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

[Team Jetfire]

82-2
Mattel- Pixar Featured Favorites: Remy, Emile and Linguini.






So a few years back I made a list rating all Pixar films from worst to best and I feel that Ratatouille was very high on that list. Since that time there have been a number of new Pixar films that have been released that are really amazing and it would be interesting to see how they all stack up now on my personal rankings. Since Toy Story 4 (meh) came out there have been 6 movies released with brand new stories and only 1 was related to another existing IP. Do you know how unbelievably rare that is for a big budget studio to not rely on existing IP for releases these days? Unfortunately due to the pandemic and quite frankly idiotic audiences, these films failed to capture the imagination of the golden Pixar age, but they are really special and extremely underrated. Her is my quick pitch for why each move deserves your time:


Onward- A buddy adventure set in a modern yet mythical time that has a very emotional gut punch in the end.


Soul- A story about life and loss and rebirth. Great music and visuals throughout.


Luca- You can call this a gay allegory or even a coming of age, literal fish out of water story, honestly I think it is not good to put labels on it. Fact is, that Luca looks amazing and will make you run for a time when you were young.


Turning Red- Basically a story about dealing with intergenerational trauma set in Toronto in the 90’s. Even though I’m not a second generation immigrant, nor a pre-teen girl I still found a way to connect to this story and absolutely loved it.


Lightyear- I really wanted to love this movie, but it just kind of fell flat for me. I think it is worth it from a sci-fi story perspective, but they just tried too hard forcing a connection with this and the classic character.


Elemental- I have not seen it yet.

Pros: These Pixar Favorites never hit retail in Canada and our local Dollar Store only got the second wave so when I did some digging and found out that a Ratatouille set was part of wave one, I knew I had to track it down. Apparently these weren’t all that popular in the States given that finding one on eBay for a reasonable price was painless. Granted it was more than the $20 I paid for the entire wave 2 set, but still, easy. Anyways, I’m a sucker for this movie and these figures did not disappoint. The sculpt is great and the accessories are perfect for the characters. I also love that Emile was included given that he played a fairly big part of the movie. It’s also cool that they made Linguini’s hat removable with the feature that Remy can be hidden up there.

Cons: Overall, articulation is a bit lacking and somewhat impacted by his hard plastic apron, but it’s not really a character that needs a ton of articulation.

[Eko123]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

82-2
Mattel- Pixar Featured Favorites: Remy, Emile and Linguini.

Pros: These Pixar Favorites never hit retail in Canada and our local Dollar Store only got the second wave so when I did some digging and found out that a Ratatouille set was part of wave one, I knew I had to track it down. Apparently these weren?t all that popular in the States given that finding one on eBay for a reasonable price was painless. Granted it was more than the $20 I paid for the entire wave 2 set, but still, easy.

Surprisingly earlier this winter, I was able to find a lone Russell from "Up" at a Dollarama. Not sure if that was a one-off or if Dollarama is getting a restock with some of the first wave now.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Eko123

Surprisingly earlier this winter, I was able to find a lone Russell from "Up" at a Dollarama. Not sure if that was a one-off or if Dollarama is getting a restock with some of the first wave now.

I got one too! I was really surprised given it was wave 1. Who knows what will show up there?

[Team Jetfire]

980-2
McFarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: The Dark Knight Returns Superman.



I think it might be time to admit that “The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and Part 2” movies are the best of the best when it comes to the DC Animated movies. That is not to take away from any of the others, but they are just so frigging well done. I mean, it cannot be easy to capture both the look and the tone of Frank Miller’s story, but they did it in a much more convincing way than ANY of the live action iterations. One of my favorite scenes is the (often copied) final battle between Batman and Superman but what the cartoon archives that the other media forgets is that these two have a very long history filled with anger, frustration and mutual respect that culminates into a rather touching finale in which a beaten and bruised Superman greaves for his friend that very nearly killed him. It’s just so well done and while Miller should get the credit, the film certainly does it justice and has no mention of mothers' names….

Pros: This particular Superman is a bit of a shelf warmer and given his rather unique face sculpt I understand why, but for collectors familiar with the subject matter and Frank Miller’s art style, it’s actually a pretty decent representation. An additional kudos for what seems to be an entirely new body mold, but I could be wrong about that. Either way, I like it.

Cons: I wish that McFarlane would get a bit more creative with the accessories. Alt fists are cool, but Superman has LASER vision could be a great option.

[Eko123]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

980-2
McFarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: The Dark Knight Returns Superman.

