design flaw as his back section will just come apart with nothing more than a touch. The Transformation is also super frustrating with the vehicle mode relying on almost micro precision to ensure all the panels line up; no easy task for sure.














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Old 01-28-2020, 07:15 PM   #508
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg, but he is essentially the IDW Perceptor from a few years back.
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Old 01-28-2020, 08:49 PM   #509
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Quote:
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Not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg, but he is essentially the IDW Perceptor from a few years back.

Interesting! According to tfwiki:
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Perceptor_(G...IDW_continuity

His first full appearance was in 2007 and there is certainly some similarities, so I think you are on to something. Heh, after seeing that he is basically a sniper in the comic, this version, what with no other weapon, pisses me off even more.
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Old 01-29-2020, 10:52 AM   #510
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

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Disney Toy Box- Pixar: Frozone.



Rating of worst to best of the a the Pixar movies continued; see review 205-2, 219-2, 231-2, 240-2, 264-2, 270-2, 285-2, 292-2 & 297-2 for the previous instalments:

11. Cars 2- Probably the least popular Pixar film to date, but honestly I love it because it’s just so fun. Sure, the story makes zero sense, and the racing, something that the franchise was built on, takes a back set to a crazy spy caper. Sure, a story centered around Mater tripping through life is crazy, but what can I say; I like it.

Pros: Ever since Spiderman and his Amazing friends I have always loved an “ice” character that was able to create tracks to slide on; there is just something so fun looking about it. I suppose that is why I gravitated towards Frozone right from his first appearance in the Incredibles as Bob’s best “super friend” and loved seeing him back, in a bigger role no less, in the Incredibles 2. Much like the other Toy Box figures, Frozone is sculpted with slightly animated features, includes a good amount of articulation and his ice disk to curse around on.

Cons: As much as I like the Ice sled I’m thinking that perhaps a better add in would have been an Ice blast effect as he really does not stand on the disk very well.










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