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

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by DanM

Was down in Anaheim last month and I agree with everything you have written. While I'm more of a Marvel fan than a Pixar fan, I'd say the Avengers Campus is a huge downgrade from Bug's Land. It feels more like an excuse to sell more Marvel crap than to make a fun experience. The Radiator Springs and Pixar Pier areas are way more fun (with the notable exception of the GotG Mission Breakout, which they could have left as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror).

Also hit Ross when I was there. $6 Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black figures? Yes please!

Ugh, I?m so jealous. Hope the trip was fun. I know DL has been a bit of a shit show lately, but it?s been a while since I?ve been.

[Team Jetfire]

974-2
Hasbro- Star Wars The Black Series: Luke Skywalker




This is a bit of a strange Black Series release for a few reasons and it makes me wonder if it represented a direction that Hasbro did not go into. Consider the following:

This was a special release that was exclusive to Wal-Mart.
It cost about $10 more than any other Black Series figure at the time.
Comes with a special stand/base that I have not seen on any other Black Series release.

Weird right? I guess this could be chalked up to just being an standard exclusive, but why this very iconic version of the character and why the extra stand? I feel like someone at Hasbro brainstormed Luke as a “collector” friendly, premium sub-line to pull a few more bucks from buyers, but I don’t think the market was ready for it at the time. That said, I think if Hasbro tried it again with a re-do on all the classic characters, focusing on sculpt, details and accessories, it would be a hit given that we are conditioned to spend more on these figures at this point.

Pros: This exclusive Luke has an outstanding head sculpt that is a huge improvement over the initial Jedi Luke release, a great amount of accessories (blaster, lightsaber) and a soft goods jedi cloak that is SO much better than any hard plastic accessory. I also like the stand that they engineered to work with Black Series figures.

Cons: Price. This guy was $40 when it came out and even though he’s one of the best Black Series figures in recent history, it’s too much for one figure.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

975-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: The Hood.




Another Marvel Legends figure that appealed to my collecting senseability given his inclusion in the addictive mobile app card game “Marvel Snap”, but also because he was on sale and extremely cheap to pick up. If you don’t play the game (why not? It’s free and fun), I’m going to explain how his card works because I think it’s a really cool nod as to how he got his “power”. Basically his card costs 1 energy to play and it is only worth -3 power, but in turn generates and adds a DEMON card to your hand that also costs 1 energy, but is worth 6 power and can be played at a different location during a future turn. Why is this cool? According to the character’s bio, the “hood” was a low level crime boss that killed a demon, stole his boots and hood and retained some of its powers. Granted the card doesn’t really use these powers (levitation, invisibility, or shooting magic from his guns, but it is neat that he gets more power from a demon. Also, I had little idea about the character prior to the game and the figure, but his bio is really interesting and makes for a pretty awesome Marvel villain that could be explored in future movies or D+ series.

Pros: I kind of love this figure of the Hood. Yes the “base” figure is pretty basic, but the hood, guns, blast effects and great “yelling” head sculpt really make him fun.

Cons: Why is the hard plastic hood taller than the figure? So tall in fact that the figure is unable to stand up while wearing it? 1 CM shorter would have made this work perfectly, or you know substitute it completely with an actual cloth cloak and cape?

[Team Jetfire]

976-2
Hasbro- Transformers R.E.D.: Optimus Primal



You know what pissed me off about the “Rise of the Beasts” movie? The BEASTS. Not that they were bad, or annoying, but because they didn’t even need to be in the film AT ALL. Take Optimus and the crew out, replace them with some random bots and you literally have the same movie; the fact that they were loosely related to the much loved Beast Wars franchise had no impact whatsoever. That said, the live action movies aren’t exactly known for treating the source material with any sort of reverence, but it’s a bit disappointing nevertheless. And perhaps the greatest injustice was the exclusion of Megatron and the Predacons who were one of the reasons why Beast Wars was so watchable. I suppose we should be thankful for a decent movie that may have done well enough to allow for additional movies in the future, but honestly it is difficult to say given that audiences seem to be tired with the same old-same old.

