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

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

279-2
Playmates / Spinmater- Classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Raphael



It's funny how sometimes you remember certain pickups and Classic Raphael is one of them for me, even if it is somewhat mundane. I had already picked up the other three, but could not find Raph. Being the OCD collector that I am, I went into full huntering mode, intent on hitting every Toys R Us and Wal-Mart that I could to track down my elusive prey, Luck for me, my job took me up to a client's office in a different quadrant of the city that had a TRU that I don’t regularly frequent and as luck would have it Raph was just sitting on the shelf, seemingly waiting for me to add him to the fold. Incidentally I also recall a rather large surly woman making a pass at me while in line waiting to pay, which in hindsight probably made the trip more memorable for unfavorable reasons, but still. The brothers were now completed.

Pros: Unfortunately I never had the original set so I am unable to comment on any differences or improvements that were made, but I have to assume that these are fairly consistent with the OG figures which is super cool for people who never had them and/or collector's whose parents sold them off in a garage sale for 25 cents. I also still appreciate all the included weapons and the weapon stand (even though nothing of Raph’s really fits). Lastly the on figure storage rocks and the articulation is decent considering the time that it was released.

Cons: Nothing really comes to mind as this figure ticks all the boxes that it should for someone who is buying it.

[Team Jetfire]

280-2
Hasbro- Transformers- Titans Return: Scourge and Fracas




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, 260-2, 264-2, 268-2, 269-2, 271-2, 274-2 & 276-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #1 The Transformers: The Movie.

The Good: Re-visiting a movie from your youth as an adult is always a sketchy prospect as there is a good chance that you discover some stuff that makes you question your tastes, even as a kid. Thankfully the stuff I liked as a kid still holds up for The Transformers: the Movie.
The first thing that comes to mind is the super sick soundtrack. I'm a firm believer that a movie soundtrack can make or break a movie and The Transformers: The movie hit it out of the park with multiple 80’s bangers like “Dare”, “Nothing's gonna stand in our way” and finally “The Touch”. Also bonus points as a lifelong Weird Al fan to inlude “Dare to be Stupid” during the Junkions introduction scene. In fact, I just watched it again and literally got goosebumps from the initial Hot Rod/Danial intro sequence.
I also, for the most part, liked the reveal of all the new Transformers characters and the addition of new Transformers lore. Keep in mind at this time, The Transformers backstory was written during a coke filled weekend bender by a Hasbro employee trying to meet a deadline (Not substantiated at all but it WAS the 80s and it IS a bit of a crazy idea. For an amazing look at how The Transformers came to be check out the Netflix documentary “The Toys That Made Us”). The movie provided some more sussed out lore with the introduction of chonky Boi planet eater Unicron, the four faced Transformer creators (I think anyways) the Quintessons and of course all the new Autobots and Decipticons.
Lastly, and possibly most controversially, I like Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime’s story arch and how they made him the leader of the Autobots. This was a crazy movie and all but backfired for Hasbro as Robimus didn’t track very well fans, but since that time, outside of a brief few Beast seasons, it has ALWAYS been Optimus Prime. TIme to change it up and let the series grow a bit.

Pros: Much like Blurr (the Titans Return figure that preceded) Scourge is a perfectly good figure. Decent in both modes, fine transformation and a good amount of articulation.

Cons: Again, much like Blurr, Scourge is just kind of basic, uninspired and altogether boring. Sure, it does the job, but why are we getting yet another Scourge? Give me something new at this point. Also, and this could be only my version, but his joints, including his wrists, are loose. Lastly and again, something that is typical for all current Transformers of this era, there is a lot of gaps in the plastic and makes the figure cheap.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

281-2
Hasbro- Kreo- Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise.



I would really love to start reviewing the Star Trek series and movies, I’m going to stop short (for now) due to lack of Star Trek toys, but will say that I am a fan of TNG, Voyager, Star Trek OG movies 2, 3, 4, 6, Star Trek TNG movies Generations, First Contact and Insurrection and all the Kelvin movies, I have not full seen DS9 or Discovery and not much of a fan of the Star Trek OG Series, Star Trek 1 and 5 and finally Star Trek Nemesis. And while this is VERY controversial, my Favorite Star Trek of all time is the 1st JJ Kelvin Universe; but before you get too mad, understand that I hated Star Trek prior to seeing this movie and since then have grown to love it. So if a lens flair filled, time travel co-out was the only way that I would take Star Trek seriously, then so be it.

