I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

257-2
Mcfarlane Toys- Star Trek: James T Kirk.



Well this is something different and while I’ve had a few Star Trek items on the review thread, this is the only actual Trek based action figure that aligns with my current collecting tastes; that is a 6”, fully posable figure a decent likness and specific accessories. Given my relatively new found love of all things Star Trek (more on that in a future review) I was very pleased to see that a toy company had picked up the licence and had some plans for a few key characters. I had my doubts that Mcfarlane was capable of producing anything more than an extremely well sculpted statue, but with the Stranger Things and Fortnite figures it looked as though they turned over a new leaf of sorts offering figures with a decent amount of usable articulation! Unfortunately the line looks to be all but finished after only 2 figures, but I suppose given the current status of Trek in the lexicon, we should be happy with what we got.

Pros: Really fantastic sculpt and likeness capturing James T Kirk from the original 60’s Star Trek, great show specific accessories including a nice stand and, wait for it, decent articulation that works with the character.

Cons: I really have nothing bad to say about this toy; Mcfarlane really did a good job and I wish that they would have continued the line with some different characters. Perhaps the new Picard show might create some buzz to get this toys produced, but I’m just not sure that it’s in the cards for this series.













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[Team Jetfire]

258-2
Disney Toy Box- Marvel: Black Panther



Rating of worst to best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies continued; see review 207-2, 210-2, 216-2, 222-2, 228-2, 232-2, 233-2, 242-2, 244-2, 248-2 & 254-2 for the previous instalments.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: #11. Black Panther

I figured that eventually a toy review of a character would eventually line up with their movie how convenient. The Black Panther movie did something that I never felt possible: make me care about the Black Panther. Sure, he was on the radar, but my only exposure to him was on a handful of cartoons where he always came off as an unlikable dick. But credit where credit is due, after I saw his appearance in Captain America Civil War (more on that later) I was really looking forward to his standalone movie and I was not disappointed. I’m not even kidding when I say that I loved pretty well everything including the world of Wakanda, all the characters involved and even the “paint by numbers” storyline because while it was a familiar Marvel movie, it still felt different enough to give me an appreciation of the character and his deep history that I had always overlooked. The only bummer in my opinion is that they killed off both MAJOR villains and might have a difficult time topping both Claw.and, perhaps more importantly, Eric Killmonger.who I thought was played BRILLIANTLY by Michael B Jordan.

Pros: I had some fairly high hopes for T’Challa and some are certainly met. Overall he looks really good with a sculpt in the Disney Infinity style, he has decent points of articulation and comes with 2 vibranium energy effects.

Cons: While the figure itself might be good, mine was a bit of a lemon as his hip joint basically broke right out of the package. Unfortunately it was too late for a replacement (no longer in stock) so I had to get out the superglue and make some permanent measures. It's difficult to say why it broke, but almost seemed as though the legs were connected by a pin in the hip area and not floating independently (which is insane) so once any effort was given to pose one leg forward and once back, the plastic basically ricped and came off. Sad I know and super frustrating for me, but is what it is.Outside of broken leg issue, the energy slash effect doesn't really fit well into his hands and easily falls off.

[Team Jetfire]

259-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Brother Voodoo



Rating of worst to best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies continued; see review 207-2, 210-2, 216-2, 222-2, 228-2, 232-2, 233-2, 242-2, 244-2, 248-2, 254-2 & 258-2 for the previous instalments.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: #10. Ant Man

The Ant-Man movie did something that I would have never thought possible, make me care about Ant-Man. And while that might sound familiar to the beginning of my Black Panther review, it totally is. I have to hand it to the MCU for taking characters who are outside the norm and making them, well… normal. I will say that I had very low expectations for Ant Man and was very happy with the action, the story, the characters and quite frankly the humor; something that I was not sure I wanted from a comic book movie, but apparently I did. I suppose it helps that it was originally supposed to be directed by one of my favorite directors Edger Wright and thankfully you can see his touch on everything including Luis’s unique storytelling sequences that has Wright written all over it. I think the other impressive feat was that this movie could have been so easily ruined by schtick and yet they stopped short of being a silly carbon copy of Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Of course Paul Rudd was a fantastic choice and he’s been supported by a number of great characters (Hope, Hank, Luis) that have become big players in the MUC in their own right. If I had to say something bad it would be the somewhat cliché divorce/Step Dad trope, but it’s rectified by the end of the movie and doesn’t really bleed into the sequel.

