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

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

583-2
Hasbro- GI Joe- Renegades: Snake Eyes.



Well, this is it: My final 3 ¾ Gi Joe figure for the foreseeable future and is very fitting that it is Snake Eyes. Since the start of the 25th anniversary line way back when, I’ve been able to amass a respectable collection including some classics, comic two packs and even some movie figures and while I think they all look amazing on the shelf and are way better to conserve space, I’m glad that Hasbro has moved on with a 6” size class. I doubt that I’ll ever get my favorites from the Classified Line given the cost to produce one figure might be prohibitive to work in some of those more obscure characters, but a collector can dream right? Now that I think about it, my 3 ¾ collection is still missing one of my childhood favorites: Ambush. And though he was released as a Club exclusive, nostalgia can’t even make sense of that price.

Pros: Updated to somewhat match the design from the Renegades cartoon, Snake Eyes has a similar black and silver look. He has a good amount of usable articulation that allows for a number of fun poses. As with the other Renegades figures, SE comes with some show specific weapons including Swords, throwing knives and an awkward looking blaster with space to hold, more or less, hold them all.

Cons: One of my biggest issues with the more recent 3 ¾ Joe offerings is Hasbro’s practice of just throwing in odd accessories without explanation as to what they are for. As an example SE has a shoulder strap with space for his two swords (good) but also an open back pouch that I guess is for loose knife storage? It also fits the clip on his blaster, but that doesn’t make sense given that he has another holster for that. Makes me think there was supposed to be another accessory that was cut for this release. Also, the sculpt on this SE is a bit lacking as compared to the animation model given that he has pants in the cartoon.

[Team Jetfire]

584-2
DC Collectables- Batman the Animated Series: Ra’s Al Ghul




I think it would be interesting to ask a cross section of Batman fans two simple questions. 1. Do you consider yourself a fan of the Comics or other media including Cartoons and Movies. 2. Who do you think is Batman’s greatest enemy? If I were to guess, I would think that Comic fans would answer Ra’s while others would respond with The Joker. I guess my thinking is that the Joker has just been so prevalent in all the movies and cartoons given how over the top he can be, but it really doens;t translate well to the printed page. On the other hand Ra’s, being more of a psychological type foe, translates poorly on the screen as he’s really just a normal guy, but would be better suited as a villain in a long, drawn out comic series. As for me, I’m not a huge fan of Ra's myself and while I see him as a legitimate Bat- villain, never understood why he was so prevalent in the initial Chris Nolan Bat movie.

Pros: Ra’s looks like he just stepped out of the Batman: The Animated Series episode The Demons Quest episode that he was featured in with a cape and impressive jackal head mask. He also comes with some additional arms and a normal unmasked head.

Cons: I may have found the worst offender for a hard plastic costume that limits movement given that Ra’s cape may as well be a plastic force field. Seriously, what is the point of articulation if you can’t even use it. And while the cape is removable, underneath is just a guy in a boring green jumpsuit. Is this supposed to be one of Batman’s greatest foes? He literally can’t do anything! I really wish that they would have given him a cloth cape to get some action poses.

[Team Jetfire]

585-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Spider-Man 2099



Well, back to Marvel fandom for some answers as to where this suit came from and it came through again. Apparently as I understand, this new suit was designed by Peter Parker and has some Iron Spider features including rocket boosters in the heels. Overall as a fan of the original 2099 comics, I prefer the original Spider-Man 2099 design, but this suit is really sharp looking.

Pros: Really nice sculpt and paint job based on a new 2099 Spider-Man suit, nice sculpt on the mask/helmet and I love the added forearm talons. Articulation is pretty standard on this mould but allows for a number of different poses (none of which that I’m particularly happy with in my pictures though).

Cons: This mould really does not do this new armoured suit justice as it’s really just a simple repaint with a new head and moulded arm talons. The figure is bulkier than the previous 2099 figure which limits the articulation and I’m not sure why we only got fists for hands.

[Team Jetfire]

586-2
Hasbro- Transformers Generations: Armada Starscream.



This was unintentional, but looks like this could be the round of newer toys that are based on older versions of the Transformers series. I’ll just come out and say it: Despite all its issues, and there were a ton of them, I look at Transformers Armada in a positive light. Yes, the cartoon was rushed and at times unwatchable and the toys were gimmick heavy and had limited articulation, but it was the start of something great that included a decent video game, an impressive monthly comic, a new “race” of Transformers in the Minicons and of course gave us perhaps one of the most ambitious retail figures to date at that time: Unicron.

Pros: Armada has a rather odd cult following that I can only compare to Zuko from the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, but think it’s a fairly modern troupe in Anime: A quiet bruting misunderstood “villain” that slowly comes around due to the friendship of a girl. At any rate, I like this version of the character and was excited to open it up, but overall disappointed with the results. The sculpt is great in both modes and matches pretty well what I recall from the series. The articulation works for a number of poses in robot mode and I like that the shoulder missiles can be pushed up when not in use. I also like the translucent blades that he somes with and while I do not think they were intended as such, they can be held double blades, Darth Maul style. Lastly, LOVE the landing gear in jet mode.

Cons: One of the gripes of Transformers in particular is then they don’t tab together; it literally can ruin a figure for me. Unfortunately Start Scream has this issue in robot mode in that his chest piece doesn’t want to tab in place and just kind of flops around. Also, they did a really poor job in covering up his head in jet mode. Lastly, this is Armada right? Where is the Minicon?

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

587-2
Hasbro- Power Rangers Lighting Collection: White Ranger.




A few years back I made a mistake and I’m here to atone for it now, if you will indulge me. This is nothing earth shattering or thankfully anything that would get me cancelled, but kind of made me sound like an elitist dick. If I had to guess, I’d say that it was around 10 years ago and the various toy forms were much more popular where I made the comment that there was a toy hierarchy in which collecting things like Transformers and Star Wars was much cooler than say Power Rangers and Pokemon. Not sure why I felt the need to make that declaration and people rightly called me out for it, but I still feel bad about it given that it’s simply just a stupid point of view. Fact is toys are toys and everyone has their own reason why they like something. Power Rangers was never really my thing (except some parts of the first American series), but I was probably a bit too old for it and didn’t have the nostalgic feelings that others in this hobby do. With that in mind, you might be wondering why I’ve reviewed a toy that I have no real affinity for? Simple: As mentioned, I did like portions of the OG power Rangers and Tommy was my favorite Ranger, I like cool toys, which this really is and it was on sale for $12.

Pros: This was my first Hasbro Lightning figure and I have to say that I’m really impressed. Tommy/The White Ranger is a solid figure with a great sculpt, fantastic articulation that allows for a bunch of great poses, a bevy of accessories including an unmasked head, some extra fists, his trademark sword and a fun blast effect that fits on the end of the sword. All for twelve bucks!

Cons: Nothing that I can come up with. Even if I paid full price I feel that this figure would be worth it.

[Team Jetfire]

[ghostlurk29]

I wish Hasbro would go back to using gold paint. That molded gold plastic on Scorpina (and others) looks awful.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by ghostlurk29

I wish Hasbro would go back to using gold paint. That molded gold plastic on Scorpina (and others) looks awful.

I don’t have any other Power Rangers figures, but I would be really weary about any gold plastic given that it’s know to break down and crumble over time.