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Old 03-10-2021, 01:05 PM   #901
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanM View Post
The Magneto head was for the Onslaught BAF that came out around the same time.

Lockheed and Figment both debuted in 1983, hard to say which came first.
Is it really? I guess that makes sense. I’ll never understand why they don’t include that info.

I guess 1983 was a big year for purple dragons!
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Old 03-10-2021, 01:05 PM   #902
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

533-2
Hasbro- Overwatch Ultimates: Tracer.



I really have to hand it to Hasbro. They are producing multiple 6”, collector quality action figures for a number of different franchises that are geared to all different types of fans. Sure, you have the big three: Transformers, Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series, but add the newcomers like GI Joe Classified, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers and Overwatch and you got yourself a very deep bench of cool action figures on the shelves. And while not all lines make the grade, like Overwatch, I have to give them credit for trying. If you have these figures already, you know how unique they are to the media source. Each figure is a specific brand new mold, fantastically sculpted with a good amount of articulation and really great accessories to match. I suppose that is one of the reasons that line didn’t last given that all know that re-painted molds and reuse of different parts are almost required for a line to be profitable, but it also could have been due to the fact that the game was not as popular as Hasbro thought it might be.

Pros: As with the other Overwatch figure, Tracer has an exemplary sculpt that really captures the look of these characters. She has a good amount of articulation that allows for a number of decent poses and comes with some signature weapons and blast effects that I wish were standard on all Hasbro releases.

Cons: Sometimes, despite the full articulation, the sculpt can impede the overall ability to pose the figure and unfortunately Tracer suffers from this issue. This is one of those situations that I think an included stand would really help the figure.










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Old 03-11-2021, 02:14 PM   #903
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

534-2
McFarlane Toys- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Buckbeak



Continuing my look at all the Harry Potter themed rides and attractions at the various Universal Studios Parks around the world. Previous thoughts can be found at review 314-2 Dragon Challenge, 337-2- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, 392-2- Flight of the Hippogriff & The Hogwarts Express.

Butterbeer!

Ok, so it’s less of an attraction and more of an experience, but any Universal Parks Wizarding World fan will tell you that Butter Beer is as important to the experience then any of the other rides. For those who don’t know, ButterBeer is the fictional drink of choice for many of the students of Hogwarts and is often mentioned throughout the book and movies. As such, naturally it made sense for Universal to develop a product based on this drink that could offer as part of the experience of hanging out in the Wizarding world, but there was just one problem… What was Butterbeer? In the book it’s described as a liquid butterscotch drink that is served warm in a mug or cold out of a bottle. There is also apparently some level of alcohol within, but how much is unclear. That said there is mention of it lowering inhibitions of students as well as getting house elf’s drunk, so there is that. In the real world, the actual recipe for Butterbeer is not clear, but based on the multiple DIY Butterbeer videos I saw on YouTube it seems as though it is a mix of Cream Soda, Caramel, Vanilla and butter extract. As far as I know, Universal does not offer an alcoholic variety at this point, but still has a few other options: Regular (Cold fizzy drink with topping), Frozen (Slushy fizzy drink with topping), Warm (Seasonal) and Butterbeer ice cream that I understand makes an fantastic float when combined with the original. Personally I’ve only tried the first two and prefer the frozen, especially in the Florida heat. They are a very sweet treat, but at around $6 per serving it is really hard to stomach them as anything more than a fun novelty.

Pros: Given that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favorite Potter movies I was very happy to see that McFarlane included it in the short lived action figure line. Overall the figure has an impressive sculpt and detailed paint job, poseable wings, 2 sets of claws: 1 set for standing, and 1 for flying and a flight stand/base combo. That fits into its belly section via a ball joint.

Cons: In truth I’m not sure why Buckbeak, who was only part of the 3rd movie, was released at the same time as characters from the last movie. Perhaps there were plans for additional releases from the other films that were never made, but as it is, Buckbeak doesn’t really fit in. On the actual figure, the articulation, especially on the front legs is a bit frustrating and makes it very difficult to stand. Lastly, while I love the included stand, it is WAY too long; seriously he’s like 12” in the air. The pole was easy enough to cut, but still an odd choice.










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Old 03-12-2021, 02:42 PM   #904
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535-2
Disney- Marvel Toybox: Wolverine.





Well this is a bit out of left field. I mean, the Marvel Toybox roster has been fairly deep up to this point, but really only included characters featured in the MCU movies. Not that I’m complaining as I love Wolverine and would love some more X-Men representation throughout the company, but odd considering that there was no other cross promotion, like a cartoon or movie, that would validate the figures existence outside of the fact that it’s just cool to have Wolverine in the line.

Pros: There is a lot to love about this figure including an excellent stylized sculpt, a decent amount of articulation, two different head sculpts, a cowboy hat, a samurai sword with strapped sheath to hold it and even retractable claws (sort of). The Sword is an incredibly cool detail as many fairweather fans may not know the time that Wolverine spent in Japan. It’s a great callback and makes me think that someone in the Toybox design team is a big fan.