Pros: Overall a nice figure with a cool sculpt, decent articulation and some nice accessories.

Cons: I’ve said it before, but only the G1 characters really work well for the R.E.D. treatment given that their robot mode in the toys never really matched the cartoon design. However for the newer characters like Optimus here, a fully transforming figure can look amazing in both modes making one that cannot transform feel somewhat lesser. Also, his backpack and front panel don’t stay on very well.

[Team Jetfire]

36-R
Hasbro- G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Series: Range Viper
Approximate Release year: 2009




One of the best things about the ARAH toy line was Hasbro’s push for making and releasing unique and fantastical sub groups of Vipers and tend to make up a good portion of my favorite figures from that time. Top of my list in my collection back then were the Alley Viper, Hydro Viper and Astro Viper, but my favorite was the Range Viper. I mentioned it in the review I did for Classified Outback, that I gravitated to the G.I. Joe and Cobra troops that specialized in long-term, outdoor missions. I think it had something to do with spending hours outside, playing in the forests and creeks behind our home, but even now I just think it is a neat specialty…not that I could ever do it though. I was also drawn to the unbelievably unique and creepy heads that these Range Vipers had and even though it was revealed that they were just creepy helmets, they are still a great design. Thankfully I was able to get a Range Viper from the 25th Anniversary line and am still hopeful that Wal-Mart fulfills the upcoming Classified Range Viper Pre-order that should be in my hands by the time this review is published.

Pros: I love the original figure and may love this 25th anniversary even more given that they took some of the previous issues and improved greatly. The sculpt is fantastic, the articulation is great for the size and the accessories really showcase the nature of this character. I also appreciate that even at this size they gave him a removable helmet which is something that doesn’t always happen with figures these days.

Cons: For the time I should consider this a perfect toy, but I do wish there was more ankle movement and that he would have the ability to hold and aim his weapons properly with both hands.

[Team Jetfire]

78-2
Hasbro- G.I Joe Classified: Crimson B.A.T.






What are everyone’s thoughts on re-paints? I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with them. On one hand, having different colored versions of figures can look really cool, especially for army builders. Plus, in some cases, the re-paint is sometimes easier to track down, especially if it is a re-release of a figure long since off the shelves. In fact, I can point to some re-paints from both my childhood AND my current collection that filled holes as a semi-completist (mold completist) and would have been all but impossible to track down, especially before eBay times. Some specifics for G.I. Joe includes Tiger Force Tripwire and Slaughters Marauders Barbeque (stay tuned), but half of my original Beast Wars collection is made up of differently named re-paints. Moving forward I started picking up more and more re-paints as part of the various Transformers lines culminating in MOST of the re-paints of the Cybertron toy line which if you collected at the time, you would know that almost every figure had a repaint. As for re-paints on the joe line, I guess it’s a bit of a given. On one hand they are cool as heck, but on the other it's annoying that they are making and releasing the special “repaint” prior to the releasing the original. This is true for Bazooka, Outback and Recondo (who still have no OG release on the books). Makes it frustrating given that my desire to pick up a new character overshadows the understanding that another one, the ORIGINAL one, is going to be released soon. I mean, at least having different colored B.A.T.s is a whole lot cooler than 2 Outbacks with different hair colors and t-shirts.

Pros: I haven’t opened my original flavor B.A.T. yet, so it is hard to say how this compares, but given that I think it’s a standard repaint I assume it's just a red version of the same release. That said, I love it. Top to bottom these B.A.T. figures are just amazing and do well to capture the feeling of the original while also making any improvements along the way. Great sculpt, nice articulation, spare parts and even a battle damaged head and chest plate.

Cons: Unfortunately the plastic hat Hasbro uses to connect the joints is a bit gummy and feels like it could break down overtime. I’m not sure why Hasbro has decided to go this route, but I assume it’s a cost saving measure.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

79-2
McFarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: Kingdom Come Batman





Ok, quick (long story) about how the Kingdom Come graphic novel helped me to get a promotion and lead to an almost 20 year career that I’m continually thankful for.

