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

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Colossus.




Can we take two minutes to collectively appreciate the AMAZING arcade cabinet Uncanny X-Men game from the 90’s? I recall spending hours in local arcades (shout out Laser Illusions in Southcenter) watching and playing all sorts of extremely sharp looking arcade games, but the Uncanny X-Men game still holds space in my brain. It was a pretty standard beat-em up, but featured some very iconic X-Men characters that were beautifully animated in their most iconic looks. It was also unique in that 6 people could play at the same time with one catch: everyone had to be a different character and (as far as knew anyway) not all characters were made the same. The choices were as such: Wolverine, Cyclopes, Colossus, Night Crawler, Storm and Dazzler. I typically played as Night Crawler or Cyclopes, but would settle for Wolverine if they were taken. I will never forget some of the dialogue including when Colossus used his special power with a great “RRRRAAAAAGGGHH” or when you faced BLOB as the first boss “NOTHING MOVES THE BLOB!” I think the furthest I got was the third or fourth level, but never had enough skill or quarters to actually finish it. Perhaps I’ll check it out on YouTube to see how it ends.

Pros: Perhaps it’s because it feels like a better value, but I typically favor the larger sized releases like Colossus: it just feels like you are getting extra for your money! Larger stature aside, Colossus has a great looking sculpt with molded detail on his metal arms, a solid amount of usable articulation and two unique heads: Classic and new and improved: BEARDED!

Cons: While I’m no Colossus purist, I do recognize that this is a less popular costume. I suppose it matches a time when he actually had the beard, but still not the classic version that everyone might be wanting.

[WhenGeeksCollide]

I reviewed the Shang Chi Marvel Legends Wave
https://youtu.be/aQiTI1d5eeA

[Team Jetfire]

597-2
NECA- Back to the Future: Ultimate Marty McFly




So here’s a fun story about how I inadvertently wore a white nationalist symbol on my hat for years without even realizing it that surprisingly has everything to do with my love of Back to the Future. Before I get too far I want to reaffirm that I’m NOT a white nationalist and disavow racism of any kind. I would never knowingly wear anything that might offend or upset people from any background and hope that no one was negatively affected by my oversight. Incidentally, this also goes for the time that I wore an orange Mission Snow and Skate (local Skate shop in Calgary) “General Lee” T-shirt adorned with a rather dubious confederate flag design for a period in the early 2000’s. I was in a band at the time and the store gave us a few free ones to feature in a video we were making. I’m so glad that the video was never finished… With that off my chest, I’ll continue the story on the next BTTF review.

Pros: As I’ve praised in the past reviews, NECA does a fantastic job with detailed sculpts and Ultimate Marty is no exception: he looks amazing. There is lots of detail in the clothes and accessories that include a backpack, skateboard, handheld camcorder, bright yellow guitar, an extra head with some cool looking shades and some extra hands to hold/play it all. He’s above average in the joints department and has enough for some decent poses.

Cons: So I must be really lucky as it seems as though there is a VERY widespread problem with Marty’s arm breaking at the elbow joint. Thankfully mine did not break, but I have been so stinking gentle with him that I’m not sure I really I’m getting the full experience. The sun glasses head also doesn't really fit one the peg. Outside of that, I’m annoyed with how difficult it is to get NECA releases in Canada still, especially since they are so plentiful on both Wal-Mart and Target shelves in the States.

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- G.I. Joe- Sigma 6: Hi-Tech




There are a lot of fun Sigma 6 figures coming down the pike that really seem to embrace the more Sci-Fi aspect of GI Joe that I have always appreciated. Hi-Tech here is the last mold of his character for the series, but he’s a fun one that continues to show how much playability Hasbro crammed into these figures. Don’t get me wrong, the classified figures are amazing, but they are geared to an older demographic, but Sigma 6 were meant to be played with. Something that can be an issue if you have become used to the current crop of collectables, but still enjoyable if you keep in mind these were only 15-20 bucks and not meant to compete with current standards.

Pros: Hi-Tech keeps up with his previous release with a slim body type and blond, spiky hair head sculpt. He comes complete with a detachable weapon filled backpack, a separate gun, a little spider drone and a set of goggles with detachable MP3 so he can listen to tunes while he works! Lastly, his mold has some translucent parts that gives the effect of some special camouflage, which again is a really fun touch.

Cons: Aside from some meh articulation I have no issues with the figure and feel that it’s another amazing example of how great the Sigma 6 line really is.

