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Old 10-19-2020, 01:20 PM   #721
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!



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Old 10-20-2020, 10:59 AM   #722
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

440-2
Hasbro- Gi Joe Renegades: Cobra Trooper




Ep09

I’m continuing to review each episode of the short lived G.I. Joe Renegades show; see review 275-2, 302-2, 330-2, 357-2, 384-2, 398-2 & 425-2 for previous thoughts.

EP09: The Enemy of My Enemy

Basic Premise (from Wikipedia): Adam DeCobray, head of Cobra Industries, hires James McCullen of M.A.R.S. Industries to work on a project to combine Dr. Mindbender's Bio-Vipers with his failed exo-armor suits. Meanwhile, the Joes infiltrate a Cobra stronghold after receiving information of DeCobray's plans from someone they thought was Breaker's masked whistleblower. During the attempt, Mindbender reveals a deadly secret, leading DeCobray to reveal himself as Cobra Commander. James McCullen becomes a "Destro" (estranged/alienated one) as he is forced to wear an iron mask as a symbol of his attempted betrayal and a mark of his servitude to Cobra.

Thoughts: This could possibly be the most action packed 22 minute cartoon that I have ever seen; there is so much going on. It’s a return to the primary story which is cool, it introduces a number of main characters including masked Destro, Iron Grenadiers and even Serpentor, who incidentally is now a gigantic Snake. Easily the worst part of this series and this episode is Dr. Mindbender; I pretty well hate everything about his character.

Pros: Seems funny to me after all the craziness that is surrounding the current classified frenzy of the cobra Island Cobra Soldiers that I was able to pick up this arm builder without issue, but I suppose that was a while ago and people are a bit nuts when it comes to new stuff, especially with an existing line of new figures. In any case, I was really happy that I was able to pick up one of these figures to have in my collection. Overall captures the look from right out of the cartoon, has a good amount of accessories including 2 heads for those aforementioned army builders and enough articulation for multiple poses.

Cons: This may sound a bit crass, but in truth I don't care. The overall look of this guy gives me some pretty facist vibes that are somewhat similar to the protests that we have seen throughout this summer. I guess this is both good and bad. Good because these are Cobra troopers and Cobra is a bad guy, but bad because it maybe just feels too real at this point. I mean, If this is what the current police look like in some areas, it really makes you wonder who the bad guys are...











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Old 10-21-2020, 10:12 AM   #723
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

441-2
DC Collectables- The New Adventures of Batman: Bane



Continuing my 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. See 290-2, 303-2, 318-2, 331-2, 344-2, 358-2, 369-2, 371-2, 385-2, 399-2, 414-2 & 426-2 for my previous instalments.

Justice League: Doom 2012

Animation Style: I really like the overall look and style of the animation as it blends the Timm-Verse style from the various “Animated” series with a more realistic look that would see out of the comics.

Voice Acting: The Timm-verse similarities do not end with the animation as it seems that most of the voice actors reprise their roles for their respective characters, except for Nathen Fillion who reprised his role as Hal Jordan from the Emerald Knights GL movie. The rest of the VO cast is made up a lot of professional voice actors who you would know for a multitude of major media projects.

Story: Loosely based on the Tower of Babble Justice League story arc, Justice League: Doom pits a newly formed Legion of Doom, led by the immortal Vandal Savage, against the Justice League. With help from Batman’s stolen dossiers documenting each league member’s weakness as well as how to exploit them, the Legion effectively sidelines the hero’s to allow Savage time to enact his plan. Overall I really enjoy this movie. There is some fantastic action right from the jump, the initial fights with the Legion are really brutal to watch (especially Green Lanterns) and the finale that results in the JL actually saving the world together is enjoyable. Lastly the realization and different reactions from the League that Batman would actually have failsafe and contingency plans for each of the super heroes is amazing.

Pros: I’m still not sure how to feel about Bane. Not the toy per se, but the character in general. He has been popping up for years since his introduction in the 90’s and has been in a number of important comic arcs, cartoons and even big budget Hollywood movies, but I still find him a bit one sided. In any case, this version of Bane certainly gives him a fairly menacing look overall, which DC Collectables captures nicely. He also has decent articulation and a number of fists available for punching, grappling and/or breaking backs.

Cons: The stand continues to be a frustration for me. Additionally the peg on one of the fists broke off, which again makes me question the overall quality of these figures.










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Old 10-22-2020, 01:57 PM   #724
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

442-2
Hasbro- Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Sideswipe



As teased (or rather threatened) in review 432, I wanted to review and give some thoughts to each episode of the new Netflix Transformers War for Cybertron trilogy. The first season is out on Netflix right now and at only 6 episodes, it’s not a huge investment of time that I think is worth your time.
Now before I start with the episode reviews I thought I’d start with some initial thoughts as there is a lot to unpack with this new series. 1. It has been a long time since there has been an appealing Transformer TV series available to me. This absolutely meant for an older crowd and a return, or rather a step up, from the stuff we have seen in the past. I suppose that is why it is branded as a Netflix “Anime” given that cartoons are apparently not for adults… 2. The story is derivative of EVERY SINGLE OTHER TRANSFORMERS SERIES that you are familiar with. Not unlike seeing Peter Parker bit for the hundredth time, this is a very familiar story that will not knock your socks off. They do take some liberties with elements of the story or characters, with mixed results, and hopefully this will mark the end of this overdone storyline. 3. The CGI animation looks as good as anything produced these days, however I don’t love that the character model designs look exactly like their toy counterparts. I’m not asking for Michael Bay level nonsense, but the animators should have some artistic licence to make some basic changes to the designs that would improve the look of the character. 4. The VA is ok for the most part, but hearing a different voice for Prime threw me off. Not asking for Cullen again, but sounds like the actor is doing a Cullen impression.

