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

[Team Jetfire]

362-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Thor and Sif




I’m continuing my multipart look as to why Starlord is NOT to blame for allowing Thanos’s rise to power as featured in the MCU Infinity War movie with today’s review. Have a look at reviews 338-2, 339-2, 342-2, 349-2 and 355-2 for previous thoughts.

Up to this point Thanos has been able to Collect 4 infinity Stones with relatively little problem, that is, outside of sacrificing his daughter for the soul stone, but I suppose she WAS only adopted. In any case, the time stone, held by Dr Strange, was Thanos’ next target and lucky for him, the hero’s in their infinite wisdom decided to deliver it directly to him. I suppose they had some pretty good odds what with the three Avengers and a good portion of the Guardians of the Galaxy joining forces, but even their best effort was for not as Thanos was destined to win the stone that day and nothing that Star Lord did would have stopped that. Hell, even if they managed to get the stupid glove off they still would have lost just as Dr Strange predicted, Everyone that called for StarLords had forgot one important detail which was that only one seinario will work out favourably for the universe and it involved Peter messing everything up at the last minute. I also wonder why Strange was not able to do more in the moment with the time stone. Sure Thanos wielded great power with 4 stones, but Stange was pretty well unbeatable when facing Dormammu, why the change?

Pros: I was looking forward to most of these Marvel Studios: First Ten years figures when they were initially released for a few reasons. Firstly they all look to be really detailed and well done and secondly I had missed out on getting any of these figures from their first release as I was not collecting Marvel Legends at the time. Thor and Sif were certainly high on my list to pick up and for the most part they deliver on my expectations. Both Thor and Sif have detailed sculpts based on their appearance from the 2nd Thor movie, have typical Marvel Legend articulation and character specific accessories.

Cons: Outside of her hair limiting her neck articulation, Sif has very little issues. Thor on the other hand is another story; his head sculpt is way off and looks pretty terrible, his hard plastic cape limits most poses and his abdomen articulation point is so ridiculously loose that I had to shove some folded paper up there just to provide some friction.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

363-2
Playmates/Spin Master- Retro Donatello



Last and certainly not least of the retro figures is Donatello and the proverbial one that got away, as a kid anyways. I’ve been forthcoming with the fact that Donatello was my favorite turtle from the start and I was never able to acquire him as a kid, but how the tables have turned! Despite the differences between the cartoon designs and the figures, I still am very impressed with how these figures turned out. Sure, they are not perfect, but in a lot of ways I think that they almost look more believable as mutated Turtles than what the animated show gave us. In any case I only have a handful of TMNT to open up, including some that were based on the animated look, so I guess I’ll have to see how they stack up.

Pros: Nice re-release of a figure that I was never able to pick up. Decent articulation, good amount of accessories and was a very attractive price point.

Cons: A few minor articulation changes would really benefit this figure, but given that it is a re-release of a figure from 30 years ago I’m ok to give it a pass.

[Team Jetfire]

364-2
Hasbro- Transformers Titans Return: Kickback.




I was always annoyed with the Insecticons in the G1 cartoon as they were treated like nameless soldiers, not unlike the Sharkticons, that were released in droves and were void of personality. I suppose it makes sense given that they are Insects that are often found in doves, but I feel it’s just a bit lazy on Hasbro’s part as I would much rather sussed out characters with individual personalities, but understand why this is not always easy in the realm of animation.

Pros: A cool little pocket sized figure with a nice G1 design, simply transformation and decent amount of articulation.

Cons: Would it have killed Hasbro to include a weapon?

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

365-2
Mega Construx- Series 1: Jean Luc Picard.



So what are everyone's thoughts on the new Star Trek show Picard? I know that some people are a little sour on it, but I'm a fan. Perhaps it has more to do with all the guest stars from the The Next Generation and Voyager series, but what can I say: I’m nostalgic for the 80s and 90s. That said, I do wish that they incorporated a bit more of the television series vibe over the much more dark vibe from the Final featured film. I get that there is no story without drama, but does everything need to be so bleak? I’ll keep watching and just cross my figures that they don’t kill off anymore characters.

Pros: Back before the age of the internet and online forms there was a monthly publication called Toyfare that provided fans with all the action figure content that a monthly magazine could deliver. One running feature was the top ten figures of the month and I was often put off by their inclusions of various Mini Mate action figures. If you are not aware, Mini Mates are a line of Lego-type mini figures with a bunch of accessories and articulation. I have a few Star Trek ones in my collection including an Enterprise/Kirk set that I got at the craziest ‘Ross Dress for Less’ that I ever set foot into 10 min away from Walt Disney World. You can see the review HERE.
As I was saying, at the time I was put off at the inclusion of these simple figures as judged against real action figures, but have done a 180 on that way of thinking. I mean, I’m not filling my shelves with little 2 inch Lego knock offs, but certainly get the appeal. Which brings me to this little Mega Construx Picard. I think it’s a fun little figure for all the right reasons and feel that I should have picked up the other Mega Construx TNG building sets. That said, the reality is that I don’t have the room, nor the desire to build sets, so I’ll just stick to the one-off figures that I can get my hands on.