Cons: I’m not sure what the designers had in mind with those claws. I mean, the character is kind of known for the ability to pop and retract his claws, but if the gimmicks come at the expense of the overall look of the figure and ultimately doesn't work, then it's time to move on. I also wish they kept going with the ankle tilts. It’s such a great feature to help pose these already great figures.











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Old 03-15-2021, 11:39 AM   #905
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536-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Spider-Girl



Kudos once again to Hasbro for really putting in that extra effort to really sell new fans on this figure. Let's take a minute to review this marketing genius to see how Hasbro does it. First off let's have a look at the front of the package. Very typical window box format that most legends come in. Typically the front is where you may find the name of the character that is within, but the only name I can see, likely due to the fact that it is the largest font is “SPIDER-MAN”. Well that makes no sense. I mean, this is a girl in a spider costume, but not a Spider-MAN as noted. Thankfully I’ve amassed a collection of Marvel Legends and know that the figure's name is often found below the main heading in the subtext, but not going to find much help there as it says “Web Slinging Heroine”. Well at least they confirmed her sex. Lastly on the face of the package, in the top hand corner, it states that she belongs to Marvel's Venom Build A Figure wave. So 2 character names on the package and still no idea who the figure inside is.

Thankfully, the back of the package provides us a bit more detail as to who we are buying. According to the red text that blends nicely (/S) with the red background that this is in fact Spider-Girl which is odd because I already have multiple Spider-Girl figures that look nothing like this one. Perhaps a quick read of the bio on the package will clear this confusion up.

It reads: These fierce females fight for justice with quick reflexes, super strength and classic web slinging action. Well, that is just maddeningly unhelpful. Well, I’m already this far down the rabbit hole, time to figure out who Spider-Girl really is. An oddly long Google search brought me to the Wal-Mart.ca buy and sell page for this figure where it is received that this is actually Ashely Barton (as in Hawkeye Barton) and she also goes by the name “Spider Bitch”. Now I didn’t do a ton more research, but learned that one iteration of the character is featured in the “Mad Maxy” world of the OLD MAN LOGAN story where Ashley, who is Granddaughter of Hawkeye, kills the Kingpin and takes over his territory. So yeah, she’s not a hero nor does she fight for justice. Perhaps there is more to her back story that I didn’t see, but again, Hasbro could have easily added a blurb on the cardback with a bit more detail or partnered with Marvel for a QR code to unlock a web comic featuring the figure.

Pros: I really like the overall look of Spider-Girl. She has a really great head sculpt with a unique look,a different, yet familiar costume and a decent amount of articulation for a good amount of poses.

Cons: It’s really frustrating that Hasbro puts such little effort into explaining who these characters are and a little backstory would go a long way. Also the figure is far to light on accessories to make it worth the retail price. No spare spidy type hands, no alternate head and no web accessory? Not a great value.









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Old 03-16-2021, 01:34 PM   #906
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537-2
Hasbro- GI Joe Sigma Six: Firefly




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, 440-2, 452-2, 480-2, 495-2 & 509-2 for previous thoughts.

EP: 14 - Knockoffs

Basic Premise (From Wikipedia): Flint and Lady Jaye get Zartan out of prison to help them track down the Joes. Meanwhile, the Baroness tries to transport a camouflage suit—-technology that can duplicate anyone's appearance—-to Cobra Commander, but Zartan steals the suit and uses it to get revenge. The Joes and the Falcons, along with warrant officer/helicopter pilot William "Wild Bill" Hardy, must capture Zartan and retrieve the camo suit before it ends up in the hands of Cobra.

Thoughts: Ok, this was a really fun episode. First off we have a second appearance of Zartan and a much more fitting origin story than his initial appearance. And while I still don’t feel his overall personality really matches my head canon, I do appreciate that the Renegades writers too time to link his Biker past with his disguise abilities. Second, despite the cliche “look alike” based story, it was a fun, action packed episode. Lastly, this was the first appearance of Wild Bill who is a character that I have a great affinity for given that I had him and the Dragonfly chopper as a kid. I’m afraid that he played a bit more country than Dixie style American from the south, but it is what it is.

Pros: Firefly’s true form as an agent of Cobra, which really shouldn't have been much of surprise to any fan of GI Joe, has a familiar yet updated look from his initial release with a new, more accurate paint job in addition to his full balaclava covered head and repainted face mask. Articulation is Sigma Six standard, which was decent at the time and allows for a number of decent poses. Kudos to Hasbro for including some fantastic new accessories to go with this version. Yes he has the same wicked cool guns, but also comes with a double bladed fire stick with a chainsaw fire attachment as well as a few other fire effects. Additionally he has these extremely cool fire gauntlets that likely let him shoot fire from his wrists. So much fire goodness!!

Cons: Really great figure overall, bit the fire stick accessories is a bit unwieldy and my version has some really terribly loose hip joints that make standing a real challenge.













