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

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers- Titanium Series: Ultra Magnus
Approx Release Date: 2006
Current Price and Availability: $89.00 https://www.ebay.ca/itm/transformers...IAAOSwhWFcjlk4



Well, you can’t say that Hasbro was not open to trying new things; even if they were questionable. It is odd that we all thought that figures made from die-cast metal was a good idea, but perhaps we were simply feeling nostalgic for the original G1 figures. Hell, even Optimus Primal had a throw away line about how die-cast was a lost art, so these figures had to be a hit right? Not so much. Yes they were kind of neat and sow same pretty unique releases (Beast Wars Optimal Optimus, Beast Machines Cheetor and the first release of any “cybertronian” form figure, but it’s clear why fully articulated toys are not made from metal: it’s heavy and they tend to fall apart extremely easily, especially when the connection points are made from plastic. Some were worse than others, but it was a given that you would lose at least a limb or two during transformation; hell, the first Megatron release would fall apart if you just looked at him wrong.

Pros: One of the better 6” Titainium figures and a decent representation of the G1 Ultra Magnus figure in both Robot and vehicle mode while not using the same “parts-former” transformation. I do appreciate that they included a gun and removable shoulder rockets.

Cons: Due to the die-cast construction all the joints are fairly weak making any poses very difficult to hold. Additionally the vehicle mode doesn’t really tab together making the arms of the trailer just kind of sit in place.

[Team Jetfire]

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Disney Parks- Vinylmation: Star Wars The Last Jedi - First Order Executioner Trooper



Well, it’s been a little while since my last trip to a Disney Park and if you are a consistent reader of this blog you know that I don’t got too long between trips, so it's not too surprising. What was surprising is that I was able to still find some Vinylmations for purchase, a miracle given that the line is all but finished. Was a good run, but it will be a sad day when I can’t mark my vacation with a blind bagged vinyl figure shaped like Mickey Mouse but painted with some unique design. Maybe I’ll branch out and start collecting pins or something in the future; that is if I can get around the fact that they are not toys.

As mentioned I was pretty fortunate to find a case of this series at the Star Wars store located in Disney Springs which is basically an outdoor mall in Walt Disney World in Florida and in typical fashion I trusted one of my kids to make the selection of the blind box and I’ll be honest, I could not have been much happier with the selection given that the Trooper was easily the best of the bunch; not even Snoke who was the special “chase” figure was any good. Jeez, no wonder people are not buying these!?!

Just a quick note about the trip if anyone cares about theme parks. We were there for my daughter as her Cheerleading team was competing at the Worlds All Star Championships that happens every year in DIsney World. It’s a massive event and we were lucky enough to see her compete, but also to spend some time after enjoying the various Disney and Universal theme parks.

Some high points:
Generally speaking the Disney parks were light in terms of crowds. Sure there were 1000’s of cheerleaders running around, but they weren’t exactly hanging out in the line at Splash Mountain or anything. This allowed us to ride all the rides we intended without too much wait. Some advice for those planning a Disney World vacation, use the Fast Pass Plus system as MUCH as you can. There are some tricks you can use throughout the day to score a Fastpass even on the most popular rides.
The weather was fantastic. I have vacationed in Florida in January (when it snowed) and in July (when it was so hot that I thought I would die), but Florida in April is almost perfect. We were lucky having no rain, but I think we could have managed as it’s pretty well set up for it.
We were able to check out the new land at Hollywood Studios “Andy’s Backyard”, a land based on the Toy Story franchise. As you might imagine it was amazingly themed and we really enjoyed the new rollercoaster “slinky Dog Dash” despite the 60 min wait. (Fast Pass was not on our side for that one)
While the movie still has yet to leave an impression, the Land of Pandora, based on the Avatar movie, is still amazing. If you are planning a trip make sure you check out both rides and eat at the restaurant; totally worth it in my opinion.
We were also fortunate to spend a day at Universal Studios for what could amount to possibly my FAVORITE theme park day ever. The crowds were low, the weather was perfect and I was able to finally ride the Amazing Spiderman ride, something that I had missed on previous outings. THis outing also made my reconsdier my initial review of the newer Escape From Gringots Harry Potter ride as it was so much better than the first time. Again, if you are planning a trip to central Florida, Universal Studios should be on your list.
Lastly, this was the first trip to Disney we had some time to experience (not entirely true, but we were really young and my wife was pregnant with our daughter the first time) the parks on our own as well as with some other adults without kids. I’ll tell you its a much different experience when you are not so worried about kids being hungry or thirsty or wanting to buy everything.
Some low points
Unfortunately the airline lost my luggage and I spent the first few days in travel clothes. I was given some money to buy essentials, but for whatever reason clothes in my sizes were scarce.
The timing of this trip was just short a few weeks for the brand new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This wasn’t a surprise or anything as I have been keeping an eye on the updates, but it would have been nice to see it.
There was a time when a trip to the USA meant a decent toy haul, but it seemed as though any toy aisle within distance of where we were staying was pretty picked over. I was lucky and did make it home form with a few Marvel Legends including Forge, Infamous Doom and an Amidala Black Series figure, but that was the result of a lot of hunting; really makes me appreciate Amazon.