[Team Jetfire]

599-2
DC Collectables- DC Icons: Death of Superman: Superman and Doomsday






That’s a wrap on DC ICONS folks and to be honest it has been quite the ride. Since 2015 they have managed 31 releases with 40 figures and had very little character overlap, unless you count some of the multipacks and re-released figures at the twilight of the run, so what you are left with is an excellent line with a deep bench of some of your favorite DC heroes and villains. And while I don’t want to disparage McFarlane given that they are doing good work, I can count the amount of DC Collectable Batman figures on one hand and have room left over for the 2 main Superman figures; same really cannot be said for Todd’s “DC Multiverse, but mostly Batman” line. And while I understand there were issues with this line, I still think that it is a gigantic bummer that both this diverse series had to end with un-produced figures and DC Collectables had to fold the way it did and really hope that McFarlane can move a bit outside of their Bat-centric comfort zone.

Pros: Doomsday- Amazing sculpt and detail that I am really going to miss on these DC Collectable Icons figures, a great amount of articulation that allows for a decent amount of poses and some key accessories including a torn cape that can fit on the included two sets of hands; one set closed and one set open; really amazing stuff.

Superman- It’s a bit odd to get excited over a figure of a dead guy, but here we are. Matching the iconic image from the culture changing Death of Superman mini-series, Superman is appropriately sculpted from being beaten and bruised, with his iconic costume torn with his mainly hair chest on display for all to see. Articulation is standard for the Icons figures and allows for some decent poses. Accessory wise he comes with an alternate deadhead, some blast/punching effects that fit well on his eyes and fists respectively and of course an entire ruble filled base with adjustable rocks, some cartoonish sound effect signs (which I didn’t use) and torn Superman cape flag.

Cons: Both: For whatever reason, BOTH figures have very loose hip joints making posing extremely challenging. Also I would have loved an extra set of hands for Superman given that a dead man is likely unable to make a tight fist. Lastly, while the base is a cool touch, there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for the various rock pieces; I mean, there are literally extra pieces included that will not fit in holes /pegs. Odd.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

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Hasbro- Transformers Prime: Prowl.



Well, in true Hasbro Transformers fashion Prowl looks to be a re-tooled version of Smokescreen, or rather, the other way around as I think Smokescreen was released after. Either way I’m actually a really big fan of this mold and appreciate the differences/extras that they included on Smokescreen to make them seem different. That said, of the two, I like Prowl’s head sculpt and color scheme better, but only because Smokescreen has way too much white coloring.

Pros: A really fun Transformer that looks great in both modes, has a simple yet satisfying transformation, lots of possibility in robot mode and even a missile shooting weapon. Fun stuff!

Cons: Outside of being a re-tooled figure of an already reviewed Prime Transformer (Smokescreen), I have no real issues with Prowl; it’s a solid figure.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

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McFarlane Toys- Fortnite: Skull Trooper



This will be old news by the time this review comes out, but at the time of this writing, the “new” Hasbro Fortnite figure was introduced and I have to say: HARD PASS. I’m honestly not sure what they were thinking getting into the Fortnite game (pun intended) in this late stage of the franchise. Now, I’m not saying that the game is less popular, but everything has a shelf life and becomes less prevalent over time and this is not even mentioning that between McFarlane and Jazwares the selection of characters has likely been exhausted twice! Further to that, if you are going to take something over, make sure that it’s actually an improvement. Granted, we have only seen pictures, but there have been details released about this release and it’s really sad, especially considering what we have gotten in the past few years. As I understand, the figure is an original 6” sculpt (GOOD), but only has 20 points of articulation ( BAD- McFarlane has 22 and Jazwares 40ish) comes with a backpack and an umbrella; no gun, no expression heads, no extra accessories (REALLY BAD) and the figure is being advertised at $40 US (Hilariously terrible as there is no way it’s worth THAT much.

Pros: Skull Trooper is one of the few figures that was done by both McFarlane and Jazwares and while buying two of the same characters in toy form seems silly, I love to see how each company handled the character. Overall McFarlan’s is very similar to the other human characters and likely features a lot of the same parts, but just repainted. That said I love the accessories that he comes with. The rifle looks amazing and he can actually aim it, which is really cool and his pickaxe could be one of the coolest ones that I have seen yet: Really cool stuff.

Cons: Outside of the reused parts, which are totally standard on these figures, there are really no issues with Skull Trooper: A really solid Fortnite figure.