Pros: For those not aware (or blinked because it was really short lived) Kreo was Hasbro’s (failed) answer to Lego. They focused on Transformers and GIJoe, but later on picked up the Star Trek movie licence and did a pretty ok job (I actually have a larger Enterprise for the same series that I kind of adore that I might review later.) This little fella was a promotional item that I was given at Toys R Us for free that I had held onto for a surprising long time. I also appreciate the simplicity of this model and how easily it went together to make the iconic design.

Cons: Can’t say anything bad about it.

[Team Jetfire]

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Disney Toy Box- Marvel: Black Widow.



It has been a bit of a ride over the last few years for the MCU and Marvel in general and while I spent the last few reviews talking about specific upcoming projections I thought I would post on my thoughts in general as to where they are heading. Overall I am optimistic for Marvel, but a little concerned. Optimistic as Feige and Co have been doing a really good job with the MCU and Hasbro has been putting out some amazing stuff, but concerned because every Peak has its eventual valley. For the Movies I am legitimately concerned that it will go the way of Star Wars, what with studio direction leading to fandom backlash. And while this would not bother me, I could see Disney double down on diversity to the ire of many fans that want to see a more “traditional” (re: white, male) superhero in the marquee. I’ll just put this out there that I STILL do not understand the hate for Captain Marvel or the oddly specific standard that female characters are held up to in movies while men in similar positions are given a pass. That said it is a difficult balancing act for a studio and I REALLY hope that Marvel can connect with all fans regardless of Race, Gender or Orientation.

As for the toys, thankfully a much less divisive topic, I’m more concerned as I feel like Hasbro’s best work is now behind them. Not saying that there isn’t a lot of really cool stuff coming out, but it's becoming a little too much, and WAY too expensive. For example, Cowboy Logan was released at EB Games for $39.99 with many other “exclusives” for $34.99. Sure there is a bit of a discount on that, but it’s just becoming too much for me. Sure if there is a cool character that I want, or that might be in short supply I might bite, but outside of that I’m either going to wait for a sale, like I did for the Korg 2 pack, or pass like I did on Emma Frost.

Pros: So Black Widow is the perfect example of how great these Toy Box figures can be. Excellent sculpt, great accessories, perfect balance of articulation to achieve multiple poses and all for a reasonable price.

Cons: Nothing, quite possibly one of the best Toy Box figures ever released.

[Team Jetfire]

283-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Karl Mordo



***DISCLAIMER***

This was written prior to the news that Spiderman was back in the MCU. I still stand by my criticisms of both companies, but for the time being I’m “off the ledge” of sorts when it comes to my disappointment of this news.

***END DISCLAIMER***

Before I get back to the reviews I wanted to give me 2 cents on the whole Spiderman Disney/Sony issue because it is still fresh in my mind.

I’m not going to bury the lead, I’m pissed as I have always felt that comic characters that live in an inherent “shared universe” should be presented in movies as such. Back when Spiderman made an appearance in the trailer of Captain America Civil War I thought it represented a big win for fans who wanted to see Spiderman included in the MCU and in my opinion he did not disappoint. Two other stand alone movies (that made millions) and major roles in arguably the most successful comic movies ever produced, I would say that other fans would agree: Spiderman belonged in the MCU.

Unfortunately I think his resurgence of popularity came as a shock to the executives at Sony and they were seeing dollar signs once again. I mean, it was not so long ago that they shelved yet another iteration of the Spiderman character after Amazing Spiderman 2 failed to capture the imagination of audiences, but surely they were not to blame? Right? No, they were professionals and knew what Spiderman fans wanted to see. The fact that his popularity surged after sharing screen time with these other comic titans had NOTHING to do with it. Afterall, we have Venom and it did insanely well. Sure it threw out everything historically significant about the character, but again we know what we are doing. I mean, for fuck sakes they should know, they had 5 previous tries to get it right and they messed up 60% of the time.