Pros: This wave consisted of figures from the Last Jedi and I was pretty fortunate to get the best looking one of the bunch. I’m also a big fan of when they include accessories as you feel like you are getting a bit extra.

Cons: With these blind box figures you really do take a chance, but it worked out so no real con for me on this one. I will say that the price is a bit ridiculous considering they aren’t exactly flying off the shelves, but that's just the norm in Disney. Lastly and I know that I keep saying this, it will be a sad day when these are full discontinued.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- GI Joe- Sigma Six: Zartan



Ok, you should know the song and dance with Sigma Six at this point, but I will reiterate: I love Sigma 6, I feel that it was before its time and I feel that it should have never been cancelled. Zartan was one of those characters from my youth that carried a lot of favor with my brother and I. Consider this: He had a mysterious backstory, he was a master of disguise and he was the leader of the coolest group of mercenaries: the Dreadnoks. Looking back I don’t recall his role in the short lived Sigma Six show, but he certainly played a big part in the original Sunbow cartoon and both of (ill fated) live action movies.

Its unclear as to where the GI Joe franchise is heading, as at the time of this review the new Snake Eye movie was pushed back on the schedule. I for one would love a new cartoon series or movie that is geared to a more mature audience; think DC Direct movies, but with GI Joe, Cobra and THE DREADNOKS. Hell, I’d love a who series that focused on Zartan and the crew just dealing with Cobra and messing with GI Joe. It would be like Sons of Anarchy but in the world of GI Joe!

Pros: Zartan has a great stylized sculpt that I love about the Sigma 6 line, but still manages to capture the classic look that older collectors might be farminalre with. He comes with a good amount of homemade/custom weapons and accessories that would seem reasonable for a mercenary like Zartan to have at his disposal and a good amount of articulation to allow for a number of different poses.

Cons: While I was excited to finally crack open Zartan after all these years I could not help but be a bit disappointed and it’s tough to figure out why. Overall I think it could be partially due to how cumbersome his weapons are and how they negatively affect his poseability. For instance, what is with that three point rope dagger thing? Sure it looks cool, but doesn’t fit in his hand very well and can’t do much else with it. I suppose my final overall feeling on a figure usually comes down to if I can get one of two decent poses out of a figure when I’m taking pictures and unfortunately I just couldn’t do it with Zartan; not in the way that I would have liked anyways. Ah well, can't all be perfect I guess.

[Team Jetfire]

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DC Collectibles- DC Icons: Harley Quinn.



Hmm, seems like I'm suffering from a bit of Deja Vu, what with reviewing another Harly Quinn in the same jester outfit. Not on purpose though as this was just as the figure numbers lined up. In any case this Harley is reimagined in the more realistic, comic style over the animated look and honestly I’m not sure that I really care for it. Don’t get me wrong, I favor her jester look over all the others (especially “Daddy's Little Monster... yuck) but I’m not sure if it really works in real life. Might have something to do with her facial sculpt though as it looks more like a secretary dressing up for a halloween party than the crazy/silly Harly Quinn.

Pros: Overall nice look figure with a good sculpt, nice accessories included trademark cork gun and mallet and a good amount of articulation allowing for a number of decent poses. I will give props to DC for having double jointed elbows on their female figures.

