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

[Team Jetfire]

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NECA- Back to the Future: Ultimate Biff Tannen




Ok, picking up where I left off when I willingly, yet inadvertently, wore clothing with some white nationalist symbols. You can find the prologue to this story on the NECA Marty review # 597-2.

Ok, one thing that you need to know about me is that I always wear hats, well ballcaps specifically. Not sure why really, but it has just been a consistent thing throughout my life. Chances are unless I’m at work (at the office), sleeping, showering, or at a place where I can’t get away with it, I’m wearing a cap. I’m not trying to cover a bald spot and I don’t look particularly great in a hot, it's just part of my 42 year old man uniform I guess. There is also only really one style of hat that fits my stupid head so when I can find that style I typically stock up as I go through them pretty quickly given that the elastic headband thing stretches out over time.

I also went through a period where I wanted to limit the brands that I wore. It wasn’t some crazy anti-capitalist notion, or to fight the injustice of globalization, but more that I came to the realization that I did not want to be a billboard of a company like Nike, Under Armour, Hurley or whatever, when I wasn't even a fan of their products. That led me to a phase where I would just purchase blank “Flex Fit” hats from the same stores that would sell the branded stuff. On one hand they were cheaper and fit well, but on the other I looked like some random movie extra dressed in all ‘nondescript’ clothes to not cause any legal issues with the brands. Turns out, like it or not, brands on clothing items are normal and by wearing a non-branded item makes you stick out worse than an errant brand that you didn’t want to advertise in the first place. Perhaps there was an opportunity to do my own thing/ make my own brand while giving a small nood to a piece of pop culture that I love at the same time. Surely this would be the best of both worlds right?

To be continued on my next BTTF reviews.

Pros: Living in Canada NECA toys are a bit of novelty for me given the very little distribution at major retailers which is a shame given how amazing they really are. That said, aside from a few movie based DC releases a few years back, I've never really gravitated to their licenses. I suppose all it took was some figures from one of my favorite movie series. Like Marty before, Biff has a really amazingly detailed sculpt, has a decent amount of articulation and some key accessories including an alternative yelling head, some extra hands and the Sports Almanac that acted as the main plot device for the 2nd movie. Kind of brilliant really, 2 figures for the price of one.

Cons: Thankfully Biff does not have the same widespread quality control issue, however I am VERY gentle when handling the figure so I feel I’m missing out on the figure as a whole.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Abomination



Continuing the trend of having a quick look at the figures that made up the BAF figure here is my thoughts on the wave members:

1. Scarlet Witch: I actually included Scarlet Witch in my Giant Man wave review and just took the BAF piece from her. Still think it’s funny that they retconned her being called “the Scarlet Witch” initially in the Disney+ WandaVision series.

2. Secret Wars Captain America: Cool figure with a real grumpy face and unique uniform. I also LOVE the idea of the shield throwing hand on paper, but in reality it’s a bit awkward.

3. Captain Britain: I love the overall look and size of this figure, but just a bit too basic of a release.

4. The Eel: A nice paint job and electric hands does not do much to save a figure that I have zero attachment too.

5. Wonder Man: Best of the wave in my opinion given that he is an actual character that has not received multiple in the past, is not a C level villain and that I have some history with. Doesn’t hurt that it achieves what it is trying to do as a cool looking action figure.

6. Iron Skull: A very unique character that suffers from a lot of the same things that the typical multitude of Iron Man figures do: limited pose-ability and boring presentation. I do like the additional head, but I doubt it’s unique to this figure.

This wave as a whole was a bit of a dud. That said I like that we got a Wonderman figure and I think I picked most of this wave up for cheap.

Pros: Abomination will be a very hot ticket soon given his involvement in the Shang Chi movie, but I’ve never really cared. That said I do like the overall size and feel that as a BAF he really works well. Plus that head sculpt is dynamite.

Cons: Nothing to note.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Gi Joe Sigma Six: Ninja Flame Kamakura



A lot of Gi Joe fans have been critical of Sigma Six and while I understand some of their issues, I still feel that there was a lot of good stuff to come out of it including the new character of Kamakura. And while I will admit that Sigma Six was a bit heavy in the Ninja department, at least it let Snake Eyes take a ninjutsu break and focus on the other side of his skill set of being a commando; or that is what my head cannon says anyways. Unfortunately, as far as I understand, Kamakura’s GI Joe life ended when Sigma Six did and this figure is his last iteration, but what a great figure to go out on.