And not to say that Disney is blamless in this cluster fuck of a situaiton. I’ll admit, I’m a disney guy and admittedly given them a free pass on some of the shit that they do, but this is just greed plain and simple. Sony has the rights to the character, they are legally entitled to them. They were happy with the deal that you had, but you saw how much money Spiderman was making and you just got jealous and wanted a bigger piece of that spider pie. And for the record, fuck them and this shitty game of chicken that they are playing. I’ve seen what is coming down the pike for Marvel and while I’m more or less ok with the Phase 4, there are a lot of people who could not give a crap about The Eternals, Lady Thor and the rest of their (perceived) virtue signaling woke garbage; the fandom will turn against them (Cough Star Wars) and if they don’t do something to fill the void that Spiderman Left, they will be in BIG trouble because I promise that Shan Chu will not cut it.

In short, fuck Sony for not understanding what made The Spiderman movies so successfull and special to fans of the Marvel Cinimatic Universe and fuck Disney for being so greedy, spoiled and for their huberious to think that Sony would just bow to their demands. I recognize that in the grand scheme of things, the fate of Spider Man should be pretty low on the scale of importance, but given that we are talking about a billion dollar character in a multi billion dollar industry, it’s safe to say that people have a meaningful connection (myself included) to this character.

Pros: If you asked me who Strange's mentor was in the movie I legit could not have told you the characters name. Not to say that he’s not good in the movie, in fact one of my favorite scenes was him teaching Strange the ropes, but as an action figure, his inclusion in the wave is somewhat lacking. Overall he looks decent and comes with decent accessory so it’s not a total wasted figure.

Cons: Given that he was the focus of the ever important post credit scene I have to assume that he was meant to have a bigger role in the MCU, but things obviously changed with Avengers Infinity war and Endgame so I would be surprised if we see him again. And again, given that I am a fan of the Movie I am glad to have a version of the character, I would have much preferred a figure of the Ancient One or Kaecilius. As a figure he also suffers from the dreaded “hard Plastic Skirt Syndrome that greatly limits his overall hip posability.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers- Studio Series: Blackout.




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, 260-2, 264-2, 268-2, 269-2, 271-2, 274-2, 276-2 & 280-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #1 The Transformers: The Movie.

The Bad: It’s a bit of a dangerous practice to look at memorable childhood things that you hold dear to your heart and look at them through current eyes as its pretty easy to see the cracks. Not to say there is anything new and terrible that I was not aware of in The Transformers: The Movie, but lets not kid ourselves, it's not perfect by any stretch. That said I was surprised at the overall animation and how bad some scenes looked. I mean, this was an animated theatrical release that looks only average to many of the popular cartoons currently on TV and way below the other animated features of the day. Don’t get me wrong, many of the key sequences look great and it seems to get better with the introduction of the new characters, but some scenes looked rushed or even done by a different studio entrily. For instance the part where Devastator hits a rather unexpected Snarl in the back and his eyes literally come out of his head as if he were a Disney character. Sure its a fun little thing for us fans to notice, but talk about killing the serious vibe of the first act.

Pros: Of all the Studio Series figures I was most looking forward to Blackout as I feel he was a bit of an underutilized Decepticon from the first movie and the first figure was just meh in my opinion. That said, I really like this version and Hasbro totally hit it out of the park in my opinion. A great sculpt in both modes with masterpiece level detailing, a good transformation that is reminiscent of the Revenge of the Fallen mainline figures and a really great price point considering all of the above. I also appreciate that he comes with a little Scorponok figure that fits under the chopper when in vehicle mode.

Cons: If I was going to complain about anything it would be the relative lack of ability to pose a figure this size or detailed. Also his tail fin folds up to form a really basic looking gun that fits on his arm and really doesn’t go together with the rest of the figure.

[Team Jetfire]

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Funko- Disney Afternoons: King Louie



Rating of worst to best of the a the Pixar movies continued; see review 205-2, 219-2, 231-2, 240-2, 264-2 & 270-2 for the previous instalments:

14. Finding Dory- A much lighter and overall funnier movie Finding Dory is a completely unnecessary trip back to the well a la Cars 3 and Monsters U; It’s just higher on my lists for 2 reasons: 1. Does not emotionally affect me in the way that Finding Nemo does and Ty Burrell's Character of Bailey the beluga whale “Oh yes, my beautiful gift!”