Cons: I really don’t like the head sculpt and wish they gave her a more expressive face, additionally, and I have not measured her or anything, but she seems a bit too tall as compared to the other DC figures. Lastly, like on all the Icons figures, a thigh swivel would have made this figure perfect.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers- Reveal the Shield: Megatron.



Rating of worst to best of the Transformers movies continued; see review 208-2, 213-2, 217-2, 223-2, 226-2, 230-2 & 234-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #5: Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Bad

As previously mentioned, seamingly ad nauseam, the story lines for these Transformers movies are a bit tough to follow and it’s no wonder given that the filmmakers play real fast and loose with the movie’s timelines. For instance, it's not really clear how much time passed during the assault on Chicago. Some scenes would suggest it takes place in a day and some others make it seem like it was days or even weeks. I feel like it would have had to be at least 24 hrs as that’s the approx time that it would take Sam to drive from Floridia to Chicago. In the grand scheme it’s not that big of a deal and I’m sure editing a movie like this is a sizable task, I’m willing to give it a pass in favor of more action scenes which this movie has no shortage of.

Another thing that I feel the movie did a bad job on was the use and development of the new Transformers characters. Sure Sentinel Prime was pretty cool and Soundwave/Laserbeak were featured fairly prominently, but Shockwave, a character that was hyped for the movie was all but wasted in only a few scenes that really did nothing for the story. I wonder if maybe he was to play the “leader of the decepticons” role early on, but was sidelined early on in favor of the haggered Megatron that we got. Also, who do I have to punch in the face for that frick’in Que charater? A) the stupid Einsite comparison makes no sense. B) He should have been Wheeljack C) His death scene had ZERO impact becuase we saw him for all of 2 seconds before hand. Jezz Hasbo, If you are going to leverage our nostalgia do it right would ya?
And finally, speaking of death of Transformers, what were they thinking killing off Ironhide. I mean, I couldn’t have cared less about Que, but why Ironhide? I also wish that they kept Starsceam alive; I didn’t like how he died and feel that his presence is greatly missed in the sequels.

Pros: Not since 1985 has there been a G1 accurate domestic released megatron so you have to give some credit to Hasbro for that. In fact, he’s not half bad; looks the part in both modes, has a fun little transformation and probably has more articulation that the original.

Cons: Well, he’s pretty small taking away all the “fun’ of the original concept. Also the big orange plug kind ruins the overall aesthetic; better than getting mistaken for a real gun and getting shot though.

[Team Jetfire]

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Disney Toy Box- Disney Classics: Ralph



Rating of worst to best of the a the Pixar movies continued; see review 205-2, 219-2 & 231-2 for the previous instalments:

17. Brave- There is a chance that Brave should be higher on my list, but like the Good Dinosaur, I believe that I only watched it the one time and have not made the time to revisit it. It’s not like I do not like the Merida and feel that she is compelling character (I loves me a Bow wielding protagonist) as well as the charming, non-standard “Love Story” between her and her Mom, but I think maybe the ‘turning into a Bear” bit was done well enough in the Disney movie “Brother Bear”.

Pros: So Ralph is the first Toy Box figure that received a bit of a big figure to match his body type and overall he looks pretty great. The figure does well to capture Ralph’s goofy, but well meaning look and still maintain the Infinity aesthetic. Good amount of upper body articulations and comes with a plate of pancakes from the game in the latest movie.

Con: I feel that this issue will be systemic on all these larger figures, but the articulation on his legs is pretty limited. Sure, there is a full range of movement on the ankle joint including rockers, but the construction of the hips limit the articulation to the point that I wonder if the ankle joints are even needed. Additionally while I appreciate that there is an accessory included with every figure, I feel that there was a better choice for Ralph; I mean, he can barely even hold it.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Star Wars Black Series: Bespin Luke



Rating of worst to best of the Star Wars movies continued; see reviews 215-2, 218-2 & 221-2 for the previous instalments:

Star Wars Movie Rating #9. Star Wars Ep 3- Revenge of the Sith: The Good

Second from the bottom might be a bit surprising for Ep 3 as it's commonly held in higher regard, but for me it represents more of a missed opportunity to really showcase Ankin's fallout with Obi Wan and his ultimate transformation to Darth Vader. Unfortunantly what we got was a bit of a hamfisted series of loose ends quickly tied up by the end to ensure everything is left the way it should be for EP 4.
As mentioned I had some pretty high expectations for this movie and I do have to give credit where it is due. The first sequence with Palpatine's rescue was pretty incredible. Hell, that initial shot of the Jedi Star Fighters clearing the Republic Destroyers to revel one of the most epic space battles is nothing short of amazing and it happens in the first 5 minutes. I also really like the introduction of General Grievous, but would have rather he been introduced in EP 2 to give his character more time to grow. Sure there was some more backstory from the 2 Clone Wars cartoons, but the movies should really stand on their own accord. Lastly the final lightsaber battle between Obi Wan and Vader was incredible with both actors showing some serious saber skills. And while it was not my preferred fight set up (i would have rather Vader been in the suit, or at the very least a version of the suit) with a red light saber, I do admit that it works really well to show the ultimate breakdown of their relationship.
Pros: Bespin Luke is a great example of why these Black Series figures are so great; Solid overall sculpt of the outfit, decent articulation suitable for a number of good poses and key accessories that compliment the figure well. Granted this was a much bigger feat when these only cost $20 (canadian) but I digress, they are still nice figures.
Cons: I’m not sure if I just got an odd one, but Luke’s face is a bit haggard. I’d like to think it was the result of the Wampa attack on Hoth, but can’t help but feel that they could have done a better job. Perhaps there is a re-release on the horizon for this figure.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Tiger Shark



Rating of worst to best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies continued; see review 207-2, 210-2, 216-2, 222-2, 228-2, 232-2 & 233-2 for the previous instalments.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating #15- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Originally GOTG2 was a lot higher on my list, but after some re-watches and reflection I’m not sure that it deserved that spot. Not that it's a bad movie or an poor sequel, there were just some odd choices made. That said, I’m happy to hear that, as of this review, James Gunn has been reinstated as director given that I never really understood the reasoning behind him being let go. Now I don’t know the specifics and maybe he is a weird guy that made some questionable choices, but as far as I know he never broke any laws and has apparently grown up a bit. In any case he is a capable director and gave a life to a little known comic book team that features a talking racoon and a tree; what more do you want? The story works well in the context of the world and really does well to develop Peter Quill’s back story as the offspring of a celestial being, thereby retconning his ability to hold an Infinity stone without dying, even if it strays a bit from the source material. I also appreciate that they gave more time to Rocket as it would have been really easy to write him off as a secondary character. Additionally was nice to see the connection between Gamora and Nebula as it really plays into the Infinity War and End Game films. Hell, even Yondu gets a good arc. As a matter of fact, this movie did a great job in featuring all characters featured in a large ensemble cast that could easily be forgotten or lost in the shuffle. That said, not all are perfect and while I still love the character and performance, I was pretty disappointed in Drax. Yes, there was some good stuff there, but he really changed from the first one and not for the better. To be honest, even 50% less belly laughing would have changed my opinion. Let’s hope that in Volume 3 they can even him out a bit. I will also say that the ending pretty well broke me and though cliche, felt was fitting for the character and a touching end for a “simple comic” movie and quite frankly a good example of why these Marvel movies are so well received.

Pros: Tiger Shark seems like one of those comic characters that i would have make up as kid; not that there's anything wrong with that given most comic characters are probably derived as such, but it’s merely an observation. I’m also not sure why, but it never really dawned on me that he might play foil to the Atlantean grump Namor, who is apparently so off my radar that I forgot Marvel had an underwater fella of their own.I like the overall hulking look of the larger body type they gave TS and also feel that again, Hasbro did a really great job on the head sculpt. He’s another filler toy that some collector would like, but if you need to pick him up for the BAF piece he’s not too bad.

Cons: According to the 3 minutes of research I did, it appears that his traditional costume has barbs running up and down his legs and torso, something that is noticeably missing from this figure. In truth I’m not sure that it wouldn’t have looked silly, but it’s still a noticeable difference. Also the fin on his head limits his ability to look up, something a water based individual would likely want to do.

