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

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Robimus

Gotta love a Shiner

The hover chair is like a little car for him!

[Team Jetfire]

577-2
NECA- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Raphael



It has been a long time since I have reviewed a NECA figure (God of War- Kratos. November 16, 2016) and it’s kind of surprising given how many cool figure lines they have, but that is quickly changing as I’ve picked up a number of these movie turtles, as well as the new Back to the Future line. I’m still not 100% on board on NECA as a toy producer as they are EXTREMELY fragile (more on that when I get to the BTTF figures), but also relatively difficult to get in Canada which is bonkers given that in the States, BOTH Target and Wal-Mart have decent selection. I mean, we are the only country to have a Toys R Us still and we don’t have access to figures from a major producer through retail channels? Thankfully EB Games carried the TMNT line and my LCS has a good section, but more options would be better.

Pros: I’m not certain the history of NECA, but I have to assume that the company was created as a direct result of the McFarlane Toys revolution in the 90’s, but with an important difference. For those unaware, McFarlane took something as childish as collecting toys and elevated it to an art form providing amazing sculpted figures with vibrant paint jobs and tons of detail, but at a cost: articulation. As far as I can tell, NECA has taken the sculpt, paint and details to heart, but also added the fun of pose ability, which for me is all the difference in the word. With that said, Raphael has a great sculpt that looks like it jumped right out of the movie screen, a good amount of articulation for fun poses, two sai weapons with storage, 2 extra fists, an extra mask ties and even a slice of pizza.

Cons: It’s odd, Raph, and I suspect the rest of the turtles, have the most limited double jointed elbows that I have ever fiddled with. This is more due to the sculpt realism of the bulk from the elbow pads, but odd nevertheless. Outside of that Raphael is pretty fun.

[ghostlurk29]

The NECA movie turtles are the pinnacle of action figures in the 6/7" scale. Especially when you factor in price.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by ghostlurk29

The NECA movie turtles are the pinnacle of action figures in the 6/7" scale. Especially when you factor in price.

I’m inclined to agree. Extremely pleased with these figures.

[Team Jetfire]

578-2
McFarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: Wonder Woman



So I recently re-watched Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and still feel that there is a ton of problems that could not have been easily fixed in the rushed timeline that the WD execs likely wanted in order to compete with Marvel. And while I understand why they wanted to re-intact the Superman / Batman scene from the Dark Knight Rises trade paperback, it just did not have the emotional weight to it given that in the movie, they literally just met whereas in the comic, they knew each other for years and Bruce was pissed that Clark became the President’s errand boy and wanted to prove that he was better. In fact, Batman’s motivation is much better compared to Batman from the Superman: Red Son comic in that Russian Batman hates the power that Superman has and just wants to kill him for it. Problem is that when Russian Batman fails, he blows himself up after Red Son Superman threatens to “reprogram” him. The outcome in BVS is much less realistic as they just somehow become buddies. It makes sense in TDK why Clark doesn’t kill him, as they are long-time friends and there is some respect between the two, but they just passed over all that goodwill built in over the years and threw it up on the screen for forty minutes of action. Anyway, that is a really long way of saying that I still love how Dianna/ Wonder Woman was introduced in the movie and feel that any scene with her and that amazing score, was better that the rest.

Pros: Overall this Wonder Woman figure is fine. The sculpt is decent and has great detail from the WD Universe movies, has a good likeness on the face sculpt and has the typical McFarlane articulation scheme that allows for the arm cross body pose that she loves to do so much. Rounding out the set is 2 lassos of truth, one wrapped to hang on her belt and one moulded to an “action” pose.

Cons: So my slight indifference on this figure could be attributed to the fact that it was released in conjunction with the recent WW1984 movie that I have not seen yet. That said, there is just something off about her. For example her hair, her BLACK hair, has a brown wash over it. It also seems that her legs are almost too long and look odd with the ball ankle joint assembly. Lastly, two measly accessories that are both the lasso of truth are just not going to cut it.

[Team Jetfire]

579-2
Hasbro- Generations Fall of Cybertron: Grimlock





Big oof coming in on Grimlock folks: this one is not great. As a fan of the TV show I was always flummoxed by the idea popularized in the comic, that Grimlock, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, was actually on Cybertron. Maybe I’m missing something, or maybe asking too much of my Sci-Fi that was created to sell toys to kids, but that don’t make no sense.