Cons: At $5 these figures are a bit pricey to justify the purchases.

[Team Jetfire]

366-2
Disney Toybox- Marvel: Dr Strange.



I’m continuing my multipart look as to why Starlord is NOT to blame for allowing Thanos’s rise to power as featured in the MCU Infinity War movie with today’s review. Have a look at reviews 338-2, 339-2, 342-2, 349-2, 355-2 and 362-2 for previous thoughts.

Alright, one last stone to protect and while it is correct that Thanos wielded more power than anyone else in the Universe, there was still one way that they could have prevented him from obtaining the Mind stone thereby stopping him from snapping half of life in the universe to dust. I’m of course talking about how Stark and Banner did not just preprogram the synopsis to work collectively as per Shuri’s suggestion? Just kidding, I’m not sure what that bullshit means. The clear answer should have been to destroy the stone; sure Vision would have died, but let’s face it, he did anyway and could have saved the entire universe in doing so; how’s that for a legacy?

Pros: I really love the look of this Toybox figure and feel that they nailed the Infinity look without having an actual Infinity Model to work off of. Strange has a good amount of articulation and comes with his trademark cape that looks really quite incredible on; something that I can’t always say about a Hasbro Marvel legend figure.

Cons: You see the lower part of his tunic? You see how it is made from plastic? Hard plastic that limits his ability to pose? Yeah… I hate that stupid piece of plastic….

[Team Jetfire]

367-2
Hasbro- Transformers Studio Series: Brawl.



I’m really enjoying these Studio Series Transformers figures, much more than I originally thought I would. It’s just a nice way to revisit some characters that have been featured in the Transformers movies with some new style engineering and designs. Now that I think about it, I find it very curious as to why these even exist given that there is very little media support for these figures. For instance Brawl was a background character from the original Transformers movie that came out 13 years ago. I can only think of two reasons: 1. They are trying to capitalize on the very lucrative nostalgic market or 2. They actually make toys for collectors. Either way I feel as toy collectors and fans of Transformers in general should be very thankful that someone at Hasbro seems to care a whole lot for the brand and its current offerings.

Pros: I was a big fan of Brawl and was happy to see he got the Studio Series treatment. It’s been a long time since I fiddled with my 2007 Brawls (I think I have a DELUXE and a LEADER clase version), so I can’t say if this updated version is an improvement. That said, they really hit this version out of the park. Looks great in both modes, has a decent transformation, fun articulation that makes the figure fun to pose and a bunch of different accessories.

Cons: Likely due to his Transformation there are some issues with his turret assembly: It doesn't rotate and the cannon is not adjustable. Also, when looked at from the side it kind of slants down to the ground.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

368-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Nico



I’m continuing my multipart look as to why Starlord is NOT to blame for allowing Thanos’s rise to power as featured in the MCU Infinity War movie with today’s review. Have a look at reviews 338-2, 339-2, 342-2, 349-2, 355-2. 362-2 & 366-2 for previous thoughts.

It’s an enjoyable thought experiment to delve into the various “what if’s” of stories and have provided a bit of perspective on what Marvel Studios was able to accomplish with both Infinity War and Endgame. Ultimately I feel that I have proven that while Star Lord played his part in Thaons’s rise to power, he was not the only one at fault as it seems as though everyone played their part in letting the universe down. That said, does it even matter? We can’t forget that Dr. Strange himself confirmed that there was only one potential winning outcome that he saw which incidentally happened at a point BEFORE Star Lord and company even faced Thanos. So from that point of view, Peter’s freak out over Gamora’s death helped was all part of the one income that Dr Strange foresaw. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, this is all just a movie and none of this matters… so there is that.

Pros: Rounding out the Dr Strange wave is Nico Minoru, a character that I have no knowledge of. Thankfully for me I have the internet and can learn! So here is the Coles Notes: She is the estranged daughter of some dark wizards, she is Japanese, she was part of the Runaways and A-Force teams and she is a lesbian. Oh, she also has mystical powers so there is that. The figure itself is fantastic. Really nice detail throughout, great sculpting and nice accessories, including her staff, some magic effects and a translucent arm: It’s unreal the amount of work that Hasbro will do on some of these figures.

Cons: It was not really apparent on the figure, but the head sculpt doesn’t really capture her ethnicity as a descendant from a Japanese family looking more like a typical goth girl. I also wish that Hasbro would do more to provide some context or history for these lesser known characters. Why don’t they include a mini comic or even a download code for an issue that she’s featured in; it would literally cost them nothing.