Pros: in the original Disney Jungle Book was King Louie a villain? If he was, I’m not sure I ever considered it until much later in life, no doubt because I probably saw Tail Spin before actually watching the source material. Hell, I actually appreciate him more as a super likeable restaurateur proving a watering hole and a safe space duck out from Dan Carnage and his armada (truth be told, I haven’t really seen the show in a while and this description could be 100% wrong). At any rate, the figure has the typical level of articulation for these Disney Afternoon figures and looks great in his tropical attire.

Cons: Much like the other figures of this line he’s a bit basic for the price point.

[Team Jetfire]

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Jazwares- Fortnite: Havoc





2019 has been a pretty good year for toy collecting. Hasbro is hitting it out of the park with these consistante Marvel legend releases, I was finally able to get a Black Series Yoda and Anikin without having to mortgage my house, Macfarlane has finally decided to make “action figures” over statues (with licences that are relevant to my interests) and after long last 6” Gi Joe figures are finally being released; what a time to be alive indeed! What’s that? Joe figures have not been produced? Could have fooled me (and the Hasbro lawyers) as Jazwares has given us probably the best 6” Gi Joe figure to date and it’s all I can do to not buy up the rest of the Fortnite series as these figures are just so darn fun. And the funny thing is: I don’t even play Fortnite at all. How genius is that?

Ok, let's take a step back for the people unaware of what is going on and get them up to speed. Fortnite is a 3rd person, battle royale multiplayer game that became INSANELY popular due to its low barrier to entry (free game), release on multiple gaming platforms including PC and overall silly dynamic featuring interesting characters, crazy upgradable weapons and stupid dances. Upgrades and character customization come in the from online sales of loot boxes (BAD MMKAY) with new weapons, character skins and stupid dances that have netted the company over 3 BILLION dollars- that is a lot of credit card charges for parents to wake up to...I should know.

The interesting thing about Fortnite’s “under the radar” success (to me anyway) is how they did it. Consider this: there is nothing new about the game type as multi player, 3rd person shooter have been around for years, they have not really created any storyline of media to support these characters as you would see in a HALO or Call of Duty campaign and they even “borrower” some of the signature Dances from pop culture that have resulted in legal action. I think it is safe to say that Fortnite’s business model begins and ends with “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.

Not being satisfied with the billions of dollars made from selling 1’s and 0’s, it was only a matter of time before Fortnite branched out to other forms of separating parents and fans from their money and quickly licensed out “their characters” to multiple companies to produce all sorts of merchandise including backpack, lunch kits clothing and MOST important: TOYS. I suppose I can’t get too mad given that when I drop $20 on a toy, I’m actually getting something physical in my hands that I can keep, but that is a rant for another time. As far as I can tell Fortnite granted 2 toy license out to 2 different companies Macfarlane picked up the rights to a line of articulated 7” & 11” figures and Jazewares was granted a line of 3.75” with playsets and articulated 6” figures which started trickling onto toy shelves winter of 2018 and holding strong ever since.

Not being a fan of the game I was not really interested in these figures, but I was intrigued with the Macfarlane offerings as I was something new and different. That intrigue quickly turned to desire once I saw the Jawares Havok release and I knew this was something that I had to pick up for my collection, not only for review purposes (Tax write off baby!*), but just to see what could be possible if Hasbro actually did something cool with the GI Joe franchise. Which brings up the following questions: How is this even allowed? Can we expect other “similar” forgotten characters to show up in plastic form? and, do we even care at this point?

Not sure the answer to the first, but I will say that I will continue buying interesting figures if they keep making them. My suggestion would be either an Avatar Kora or a Marty Mcfly character next.

Pros: Jazwares has really done an excellent job on this figure. An amazing amount of articulation, great sculpt, multiple accessories and even a clever way to given multiple head sculpts without having to change heads. Also the direct comparison to one of my favorite GiJoe figures cannot be underscored… it’s a perfect example as to how well a Gi Joe 6” line coudl really be done.

Cons: Sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad and while I don’t really want to complain about something that I really enjoy, there is a bit too much articulation. The package states 40 different points, but I feel that 36 would have been ok as the articulated hands and toes are just not required; especially considering it makes it difficult for him to hold his weapons. I will also say that I don’t love his rifle and would have rather went with a more realistic version.













Separated at birth?