The Superman body sculpt is going to be re-used for the upcoming Bizarro figure, while the Dark Knight Batman will be used for Batzarro (although some are hoping they'll fix the chest on the Batman).

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Eko123

The Superman body sculpt is going to be re-used for the upcoming Bizarro figure, while the Dark Knight Batman will be used for Batzarro (although some are hoping they'll fix the chest on the Batman).

Yeah, I think it?s a decent use for the sculpt given how messed up Bizzaro is. That Batman is problematic though and a REALLY good catch! The sculpt is nice, but doing that with the bay symbol is a bit lazy and indicative of current McFarlane.

[Team Jetfire]

981-2
Toybiz- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Easterling.



Well crap. I may have to change my tune regarding the overall quality control on current action figures. See I've opened a lot of figures in my day and even though I am extremely careful with every single one, there are still figures that break, fall apart or just simply come out of the package with seized joints. My current issues seem to be with Hasbro and their gummy-ass joints making them very easy to tear right off. Thankfully I've learned and lived by the method of heating the figures up to free any sticky joints, but even with this process some figures just don't want to cooperate. This was a relatively new issue that I've had, but Toybiz is starting to prove me wrong given that I've had more of these 20 year old figures break than anything else in recent months, which is also VERY frustrating given that they aren't the easiest things to replace at this point.
So you might be wondering what led to this little diatribe; well my little Easterling friend here, one figure that I was REALLY looking forward to, had not one, but TWO seized wrist joints that eventually tore completely free. Awesome right? Well the good news is that, like some geriatric toy repairman from Toy Story2, I was able to fix them using some thick wire and a small Dremel hand tool, and they still rotate, but I'd rather not have to rely on my (surprisingly amazing) repair skills.

Pros: The sculpt is always the winner on these figures, but honestly everything is pretty dang cool. I was also impressed with some of the poses I was able to get them into.

Cons: Both wrists broke out of the package. BOTH! Now I might blame that on the age of the figure and being in storage for a while, but still: its a simple joint that shouldn't just rip off.

[Team Jetfire]

982-2
Hasbro- Star Wars The Black Series: Sabine Wren




Quick confession: As of this writing I'm 5 weeks into the release of Asoka and I've only streamed 3.5 eps and if I'm honest it's just ok. I've watched all of Rebels (and liked it) and know there is a big fan service-y episode on the horizon, but I just wonder why this live action series is a thing. Nothing against Rosario Dawson and the rest of the actors, but this SHOULD have been a cartoon continuation of Clone Wars and Rebels. Why? Because nothing they are doing would not look better animated and there is really limited new water that we are treading with this series. Now don't get me wrong, there are some cool scenes, but these live action movies have some expensive qualities and you can (literally) see some of the corners cut. (That huge LCD backdrop is cool, but I can see it every single time. THAT SAID: I love Star Wars and more Star Wars is always appreciated.

Pros: I think Sabine is my second of the Rebels crew and she's pretty dang great. Nice sculpt, good articulation and love the storage for her weapons. Also MORE removable helmets and less removable, alternative head sculpts.

Cons: It's far time that women figures should have STANDARD double jointed elbows. Not given that most Black Series figures don't even have them, but she's a freaking Mandalorian and should have ALL the movement.

[Team Jetfire]

83-S
Hasbro- G.I. Joe Classified: Outback.




I like the character of Outback a lot, but not for the typical reasons that you would like. See, one of my favorite G.I. Joe figures of all time is a character named Ambush. Like Outback, Ambush was a survival specialist that presumably went out into the field for months on end, just living off the land and when I was a kid who spent hours in the woods, this was very appealing to me. The biggest difference was that Ambush was more of a sniper in a pseudo ghillie suit, while Outback seems to be less worried about attracting attention, but I?m sure the mentality is similar. In any case, I doubt that Classified will ever get around to a lesser known character like Ambush, so Outback will have to fill in for him and given how amazing this figure is, I think it is a decent trade off.

Pros: If every Classified figure was of the same level and quality as Outback, this line would easily be the BEST action figure line in the history of toy lines; he?s THAT good. Credit sculpt, great accessories, great articulation and just so much fun to play around with. I can only hope that there is more of this in our collecting future.

Cons: For me, nothing, but I?m sure some will miss the windowed boxes.

[Robimus]

Even with half the figures missing the mark, Classified is still easily the class of the six inch collecting world in my opinion.

The level of detail, the amount of accessories, and now serious vehicles incoming. It be working!