Pros: A whole new look and color scheme for the character and I gotta say, I’m here for it. I love the blue colour scheme especially as it contrasts witht eh orangey-ref of the flames, which are quite abundant in this set. Articulation is standard for the line and can achieve a number of cool poses. Lastly, the accessories are plentiful and extremely cool. I’m honestly not sure how efficient a bunch of flaming accessories would be in actual combat, but it looks really cool regardless.

Cons: One of the reasons why I liked Sigma Six was that Hasbro let the figures speak for themselves and never added too many gimmicks into the line. Unfortunately, this is one of the figures that received a gimmick and it affects the overall look of the figure given that they added a spinning weapon feature on his forearm. It’s relatively small and unobtrusive, but ultimately not required and detracts from the figure.

[Team Jetfire]

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DC Collectables- DC Essentials: Deathstroke.



**Sigh**

Only my second “DC Essentials” figure and while I don’t like to be negative on these reviews, these really aren’t great and certainly not an improvement over the much lauded DC Icons line that came before. Yes, there are incremental improvements over the Icons line including a more reasonable size and better articulation, but literally everything else is worse as compared to Icons, but somewhat on par with Marvel Legends, which says a lot more about Hasbro than it does DC Collectables.

Pros: While Deathstoke is not a great figure, there are 2 good things about him: One- I really like the overall articulation scheme for these figures and allows for a number a solid poses. Two- I appreciate that they included a holster for his gun and a sheath for his sword.

Cons: DC Collectables DC Essentials figures should be called DC Minimums, because that is really what you get: the very minimum to meet the character specifics. Two included weapons, however only one open had to hold them with. Zero detail on the sculpt and no alternative, unmasked head. Perhaps if I didn’t just open the Icons Deathstroke this figure would be ok, but as is, it’s just a cheap feeling toy. Good thing I only paid $15 for him.

[Team Jetfire]

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Mcfarlane Toys- Avatar: the Last Airbender- Sokka



Starting something a bit different here. I’m not sure that it’s clear in my daily reviews, but I write them well in advance and they follow a specific sequence (that starts with Sigma Six). And while I enjoy the consistency of that process, it doesn’t really afford much opportunity to review a newly released figure that I’m particularly excited for. For that reason I”m creating another review subset that will run concurrently with the normal reviews, but also not screw with the numbering that I have developed a mild case of OCD about.

Being a massive ATLA fan I was excited when McFarlane announced that they were producing a full line and even more excited when I saw them being unpacked at my local Wal-Mart. As I understand they are producing both a 5” basic line with limited articulation and accessories and a deluxe 7” line that is similar to his other collector offerings with more detail and better poseability. If I’m being honest, I was going to pass on the 5” figures as I didn’t really like the idea of poorly articulated figures (I have way too many Star Wars figures for that) but was sold on the fact that they had both hip and shoulder ball joints that make a huge difference for me.

Pros: I immediately decided to open and review Sokka first because he was passed over in the (disappointing) Diamond ATAB line and he is one of my favorites from the series. The overall design on this 5” figure is great and the head sculpt is really fantastic. Articulation is basic, but surprisingly adequate with head, hip and shoulder ball joints and pivots with swivels at the elbows and knees. I also really appreciate that he came with both his trusty boomerang and his sheath for storage. Oh, did I mention that he was only $15 canadian? Such a great value.

Cons: Sokka is an amazingly fun toy for $15 and I really can't complain. That said, joints at the wrists and ankle tilts (much like Mattel’s MOTU Origins line) would have made Sokka a toy of the year contender.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers Prime: Air Vehicon



I’ve never really understood the appeal of Army Builders in toy collecting, but since I joined a few GI Joe Classified groups on Facebook I might even loth them. Well that’s not fair as I’m sure they are great people and completed group shots are pretty darn great, but their very existence gives me collecting anxiety given that they are compelled to buy up every and all faceless soldier, trooper and ninja that they can get their hands on making it that much more difficult for us single mold collectors to find even one. That said, there’s no telling what army builder figure will be popular. Sure GI Joe Troopers are a given, as are Storm Troopers, but when it comes to Transformers it’s less of a thing, that I can see anyways.

Pros: I actually like this little figure quite a bit, especially for the low-low price of $3. It’s a pocket sized, transforming figure with two unique modes and even has a little accessory to go with it. I also appreciate that it’s the only Air Vehicon that I was able to have in my collection.

Cons: What is there to complain about on a $3 mini figure? A few extra points of articulation would have been phenomenal I suppose.