Ok, picture it Calgary, springtime 2004. A much younger me had just been hired at a very entry level position at a very large corporation. This was my first real job out of University as I was finally ready to leave my life of retail behind and even though this was slated to surely be a new and exciting chapter of my life, it was not still filled with some trepidation. Understand at that time I was only 24 years old, was married, had a mortgage and 2 kids under the age of 3. Pretty scary time and to take on a new job, one that did not even pay as much as the retail one, was well outside of my personality. And while it was a risk, there was some calculation involved given that I had topped out in retail for the job I wanted to do and could not count on any more money; I had potential, but just no runway to grow, so when this entry level job opened up it was a great opportunity, but with a little bit of risk.

Anyways, my first weeks were a mess. I was late on my first day and screwed up something small that ended up costing the company some money. I suppose they saw something good in me given that I didn’t get fired for those two little snafus, but I certainly did not have any confidence for long term advancement. Fast forward a few weeks and I am getting the hang of things to the point where I’m proficient and no longer seem like I’d lose my job at any given moment and was invited to play on the office's Slow Pitch baseball team for an upcoming tournament. Not sure if they saw the raw talent that I possessed, or if they probably just needed a body to fill the spot, the reality was that I, a very junior level employee, was being invited out by much more senior colleagues to hang out outside of work. The catch was two fold however: 1. The tournament was the upcoming weekend and 2. I have a wife and 2 kids at home who wouldn’t love (rightly so) for me to work all week and essentially be gone for the entire weekend either.

Perhaps understanding both my desire and opportunity to play, my wife was fine with it and I was quickly on my way to our first game on Friday night. Unfortunately even though everything else was aligning, the weather did not get the memo and the game was rained out before the 2nd inning and my immediate thought was I could hit Toys R Us (not even kidding) on the way home early for the night, but the team thought it might be a good idea to head out for dinner and drinks. It was there that I sat next to one of those more senior level colleagues and we hit it off pretty good. We talked about movies, TV shows and eventually comics (finally) where he mentioned that his favorite was a trade paperback by Alex Ross. I had seen it on the shelves, but never had the money to buy it and he offered to let me borrow his copy to which I absolutely accepted. Once the meal was done and out comic talk exhausted, we came around to talking about work and he let slip that he was leaving the organization in a month and I should apply for his position. Me? Was he serious? Why me? Long story short: it rained the entire weekend, we lost the tournament, I borrowed the trade paperback, my baby son creased the corner on the book, I replaced the book with a MINT copy and I actually ended up getting the promotion.

Crazy thing is that I have still never actually finished Kingdom Come.

Pros: I love, LOVE when McFarlane invests in some unique characters (even if they are yet another Batman) and this certainly qualifies. I love the sculpt and imposing nature of the figure and despite being relatively lacking in the pose-ability department, it’s still a really fantastic piece.

Cons: Is it perfect? No. But is it what I had expected it to be? Yes. No issues for me.

[Team Jetfire]

977-2
Hasbro- G.I. Joe Origins Snake Eyes: Storm Shadow.




I honestly can’t believe that I’m stuck opening and reviewing the Storm Shadow from the live action Snake Eyes movie while brand new, super cool Range Vipers, Rock N’ Rolls and Alley Vipers await me: this is what commitment looks like folks. I will say that the fact that every G.I. Joe release seems to be better than the last so I figure I’m in for a bit of a treat in the coming months.

Pros: On the whole Storm Shadow is a fine figure from a bad movie and better than the titular Snake Eyes. The sculpt is nice and I appreciate that he comes with two swords and storage for both. Also is a pretty fun figure to pose so there is that.

Cons: Not he figures fault, but the color of his suit is just a very odd choice. Also, do ninjas actually store their swords on their back unsheathed?