ActionFigureNews.ca - Canadian Action Figure News and Discussion
Go Back   ActionFigureNews.ca - Canadian Action Figure News and Discussion > Action Figure Discussion > Action Figure General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 02-26-2024, 02:10 PM   #1811
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

1000-2
Hasbro- G.I. Joe Sigma Six- Iron Grenadier



1000 reviews hey? That’s not too shabby of a milestone and it doesn’t even cover the 200 or so initial reviews from Volume 1, the special reviews and even the sporadic retro reviews. All in, I’m probably closer to 1500, but a number like 1000 is still difficult to pass by without a little bit of fanfare on my part. And while I haven’t yet received the fame and fortune that I had perhaps secretly hoped for, I am proud that I’ve kept with it over all these years as it still serves the purpose to which I originally set out to accomplish. I love being able to spread out the enjoyment of a figure over a few stages and it gives me a reason to keep a bit of a journal of thoughts over an extended period of time. As it turns out, I love writing and even though I know I could be much better at it, I appreciate the ability to write without worry. I also love doing the pictures as it gives me a much better opportunity to play around with the figure in a way that I would never get if I just threw them up on the shelf out of the box. I also understand that my pictures are mediocre at best, but certainly reached a plateau for the time and effort that I’m willing to put in. Anyways, thanks as always for continuing to read my nonsense and I hope that you get some enjoyment out of the pictures. I have no plans of stopping any time soon, so here is to another 1000.

Pros: I have VERY high hopes for the Iron Grenadier that sadly were not met, but I’ll try to keep this section positive. I will say that I will always love this particular sub group in the G.I. Joe universe and sincerely hope that Classified tackles them soon. I do love this guys overall look and feel that despite taking on a much different look from the ARAH figure, it certainly has a Destro vibe. I love the removable armor and the details including the canister on his leg. Also, he comes with a crazy accessory that can only be described as a prisoner torture device complete with spiked shackles and a collar that would NEVER fly these days.

Cons: I should have known that the gravy train of Sigma 6 would stop eventually and I’m really not sure why I am still surprised when I open a figure and see first hand the running cost savings measures implemented in the line. On this guy the glaring issue is that there are no straps for his shoulder armor. There are notches and they are on the packaging, but not included. It also feels like there is something else missing on this guy, like a smaller handgun or sword, but who knows. Lastly his hips were extremely loose and he should not properly stand up without doing the splits. Thankfully I was able to tighten them up with some glue, but just such an annoyance on a figure.











Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2024, 11:00 PM   #1812
Robimus
Super Moderator
Robimus's Avatar
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Posts: 7,118
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Who is with him, Leatherneck?
__________________


Visit the official TFcon Toronto Website for all the details!
Robimus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2024, 04:07 PM   #1813
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robimus View Post
Who is with him, Leatherneck?
Believe it or not? Gung Ho.

Sigma 6 was wild lol
Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2024, 04:08 PM   #1814
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

1001-2
Mattel- Masters of the Universe Revelation: Fisto.



As of this review the trailer for the much anticipated (by me anyways) sequel to Masters of the Universe Revelation was just dropped and I got to say: I?m impressed. I?ll keep it spoiler free while I get on my soapbox and say: we do NOT deserve any of it, but somehow we are still getting it. And if you are wondering what I?m talking about, well just look at the comments on the YouTube page for it. Somehow people are still holding a grudge against both Revelation and Kevin Smith for a mini-series that was both a complete story with adult themes because they didn?t want to see Teela as the main character. Like, do they not know how lucky they were to get a new beautiful cartoon that had both reverence for the past and a plan for the future? Sure other 80?s properties have been lucky to have a few things, but most of it is senseless (Transformers) or nonexistent (G.I. Joe). GROW UP.

Hopefully by next review I?ll have a bit more to talk about once the series debuts and these haters can move on.

Pros: I?ve already posted about the Fisto and Jitsu divide in my childhood home between my brother and I, but if you didn?t see it, the gist is that I was gifted Jitsu and my brother gifted Fisto, so naturally I had very little affinity for the latter, that said, it does not make him a bad figure at all. The sculpt is great, the articulation is solid and I love both his sword and his namesake metal fist. Also, look at the head sculpt? that is one attractive Master of the Universe.

Cons: I mean, what you see is what you get with this guy.











Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2024, 05:26 PM   #1815
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

1002-2
Diamond Select- Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings: Aragorn



Does Lord of the Rings series carry the distinction as being the best trilogy released to date? I mean, IMO, yes of course it does, but I’m not sure it is that simple given that LOTR isn’t even really a true cinematic trilogy in the same way that the original Star Wars was. I suppose that perhaps makes it better given that unlike Star Wars, there was a defined blueprint from star to finish, but some movies aren’t lucky enough to have a well crafted manuscript at their disposal and need to establish a world to later build off of. Take the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as an example. That first movie is flawless from start to finish and in turn led to a very successful franchise lasting 5 movies in total with the first 3 being a trilogy in their own right. However this leads to a whole other issue that is taking established trilogies and essentially diluting them with additional sequels that are outside of the original story. The aforementioned Pirates series is guilty of this, but so is the Matrix and even my beloved Indiana Jones movies. They NEVER work and never are able to capture the success the originals had, but the Studios apparently have money to burn and are clearly out of ideas so this is our reality for the foreseeable future.