[Team Jetfire]

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McFarlane Toys- Fortnite: Dark Bomber



McFarlane coming in hot with yet another female figure in their Fortnite line and in all honesty it’s great to see. I mean, again, I don’t play the game so it’s not like I have any connection to the skin, but I know that there are a considerable amount of women and men that play Fortnite as these female skins and would probably love to see more of their favorites in plastic form. I’d even say that gone are the times of women figure shelf warmers and they are way more marketable then they once were, so why aren’t we seeing more female figures on the shelves? I suppose part of it could be that generally speaking there aren’t as many women characters in the media that these toys are based on, but maybe that will change over time.

Pros: Another really solid McFarlane Fortnite release with a unique figure mold, great overall sculpt and paint job with a good amount of articulation (DOUBLE JOINTED ELBOWS!) that allows for plenty of great poses. I LOVE the shotgun weapon and appreciate the re-painted pickaxe tool.

Cons: Unfortunately all that articulation comes at a cost and for Dark Bombers its stability given that those little female joints, especially the ankle ones, have a hard time supporting such a beefy figure.

[Team Jetfire]

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Toy-Biz- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Eomer




You know who is a great actor? Karl Urban. I may have said it before, but he has been involved in some of my favorite pieces of pop culture and that was BEFORE I realized that he was in the Lord of the Rings series. I’m not sure when I put it together, but ever since I have really grown to appreciate both him as an actor and Eomer as a character- in fact, could be my favorite of the trilogy? Is that crazy to say? I suppose a more conventional choice would be Aragon, Legolas or even Gimli, but I gravitate to the 2nd tier more often than not. I have to assume it’s because growing up I always got the non-main character figures. While Optimus was kicking Megatron’s butt, I was happy to see Wheel Jack and Soundwave fight it out in the background. When Duke and Cobra Commander were going toe to toe, I was rooting for Gung Ho while he took on ‘unnamed soldier’, when Matt Tracker was …. Ok you get the idea.

Pros: There is a lot to love about these 20 year old figures and I’m glad that I got back into them and Eomer is not an exception: He has a solid sculpt with a tone of painted detail, a good amount of character specific accessories, including a removable helmet and a decent amount of articulation for the time.

Cons: Unfortunately the downside includes some things present throughout the line that I’m not going to get away from. First of all, the action features and gimmicks are a bit frustrating and limit the articulation, plus the screaming head sculpt is appropriate for the battlefield but somewhat funny when he is just posed there.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Star Wars- The Black Series: Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)



So what really was Chewy’s relationship with Han based on? I remember reading as a kid that because Han saved his (Chewbacca’s) life that in return, Chewbacca owed him a Wookie Life Debt and was indentured to Han for the rest of his life. It was touched on a bit in the Solo movie, but nothing concrete and I think that is a good thig, given that the idea of a life debt is stupid, especially when you consider that Chewbacca COULD have a family that would presumably want to see him? I feel like it’s time to solidify the canon with Han saving Chewy from the Empire and refusing to take the life debt with them becoming friends/partners over time. Still doesn’t really explain why Chewy didn’t take the Falcon and leave after Han died, but given how the sequels played out, I doubt they really had an ultimate plan for Chewy.

Pros: If I had to guess, I would assume this is basically the same mold as the base Black Series release with maybe a new head sculpt? Either way it’s a solid figure with tones of molded details, a decent amount of articulation and comes complete with his trusty bowcaster.

Cons: Overall I dislike the design and wish they did something to differentiate him from his previous iterations. I understand it’s functional, but they could have done something more. Also The bowcaster is super gummy and bends really easily.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Angela



Guess who learned something new today? And while I knew that this Angela is the same character that appeared alongside Todd McFarlane’s Spawn in the super popular Image comic from back in the day, she is now the property of Marvel who has featured her prominently in as a long lost sister of Thor. How is this possible? One moment she is the darling of Image comics with scandalous action figures (search Party Angela in google) made by McFarlane’s toy company and now she’s kicking butt beside one of Marvels top properties. I assumed it was a DC/Wildstorm situation that allowed Jim Lee’s characters like Grifter to integrate with the likes of Batman and Superman over at DC, but it appears it was much more litigious than that. If sources are to be believed (Wikipedia) it looks like the character of Angela was possibly created by both Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman. Both claiming ownership, the matter (along with many others) was settled in court with Gaiman winning out and in turn selling the rights over to Marvel. As far as I can tell, Angela is the only Image character that has made her way into the Marvel Universe which is surprising given how marketable they likely could be, especially from a very lucrative nostalgic group.

Pros: I’m just going to say it: this is a beautiful figure and really does the character justice with a fantastic mold, a decent amount of articulation and a bunch of different accessories/extra gear that sets her apart from some of the more basic releases.

Cons: Overall she is a bit tough to stand up, plus a figure like this deserves double jointed elbows.