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

[Team Jetfire]

931-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Psylocke, Nimrod and Fantomex







Not going to lie, I had my doubts about this three pack, but despite being two characters that I was unfamiliar with and AMAZON plastering the shipping label on the outside of the box, I was really impressed with figures included; just lucky that I’m not an in box collector. I’m just too bad that Hasbro didn’t see fit to include a reason why these three figures were packaged together, in these colors. I assume there was a comic storyline legitimizing it and Hasbro could have included a paragraph blurb about it, but nothing. My understanding is that Nimrod is an advanced Sentinel from the future that was sent back in time to kill mutants. He eventually was either destroyed and came back to life, or merged with a good guy and changed his ways. In any case, I’m not sure if he is supposed to be a villain for Psylocke and Fantomex or a teammate. As for the others, I know Psylocke, but know nothing about Fantomex, but will chalk him up to being some type of assassin. Perhaps I’ll learn more down the road, perhaps not: I’m not vexed, but am impressed with each figure.

Pros: Psylocke- Impressive figure that was a repaint of the Apocalypse wave. Solid sculpt with decent usable articulation and energy effects.

Nimrod- Beefy, but still feels nimble. I like the extra head/hands and really appreciate those energy effects. I like him a lot more than I thought I would.

Fantomex- A basic re-release from the Zola BAF wave, Fantomex is a great figure with a fair amount of usable articulation, even with the trench coat, two handguns and even real working holsters.

Cons: All three- Nothing to report. I’m not even mad that it’s a multipack of re-releases given that I don’t have the original figures.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

932-2
McFarlane Toys- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Prince Zuko



McFarlane Toys pisses me off so much sometimes. Why do they consistently never finish what they start? Years ago they dropped the bombshell news that they had the license for Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra and up to this point, in their 7” line, they have released exactly THREE characters. Sure there have been multiple releases of these characters with minor changes, but that is it. Ang, Zuko and Sokka. Thankfully the 4” line was a bit more robust, but it’s not really hitting for me. As of this writing there is seemingly nothing more on the horizon. No more ATLA and NO Korra at all. Like what the hell? What do I have to do to get toys of my favorite cartoon ever made? My assumption is that because of all the new Avatar projects there is a hold on all Avatar figures while companies bid for the projects, which makes sense, but still pisses me off.

Pros: Predictably a solid release with great details and sculpt, decent articulation and some fun flame effects. Fun stuff!

Cons: Not a slight against Zuko, but McFarlane is really dropping the ball with this license. I guess I’ll add it to my unfinished pile of pop culture including Star Trek and Harry Potter.

[Eko123]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

931-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Psylocke, Nimrod and Fantomex


Fantomex- A basic re-release from the Zola BAF wave, Fantomex is a great figure with a fair amount of usable articulation, even with the trench coat, two handguns and even real working holsters.

Actually, the Fantomex figure in this 3-pack is a different sculpt than the single carded one from the Arnim Zola BAF wave, as seen in this photo from a review of the set by Fwoosh.com (the one on the left is the newer one from the 3-pack).

[Team Jetfire]

25-R
Hasbro- G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary: Wild Bill
Approximate Release Year: 2008




As of this review the current HASLAB crowdfunding project is underway and despite being an updated version of a vehicle I had a as a kid AND a character that I would have loved to have in my collection in 6? size class, I will NOT be backing this project for the following 3 reasons:

Size- Do you know what made the Real American Hero toy line from the 80?s so great for a lot of kids? The near perfect integration of action figures and vehicles together to make a complete experience so it stands to reason that we are inherently missing out on a complete experience with these classified figures given limited access to vehicles. That said, it?s not as though some vehicles have not made it through production and I?m sure there is more to come, but there is one massive consideration that these Haslab?s need to start keeping in mind: Space. The reason why vehicles worked for the 3.? line was that figures were small enough that a corresponding vehicle did not take up a massive amount of space just to properly scale with them. However, with both the new Haslab projects, the size needed just to produce a scaled vehicle, that would be classified as a medium sized vehicle back in the day, takes up an ungodly amount of space in a collection and is not sustainable for multiple projects. Like I?m a very lucky collector and have a room in my house dedicated to my collection, but do not have the space for such opulent toys. Also, as a funny aside, Back during The Force Awakens, Hasbro actually mass produced a Tie Fighter to scale with the 6? Black Series line that I think was a bit of a flop, given price and size constraints. Apparently one of my neighbors feels the same way given that the one they purchased permanently lives out on the front balcony of their home. It?s honestly a constant reminder, while I take my dog for a walk, that I do not have the space, regardless of how cool these things are.