Pros: I’ll be honest, I have no clue who Brother Voodoo is, but he looks TOTALLY badass. Seriously, this figure has a lot of really great sculpting, detail, articulation and accessories. I can only hope that perhaps he makes an appearance in the MCU in future Dr Strange adventures.

Cons: Nothing really outside of Hasbro’s failure provide some backstory. It’s bizarre to me that with the massive amount comic stories available to them they they don’t offer even a digital download with ever figure to connect the dots for people who might not be aware. Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

[Team Jetfire]

260-2
Hasbro- Transformers: Dark of the Moon- Human Alliance: Roadbuster and Sgt. Recon




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 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #3: Transformers The Movie

The Bad:
I would be doing a disservice to the movie if I did not spend some time on the controversy (within the fandom anyway) of the design choice of the Transformers themselves and while they were not universally hated, there was certainly division amongst the fans. For my part I will say that I was fine with the overall look, but would not have been upset if they actually looked liked the G1 designs that we were all used to. I will say that as an alien species, these designs actually make sense given that a really “blocky” G1 look would be very impractical, but nostalgia is a hell of a thing and fans want what they want. I will say that I hated the influence that GM had on the vehicle modes way more than the alien looking robot modes. I’ll give a pass to Ironhide, but making Jazz and Solstice and Bumblebee a Camero was almost inexcusable. Some other “bad” moments from the movie were the “hacker” subplot and the home scene where Sam was looking for the glasses. The hackers added very little to the overall story and could have easily been replaced by a military computer guy/girl and the home scene, while probably was meant to be funny, just felt like a long setup to the line: “Honey, I think we blew a transformer” BADUM-CHE.

Pros: I can;t recall when or where I picked up Roadbuster, but I think it was relatively late in the run of Dark of the Moon figures and I think I was pretty excited as he was my favorite of the Wreckers and a Human Alliance figure to boot! And while my lofty expectations for this figure were not met, there are still some things I can appreciate starting with the tricked out, militarized vehicle mode that looks really bad ass. Also I will always appreciate the engineering that goes into a complex figure like this that requires seat space for the Human figure. Lastly the sculpting on the robot mode is pretty great including the added sunglasses feature on his head sculpt. It's a little thing and totally could have been cut for budget reasons, but it's a neat little thing that I can really appreciate.

Cons: As mentioned Roadbuster did not really do it for me and I think this could be partially due to how great the other Human Alliance and the current Studio Series figures are that any deviation from that is slightly disappointing. For example, the robot mode is really meh with limited possibility due to odd articulation and somewhat silly human alliance integration that feels as an afterthought. And while the vehicle mode looks cool, it’s just the weaponized mode with no option for a normal NASCAR car mode which feels a bit like a cheat as it may as well have been some crazy cybertronian design. Lastly the transformation was super frustrating with the instructions providing no help whatsoever. I don’t say this often enough, but thank you to all the Youtubers that upload review videos for these things; really helps when the manual is lacking.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

261-2
Jakks Pacific- Disney Afternoons: Gadget Hackwrench



All heroes need some support and Gadget was certainly a key member of the Rescue Rangers team often engineering a new gadget (duh, name) or repairing a damaged vehicle as needed. As mentioned before, I was never the biggest Rescue Rangers fan, but would still love a rebooted version (much like Ducktales) as I think it could have a fun update.