More EP reviews to come!

Pros: Sideswipe is overall a decent deluxe class figure with a cool Cybertronian vehicle design, easy, yet satisfying transformation and a well-articulated robot mode. Also he comes with a straight up bananas looking massive gun.

Cons: Sadly these figures feel a bit cheap and are very simplistic as compared to the other deluxe figures of the time. Additionally, outside of color and head sculpt; there is nothing that really homages G1 Sideswipe that could include a shoulder cannon or even jetpack. At least there is a gigantic gun that he can’t effectively hold!












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Old 10-22-2020, 01:57 PM   #725
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Old 10-23-2020, 02:09 PM   #726
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

443-2
Diamond Collectables- The Rocketeer





Sometimes I wonder how many of a particular character I’m willing to buy to fill out my collection and apparently for The Rocketeer the answer is “as many as they produce”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going after any of those trash Re-action Funko figures (cause I couldn’t find them), but for the most part I am a hungry consumer that is always looking for more. And who could blame me? The Rocketeer is a fantastic character from a super fun movie. If you don’t believe me then now is the time to check it out as it is currently on Disney Plus for your streaming pleasure. And while, for the most part, I’m never a fan of reboots, but I would certainly make an exception for The Rocketeer as I feel there is some potential with a movie or even mini-series. Now is the time Disney!

Pros: Way back in review 56 of volume 1, I opened the Funko Rocketeer and was pretty impressed with what they were able to pull off. Fast forward a few years to Diamonds attempt and, while I’m bummed out by it, it’s a bit of a letdown in comparison. Sure it has more accessories that help to change his look a bit and the little blue prints from the movie, but overall nothing really that exciting. That said, there is 1 really nice feature on this version that basically sells the figure: a really nice “blast effect” that looks amazing and doubles as a stand.

Cons: Look I get there are budgets involved with making toys and some things need to be cut in favor of other things, but the fact that Diamond included a fist molded to hold a gun and didn’t actually include a gun is basically inexcusable at this point. Yes it’s nice to have the removable flap on his overcoat, but not at the expenses of the thing that should be in there. I’m also noticing that Diamond has a tendency to include random molded hands that don’t make any sense; it happened on the Avatar figures too. Lastly the articulation is decent, but falls somewhat short of the previous iteration.












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Old 10-26-2020, 12:27 PM   #727
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

444-2
Jazwares- Fortnite: Skull Trooper (Purple Glow)





This is one of those figures that I would recommend to people if they are on the fence for buying a Jazwares Fortnite figure. Yes it has all the great articulation and accessories that other Jazwares figures have, but it also has a pretty cool deco that screams more “spooky” than “silly”, which incidentally some people cannot get over. I mean it though, if you are a 6” collector and sick of the same Hasbro re-molds with limited accessories then give one of these Jazwares figures a shot; you will enjoy collecting again.

Pros: Like most other Jazwares figures, the Skull Trooper has a fantastic articulation scheme, a bunch of accessories including rifle, scythe pick-axe, some bombs, 3 different expression faces and a really cool looking backpack.

Cons: I’m still not a fan of the finger articulation. Yes it works to hold multiple different things, but it’s flustering to get his gun in there.










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Old 10-27-2020, 04:40 PM   #728
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

445-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: The Hulk and Wolverine.




Funny thing about this 2 pack: I was initially going to pass on it as it was really expensive and I really didn’t want to pay a premium for the Hulk. Then I found a solo and loose Wolverine that picked up from a fellow collector as I really liked the design. And then I finally broke down and bought the complete two-pack from EB Games when it was deeply discounted. It means that I have an extra Wolverine, but that’s as I now have one for my home office. So the moral of the story is two fold: 1. If you have any interest in a figure or set, there is probably a good chance that you will get it eventually and wait for sales!

Pros: I mean, there is a reason why this is called one of the best Hulks released to date: it's fantastic. Big and bulky, menacing sculpt, solid articulation and even a removable shredded shirt to play out his rage transformation for the mild mannered Bruce Banner. It really almost seems that Wolverine is a bonus figure, but he’s also really fantastic in his own right. Great muscular sculpt, detailed first appearance head, nice popping colors and extra set of claw hands.

Cons: My only complaint on Hulk is the weird back/shoulder articulation and would rather have the ability to move his shoulders forward, rather than back. On Wolverine the only issue is, and I suspect this will be on all releases, is the crooked claws.











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Old 10-27-2020, 04:40 PM   #729
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Old 10-27-2020, 05:42 PM   #730
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

I would buy this Hulk figure in every color, and I'm not even a Hulk fan. Will be interesting to see how the Select Rampaging Hulk compares.

Not a fan of the Wolverine mask design, but it's nice to have the extra body around to make use of mask-less Logan heads.

Last edited by ghostlurk29; 10-27-2020 at 05:46 PM.
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