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Old 03-17-2021, 12:46 PM   #907
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538-2
DC Collectables- DC Icons: Supergirl




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, 441-2, 453-2, 462-2, 468-2, 481-2, 490-2, 496-2 510-2, 519-2 & 525-2 for my previous instalments.

Batman: Batman vs. Robin - 2015

Animation Style: As with the other New 52 films that came before, Batman Vs Robin has a really great animation style and features really nice animated models that match the comic look at the time. New addition is the Court of Owls enforcer Talon that looks pretty cool.

Voice Acting: Overall same cast as the Son of Batman crew and does a really solid job throughout. I want to take a minute to again praise the young Stuart Allan as Damien as he does such a fantastic job. Newcomers include Jeremy Sisto (Jubal Valentine from FBI) is a one and done DC film Alumni as Talon and casting director royalty Andrea Romano as the Batcomputer. In fun credits we have a very familiar Kevin Conroy in the fitting role of Thomas Wayne and THE Weird Al Yankovic playing the hella creepy Dollmaker.

Story- While I realize that this Batman Vs Robin file may be coming on the heels of a too many bat films that came before, it is really one of the better ones as it features a really great arch between Bruce and Damian while simultaneously intertwining, with ok success, the fantastic court of Owls story arc from the comics. It’s interesting to see the struggle between Bruce and Damian and the subsequent growth and bond that eventually follows. I realize that fans of the Court of Owls arc may have felt a little letdown given that this is really an abridged version of the multi-part story line, but honestly it worlds fine. My only wish, and DC is very careful with this, would be that more of the bat family, including Red Hood and Red Robin would have been included in the Damian story as they are both under represented (especially Tim Drake Robin) in the films. Some key scenes include the creepy initial scene with Dollmaker and the final 20 minute climax with some of the best Batman Nightwing fighting I've seen. I really love how intune they are with each other. Also, it was fun to see Alfread get into the fight with his shotgun.

Pros: Supergirl has an exceptional sculpt that I have come to expect on these Icon figures. Articulation wise she's decent with the standard Icons scheme and has some nice accessories including spare hands (some fight hands!), an odd stand to emulate flying in place and 2 head sculpts with one that has laser eye attachments!

Cons: Unfortunately the Cape and Plastic skirt limit the possibility of both her arms and legs which is always a bummer. To top it off, my version has a loose knee joint so it makes posing extra difficult. Also the laser eye effects look amazing, but are a colossal pain to get into place without fear of them snapping. Lastly, can we talk about DC Collectables and their stands? Don’t get me wrong, I love that they include them, but it should not be that difficult to design a stand that works well: just look to Bandi for inspiration as they seem to have got it down.











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Old 03-18-2021, 03:19 PM   #908
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539-2
Hasbro- Transformers Prime- Beast Hunters: Bulkhead.



During the time that Beast Hunters came out I was being VERY selective with the Transformers that I was picking up with the exception of cool looking figures, like the beasts, and of course my favorite Autobot of the era: Bulkhead. That said, I never watched the show so i’m not sure if Bulkhead did any beasthunting or if he was even featured for that matter. In any caseI’m so happy that Transformers seems to have hit their stride again with a decent cartoon and fun toyline to accompany it.

Pros: Overall Bulkhead is a decent figure with a cool looking deco and has two fun modes. Transformation is a breeze, the robot mode has good range of motion and the vehicle mode would be a hit with any kid. I also like the spring loaded weapon included as it fits nicely with the jungle warrior aesthetic.

Cons: The figure itself is a bit weak as a deluxe Transformers figure and feels more like a figure geared to the younger fan. Crazy that this figure is from the same “class’ as some of the deluxe Revenge of the Fallen figures that were incredible in comparison. Also, the mid section does not hold in place very well and easily becomes a floppy mess.








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Old 03-18-2021, 03:19 PM   #909
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Old 03-19-2021, 12:00 PM   #910
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540-2
McFarlane Toys- Fortnite: The Prisoner




As you may have gleaned from my review history I am a big fan of both Jazewars and McFarlane Toys Fortnite figures. And while it may seem dumb to collect both Toylines, they both have pros and cons to their individual offerings. That said, I do have a preference at the moment that usually depends on the last figure I opened, but currently McFarlane is currently edging out Jazwares. Don’t get me wrong I still appreciate what Jazwares is doing, but McFarlane is just more consistent in terms of quality control and different style of figure. I mean, this Prisoner figure is 100% different from anything I have open from McFarlane let; really top notch work here.

Pros: The Prisoner has an outstanding sculpt with an absolute ton of detail throughout including different chains and gems. He has a good amount of usable articulation and the standard 3 accessories A backpack, and awesome pickaxe and handgun weapon. The Prisoner gets “extra” marks in my book for having a removable helmet and amazing head sculpt.

Cons: If I had to complain about something it would be his less than spectacular handgun, but that's really just a nitpick as it’s still pretty cool.










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