Pros: I was initially very excited for this figure given that at the time, we didn’t have a great updated Grimlock. And despite the Fall of Cybertron subline, he still shares a similar look from his G1 days with a futuristic/Cybertronian bend. The robot mode is pretty imposing and features some decent articulation, and two VERY impressive accessories including a translucent sword and shield. Transformation isn’t too difficult, but has a tricky shoulder assembly that I thought for sure I was going to snap. The Dino mode is, well, let’s just say that everything above the hips is good while….

Cons: Cont… everything below is bad. First off the legs are beyond flustering to pose and move around. The feet are not articulated enough to stand at a normal angle and that tail. What is with that tail? The legs and feet are also a bit of an issue on the robot mode as they are way too skinny and make it very difficult to pose. Unless you are a Fall of Cybertron purist I suggest you pass on this one.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

580-2
Disney Toybox- Star Wars: Jango Fett



There has been a lot of strange stuff that has come out of the Star Wars mythos over the years, but I think one of the more bizarre things is that Jango Fett, and by extension his clone Son Boba Fett, are not actually Mandalorian. And this is actually canon, not some bizzare Extended Universe nonsense. Nope, for some reason, the only characters that we knew as Mandalorians for years and years are in fact posers and for the life of me I cannot figure out why? I'm sure there will be some reason in the upcoming Book of Fett Disney Plus series so I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Pros: I was going to initially skip Jango as I thought it was a less impressive repaint of Boba, but I was wrong. That is to say that I’m certain if he is a repaint, but he is certainly impressive. The sculpt has that great Infinity style, the articulation is excellent and unencumbered and the two blasters with holsters work perfect. Plus: ankle tilts!

Cons: Really nothing, Jango is awesome and you should get him if you can still track him down.

[Team Jetfire]

581-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Eel.



As with many of these lesser known Marvel Legends figures, I did some digging to familiarize myself with who they are and came across a Marvel/Fandom page that I think had some humorous detail on the Eel.

On the Eels character page there is some quantifiable information like height, weight and age as well as strength and powers listed. It’s actually quite a feat considering these are all fan made and very exhaustive spouting some pretty cool attributes of the character, but also some interesting attributes. For example, under strength level:

“The Eel possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise”

So he’s really just a regular dude in a suit, but maybe not an ordinary suit as the write up also has some impressive details, all surrounding the ability to produce electric shocks and such, but also has this fun detail:

“Greasy Coating: The Eel's costume exudes a grease-like substance which makes it extremely difficult for opponents to get and maintain a firm grip on him.”

That's right folks, he’s hard to cash because he is greasy. Good thing that Hasbro didn’t take that little detail to heart as I’d rather not have my figure covered in slime.

Pros: Eel has a very basic sculpt, but makes up for it with a beauty paint job. Articulation is standard with this mould and he comes with the same translucent electric hands that were packaged with Electro and some normal fists.

Cons: I loth these rather lazy repaint Marvel Legends that Hasbro throws into a wave to sell a BAF piece. These are $30 figures (I got mine on sale), but the lack of any tangible betterment is really sad. And I’m sure that there is a massive Eel fan out there who is super happy with this release, but there has to be a better character out there to release.

[Team Jetfire]

582-2
Hasbro- Transformers Kingdom: Cheetor





Did you know that Beast Wars made its debut on television 25 years ago? That’s a time before Star Wars Ep1, a time before any Spiderman Movie, and even a time before the first Harry Potter book was released. Think of all the stuff, all the pop culture that people adore that has come out since then. Consequently it was only 9 years AFTER the last Transformers cartoon ep The Rebirth was released. 9 years seems like a long time between Transformers cartoons, but Hasbro kept the fire burning with the not so memorable G2 series of toys and jazzed up cartoon series so it really didn’t seem so long. In fact, I was not even a fan when I first saw this new iteration as I didn't quite get it, but over time came to love the new characters, the dynamic story and the new Mythos, so much so that it’s the catalyst that got me back into collecting Transformers. I know it's a bit of a rough watch now, what with the crude CGI, but for anyone that is a fan of Transformers and wants something different than Optimus the red truck versus Megatron the silver tank, then it is highly recommended.

Pros: IT’S CHEETOR BABY! He’s one of my favorites of the Beast Wars crew so I was thrilled that he was released as part of the new Kingdom line. Overall he is a solid figure with a nicely sculpted Cheetah animal mode, fun transformation that is really reminiscent of the older Beast Wars figures and a lot of usable articulation, including ANKLE TILTS!

Cons: A few things come to mind: 1. The tail whip weapon sucks. 2. He should have come with a gun. 3. He’s very small for the price. I know that Transformers are not sold by weight, but it feels a bit like a rip-off considering McFarlane’s current offerings are massive in comparison and are cheaper.