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[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers Prime: Soundwave



Rating of worst to best of the Transformers movies continued; see review 208-2, 213-2, 217-2, 223-2, 226-2, 230-2, 234-2 & 239-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #5: Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Ugly

This would not be a Transformers movie without some questionable ugliness and to be honest, it’s certainly NOT coming from Sam’s various girlfriends. I suppose that Shia is a good enough looking fellow, but if it was a fluke that he was able to date Makalia, how is it that he could ever get Carley to look in his general direction? I’ve said it before, but I have a much easier time believing that alien robots are living on Earth, hidden among us all than Sam’s ability to get with either of those girls.
One of the other big issues that I have with the movie is the bevy of wacky human characters that are given substantial amount of screen time with not real payoff. At least Sam's mom and agent Simmons are consistent with their other appearances, but did Michael Bay just tell Ken Jeung and John Macovich to just show up and act batshit crazy? It’s senseless and totally takes you out of the movie for some really odd attempts at humor.
Lastly and perhaps more concerning was Optimus Prime's continued spiral in being a murderous rage monster. Who IS this guy and what did he do with the Prime I’ve known for years? I get that he is dealing with some sizable stakes and Sentinel, along with Megatron, killed a lot of humans and Autobots alike, but to shoot Sentinel in the face to end his life was real cold; Hero’s don’t act that way and I’m frankly pretty surprised that Hasbro signed off on that.

Pros As the Transformers brand evolves some change is inevitable and I think this is a good thing and Soundwave here is a good example. Sure his cassette player G1 form will always be his “proto” version, but given that his role on the ranks of the Decepticons is that of a communications expert; a much more sophisticated alt mode would certainly be a UAV: so this iteration of the character really works for me. I also like that they found a way to include a little Laser Beak accessory that integrates well in both modes. The Transformation is fairly straightforward to robot mode and provides some unique articulation points that does well to capture the overall Prime aesthetic that they were going for.

Cons: The robot mode has some quirks that boil down to the overall character design elements from the Prime cartoon series and while I admit that I like the look, it doesn’t transfer very well to an articulated action figure. Also the joints on mine are a bit loose so he tends to fall over if attempting any pose outside of standing straight up.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends Premium: Iron Man




Rating of worst to best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies continued; see review 207-2, 210-2, 216-2, 222-2, 228-2, 232-2, 233-2 & 242-2 for the previous instalments.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating #14: Captain America: the First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger did something fairly remarkable; made me care about Captain America who was the 1st Avenger. Don’t get me wrong, he was always on the radar as a kid given my general enjoyment of all things comic based, but I never really cared for an all American super soldier. At any rate the film, mostly in part to Chris Evans’ fantastic characterization, was really well done and helped the viewer understand what makes Captain America special. The movie also does well to tie itself into the other MCU movies with consistent story beats of the tesseract, involvement of Other characters living in the 20s/30s and sets up some massive relationships that evolve into the 2nd and 3rd movie.
While the movie starts strong, it somewhat falls flat in the second half as it basically becomes a typical war movie. I suppose that it’s important to see Cap (that’s what we call him) in action with his Howling commandos to solidify his legacy, but as the ending is written already it’s just a bit boring. In fact I just watched it and could not tell you what happened outside if Bucky (presumably) dying, Cap and The Red Skull fighting and the plane crashing in the attic. That’s not a lot of cover in an hour of screen time.
For the most part Captain America: The First Avenger does what it set out to do: Introduce Steve Rogers into the lexicon of the MCU in a plausible way, set up other themes and characters for sequels and provide another piece to the larger Avengers puzzle.

Pros: Of all the Legends premium figures Iron Man was probably my least wanted as I was not sure how they were going to pull it off, but for the most part, they did an alright job. The sculpt looks great, the extra fists and energy effects are a nice touch and compliments the figure well plus the extra unmasked Stark looks pretty good. I was also fairly surprised with the range of motion on the figure and can get him in a number of decent poses, something that is not always possible on the regular 6” Legends figures. .

Cons: If I remember correctly these figures cost upwards of $60 on their original release and to be honest, Iron-Man is not worth it at all. I understand that they were marketing these to the collector “Hot Toys” crowd, but these are not even close to being that category and more or less feel like scaled up Marvel Legends. The one exception so far has been Thor, but he benefits from some softgood items that compliment 12” figures; however Iron Man has none of that. I think if they included smore more armor attachments and a helmeted head sculpt with mask up it might have felt like a figure worth the price, but as is, I'm glad I only spend $25.