Cost- How much is too much to support a hobby? Yes, different hobbies require different investments and I have spent a good amount on this hobby over my lifetime, but there needs to be a time when someone says enough is enough. Currently the Dragonfly is listed at $279.99 USD with a shipping cost of $30-40 to Canada. (incidentally, the fact that pulse does not offer free shipping to Canadian Pulse members is a slap in the face, but I digress), which works out to around $450 Canadian with the exchange rate and a sizable chunk of change for anyone. Granted, with all the stretch goals filled (if they reach it), there is certainly some value in the extra figures, but the fact is, I can buy 12 regular figures at retail for that cost. Given what I mentioned about the size, I would MUCH rather have 12 new figures rounding out my collection than one massive helicopter and 2-4 figures that will likely get repainted down the road.
Overall dislike of the practice of crowd funding by a major toy company- We live in a capitalist society and I understand the need for a company to make money; it?s the only goal of a corporation. On the flip side, as a consumer I understand that my only agency in this type of relationship is the choice not to participate and that is what I've decided to do. I wrote this on a random facebook post regarding the latest project and I still feel strongly about it. Toy collecting used to be fun and now it is not, or rather, it is a lot LESS fun. I?ve been a collector for a very long time and really enjoy the process of going into a toy store or aisle and seeing that one toy on the shelf that you had been looking for or even that figure that you did know even existed. Now it seems like people are more excited about the pre-order than they are having the figure in hand; talk about changing priorities. That said, I get why some collectors like this process better given that distribution has become such a mess that people would rather preorder a figure 6 months prior to releasing it than missing it all together and having to buy it from a reseller on ebay. As for the actual crowdfunding process, I hate that Hasbro has convinced us that ordering and paying for a toy prior to production is the only way that something like this will get produced. As a corporation, Hasbro makes billions of dollars and should have the ability to produce a wide selection of figures that appeal to kids and collectors that can be stocked at your local store, but instead they make really poor decisions on releases and distribution and put the onus on stores and buyers to pick up the slack. They basically broke the system to sell you a solution and we are acting like it's a great deal for us.

Pros: I honestly forgot how great these G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary figures were, so much so that I might just end up taking pictures of all of them just to gain back some trailing appreciation for them. I decided to review Wild Bill given the current Haslab project and am still very impressed. A solid sculpt, fantastic articulation and some great accessories including 2 pistols with working holsters and a removable hat!

Cons: On the whole he?s a solid figure, but has some quirks: I wish the ankle had tilts and his head seems to be a bit too small for his body.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Eko123

Actually, the Fantomex figure in this 3-pack is a different sculpt than the single carded one from the Arnim Zola BAF wave, as seen in this photo from a review of the set by Fwoosh.com (the one on the left is the newer one from the 3-pack).

That?s legitimately crazy. I wonder why they changed it? Very un-Hasbro of them.

Thanks for letting me know!

[Robimus]

Yeee haaa!

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Robimus

Yeee haaa!

Timely considering the Calgary Stampede just started!

[Team Jetfire]

S-53
Hasbro- Fornite Legendary Series: Meowscles Shadow



I?m not sure when this review will come out in comparison to my review of the Jazwares Mewoscles, but just know that I basically opened them back to back and have some opinions on who did it better. Not to bury the lead on this, but it?s not even close as Hasbro KILLED IT with this amazing figure. I should make it clear that while I think these figures are great/worth it, I only picked them up because they (Skye/Ollie too) were on clearance at Winners for $25. They are cool, but not $55 cool.

Pros: Meowscles is a solid figure with a great sculpt, good articulation and some great accessories including holstered handguns, two hand blades, a fun yarn themed backpack, a rifle and of course an entire weight set for him to keep swoll.

Cons: I go nothing, figure is predictably amazing.