So to revisit my original question, is the Lord of the Rings series the best Trilogy ever produced? Yes, but only because the source material is the one of the best stories every written that just so happens to be told in three distinctive parts.

Pros: Lovely, absolutely lovely. I have such a love hate relationship with these figures, but when they hit, they really hit. Aragorn has an amazing sculpt with lots of detail and a nice paint scheme. The articulation is robust and only somewhat limited by his hard plastic tunic and jacket and the accessories, including 2 swords (Naril, the blade that originally killed Sauron), 1 knife, sheaths and a torch that Aragorn used to ward off the Nazgul in the first movie.

Cons: As mentioned, the articulation is a bit hindered, which is a bummer, but the real issue is that Aragorn, and the other members of the Fellowship thus far, feel very fragile. I suppose this is just the state of action figures these days, but no less frustrating.










Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-29-2024, 07:54 PM   #1816
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

40-R
McFarlane Toys- Metal Gear Solid Series 1: Vulcan Raven



I’m a fan of video games. I love the idea of them, I used to play them all the time and I wish I had the time to devote to them like I once did. That said, I played Metal Gear Solid 2 back in the day and even bought the toys that were released based on the series, but I NEVER knew, until recently, the legends that it’s developer Hideo Kojima until just recently when the podcast “How Did This Get Played” started talking about his… genius? This is asked as a question, given that he is responsible for a massive amount of popular games, but he’s also a bit of an…interesting character. For example, a Kojima game will push the limits of the player and include a sometimes meta approach to playing (Including changing ports of a wired controller to complete a section of Metal Gear), but will also get a hyper sexed female character ready to be extremely inappropriate with the main character. Yin and yang I suppose. For the record I haven’t played anything of his outside of Metal Gear, but I think in a world of mega corps releasing games on the backs of nameless dev’s, it’s kind of cool to put a name and face to the digital art that you are experiencing.

Pros: Released in the middle of McFarlane’s golden age, Vulcan Raven is an extremely nice, movable statue. Yes there are some articulation points here, but that was never the goal on this fella. The name of the game was sculpt and paint and they nail it. Plus, look at that massive gatling gun/barrel accessory. Also, I love how toys used to come with unique stands.

Cons: I mentioned it already, but if you don’t like the pose that he is sculpted in, you are out of luck, because there is really nothing much you can do to change it up.








Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2024, 03:51 PM   #1817
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

1003-2
McFarlane Toys- Fortnite: Ragnarok



I still find it interesting that at one point in time, toy manufactures felt that Fortnite was going to be such a massive cash cow that there were a number of different toy lines produced by a few separate companies, two, technically at the same time. As a quick history lesson (given I’m apparently the only one that likes these things) McFarlane was the first one to release a set. Given that they have a larger 7” size class, I suppose that opened up the much better (IMO) 6” size class that scrappy underdog Jazwares picked up along with a 3 3/4 inch series that never really appealed to me. I believe there were a few other smaller figures that followed up until Hasbro took over the 6” license (and knocked it out of the park) from Jazwares. Since then it’s kind of dead in the water which is a shame given that the game is still super popular, but apparently the figures just could not keep up with the evolution of the game with all the different licenses that keep the Battle Royal fresh. And while there are some many characters to choose from, they still overlapped having produced a few of the same skins and Ragnarok was one. Not that it mattered to me given that I really love this design and appreciate the job that both Jazwares and McFarlane put into it.

Pros: Just a fantastic sculpt with so much detail and a really nice paint job. Typical McFarlane articulation works well enough and I like the unique build tool and hand pistol.

Cons: Nothing at all. Ragnarok is a fantastic release.










Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Yesterday, 12:10 PM   #1818
Team Jetfire
Probably old for toys
Team Jetfire's Avatar
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,488
Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

1004-2
Hasbro- G.I. Joe Classified: Snake Eyes Origins: The Baroness.




*sigh*

Look, the figure is surprisingly good and if I’m being 100% second best of the movie line, next to Storm Shadow. That said, it does not exclude it for A. how disappointing the movie was and B. the haircut that they saddled this poor woman with. And despite my ‘ick’ with the over sexualization of toys originally meant for kids, Baroness specifically, this is just a BRUTAL choice for a character that is meant to have SOME sex appeal. I mean, I hate to say it, but this figure looks like a girl going through her “different” phase where she experiments with other girls and gives herself bangs just to break free from conformity and beauty standards that her middle class parents constantly push on her. I suppose this IS meant to be an origin story, but sweetie that look should be history.

In short- figure good, hair bad.

Pros: Look, I know it is clich? to love a woman for her body, but I’m just going to say it: Everything below the neck is great. The sculpt is nice, the articulation is decent and I love the weapons with the rifle being a very cool accessory. Hell, I even love how well her glasses fit.

Cons: Despite looking just like the character, that head sculpt is inexcusable. Who thought that should be the look for such a key character. Like, I’m surprised that Destro didn’t put the mask on her!











Team Jetfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

» Action Figure Shopping








Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:23 AM.



Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.