Pros: As with the other Disney Afternoon figures, Gadget looks great in her purple overalls and safety goggles. I also like how they added a tail (I realize that she is a mouse, but I doubt anyone would have really noticed) and included her onbrand Wrench.

Cons: Overall I’m not sure that these smaller figures (like the chipmunks) are worth the rather expensive price. Also the articulation is a bit weak and doesn’t really allow for a lot of poseability;

[Team Jetfire]

262-2
Hasbro- Sigma Six: Spirit Iron Knife.



Year ago when Sigma Six was first released one of my initial pick-ups was Spirit. It was a time before I was doing reviews so I just opened my toys and enjoyed them like a crazy person. Actually if I am being honest I remember the evening: It was a Friday or Saturday night, my wife was out with some friends and I had put the kids down to bed. This was a time before Netflix, streaming or even torrents (uhh what ever that is *wink*) so I had to watch what was on or rent a movie. Luckily for me Back to the Future 2 was on TV and it had been years since I watched it (did not have the DVDs at the time either) so I was pumped. I kid you not, this was probably 13 years ago and I STILL remember it like it was yesterday; how’s that for an impact. I even remember taking a few pictures off the figures back then as I always wanted to do sometype of review blog even back then. In any case Spirit really made an impression on me that lead to collecting the entire run and perhaps why I still really like these unique figures to this day.

Pros: Great looking figure with some added desert fatigues and Native American detailed clothing layers that sets this figure apart from the other characters. Multiple weapons including a massive crossbow/arrow, 2 knives with belt sheaths, a little snake partner and an elaborate Snake partner leash.

Cons: The weapons are comically large and the articulation ok by current standards. Also between the two, the deluxe figure is much more superior to this basic one (which is usually the case).













Spirit Iron Knife from my first attempts at a photo review:

[Team Jetfire]

263-2
DC Collectibles- DC Icons: The Joker.



In a move that shouldn’t surprise any of the 5 people that read these reviews, I have decided to rank some DC based media for each one of the DC figures review. Yes I am running out of things to write about and I’m not sure that you want to hear the back story on how I got Joker from the AMAZING Toy Traders action figure mecha located in Vancouver. I’m not even kidding when I say that it was possibly the coolest thing that I have ever seen as a toy collector and it is well worth the trip if you are every in or around the area. Hell, I could have easily got this at my local comic store in Calgary for cheaper and without the tax, but I could not leave empty handed. At any rate, given that the DC cinematic universe is not really a thing and that Ranking all the Batman movies would mean that I would have to watch “Batman and Robin” I thought I would instead focus on something I actually really like- the DC direct to DVD movies. Given that there are so many different ones with a wide variety of styles and stories I decided not to rank them rather opting to review them in release order using three easy metrics: animation style, voice acting and overall story. There are also a few outliers that are sill DC but released by different studios that I’ll get to eventually, but for now just the ones listed on the DC Animated wiki.

Pros: I’m not certain which specific comic this Joker is based on, but I really like the sculpt and overall look. It’s a bit of a unique take given the past iterations have not included a purple hat and trench coat and while it’s not my preferred Joker look, it works fairly well. He comes with a decent selection of Joker specific accessories and a decent enough articulation scheme. Outside of that feel I should mention again that this Icons line was something really special and if I’m being honest I understand how it was not sustainable. Consider that every figure was unique and did not share a body type; could you imagine if Marvel Legends did this?

Cons: This Joker figure is 60% great and 40% disappointing, so while there is a lot to love, it still falls short of being great. For example, he comes with 2 weapons and only left hands to hold them with; like why not include something else to hold the crowbar with. Also, while the hat looks cool it somewhat limits the view of the great head sculpt and a “hatless’ head sculpt should have been included. Lastly, and this is NO surprise, taking a note from Hasbro, the long trench coat limits a lot of the lower body articulation.

[66jedikiller66]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

Human alliance scale rocks, it was my favorite Transformers toyline and they were affordable too!