Category: Toy Box

If you’ve already checked out the other half of my Halo 3 review at my regular site, you might want to skip down to the actual review. I’m stealing liberally here.

Halo 3 holds quite an impressive record. It’s had the highest opening day gross of ANY form of entertainment EVER. The game took in 170 million dollars on it’s opening day. Do the beautiful people need any more proof that us geeks have taken over the world?
I don’t play Halo, but I get the general premise. You’d have to be pretty out of touch not too, let’s face it. The good guys are Master Chief and the other Spartans, cyborg supersoldiers. They battle the Covenant, a diverse race of aliens driven by religious fervor to wipe out humanity.

Mcfarlane Toys picked up the Halo 3 license to produce action figures, and have just released their first wave. There are a TON of figures to pick up, and I’m reviewing three here today (EVA Spartan, Brute Chieftain and Cortana) and I’m reviewing for more over at my site (Master Chief, Grunt, Jackal Sniper and the Mark VI Spartan). There are several exclusives, including a blue Mark VI exclusive to Wal-mart, a white Mark VI Previews (specialty store) exclusive, a blue CQB exclusive to Wal-mart, a steel CQB exclusive to GameStop, and an active camo EVA exclusive through Mcfarlane’s webstore. I believe there’s also a green version of the Grunt, but I haven’t seen one yet. That’s a ton of figures!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. On to the review!

Halo 3 – Cortana, Spartan Soldier (red EVA), and Brute Chieftain

These figures are hitting regular retailers now including Toys R Us, and you can expect to pay around $10 – $14 each. I have some online suggestions at the end of the review as well.

Packaging – ***
I personally hate the term ‘green’ – I feel bad for the poor environmentalists who were poo-pooed for years, but now that companies see a chance to make a buck, they’re all over the ‘green’ concept – but I have to point out that my biggest issue with these particular clamshells is the amount of waste. All of them (including the Brute) could stand to be in smaller clamshells, since I don’t really need to buy Chinese air.

However, there’s a huge plus here that I feel keeps these from dipping any lower in score – personalization. I’m a big proponent of packages that discuss the specific character held within, rather than using the same generic insert or cardback for the entire series. Here we get specific info on each game persona, as well as info on accessories and other variants. Hey, if I can get this kind of info on ever series, I’m more willing to kill the planet.

Sculpting – Brute Chieftain ****; EVA ***1/2; Cortana ***
One thing that Mcfarlane rarely has trouble with is sculpting – this set is a fine example of their best work. There’s plenty of small detail work, much finer and cleaner than you normally see on a 5″ scale. In fact, the scale is probably going to be the biggest issue most folks have with this line.

The Brute Chieftain is the brute his name implies, standing about 6 1/2″ tall. He towers over the 5″ EVA, and looks both menacing and evil. I love the skin detail work, which contrasts nicely against the smooth texture of the armor plates. Nothing is just painted on, as every line, design and bauble is carved into his flesh or armor.

The EVA version of the Spartan soldier sports a similar body to the others, with minor redeco changes to the armor. The helmet is the biggest change of course, with the EVA wearing a more ‘lunar mission’ style than the Mark VI. Either way, he looks terrific, and there’s enough difference between all the Spartans to make them stand out on the shelf.

Cortana is the least interesting of the bunch. Her sculpt is very plain, due in large part to her A.I. characterization. I didn’t really expect a ton of detail, but she really is just a 4″ tall hunk of PVC. The hair sculpt has some nice detailing, and her face is quite pretty close up, but the consistent blue/black colors make it difficult to see these details with the nekkid eye.

As I mentioned, the scale might be an issue for some folks. These are in a 5″ scale, making them look alright with the Spider-Man, Superman or Batman movie figures from the last couple years…and that’s about it. Since it’s unlikely you’ll be mixing and matching with those less than stellar movie lines, these guys are going to have to hang out on the shelf by themselves. The sheer number of them being released helps ease that a bit though, giving you plenty of characters to put together, and for the sixth scale fans, they are supposed to be doing a 12″ version of Master Chief later this year. And if you’re a Revoltech guy, there are some in this scale as well that should go together nicely.

Paint – EVA ****; Brute Chieftain ***1/2; Cortana ***
Another area that Mcfarlane tends to be strong in is paint quality, particularly with their non-cartoon lines. Here we see lots of well done paint details, a good use of wash to bring out the sculpts, and very clean details where appropriate.

Cortana doesn’t have much of a pallette range though, which causes what details there are to be hard to see without magnification. The paint work is generally clean, although some of the cut lines between the dark blue paint and clear plastic were a little sloppier here than I’d expect. The translucent blue plastic looks good though, and the added paint details complement this cool (temperature wise) appearance. The smaller circuitry work on her legs is outstanding, although you might not notice it at first glance.

Like the other Spartans, the EVA version has a clean consistent visor color, with good detail work on the sculpted lines of his armor. They’ve used a glossier finish for the armor too, setting it apart nicely from the matte black areas of the suit. This difference in finish gives the impression of different materials, adding realism to the overall appearance, particularly at this small scale. I had some stray marks and damage on my Master Chief, but the EVA was very clean.

Finally, there’s the Brute. He has the most small detail paint work of the three, and the majority of it looks terrific. I particularly like the work on the eyes, mouth and elaborate head armor. There’s a little slop with most of the silver highlights though, and I would have liked more contrast between the finishes of the armor and the skin, ala the EVA. The similarity between the finish causes the armor to blend in a little too much with the rhino like flesh, and I think the glossier look would have worked better here.

Articulation – EVA ****; Brute Chieftain ***1/2; Cortana Bupkis
For small figures, these have a TON of articulation. Mcfarlane only claims 18 points or so for the Spartans, but because of the way the joints are designed, they have far more posing potential than most other similarly articulate figures.

Except for Cortana, that is. She has no joints whatsoever. Zippo. Zilch. Bupkis. You better like her pose, because it’s what you get.

All the Spartans, including the EVA, have excellent ball jointed necks that give them tons of personality in every pose. They also have true ball jointed shoulders, hips, and ankles. All of these joints are articulated on both sides of the ball, giving them an excellent range of movement. You’ll have to work some of the balls free, particularly the ankles, but once you do, you’ll be able to do a ton of creative poses.

He also has ball joints at the wrists, elbows and knees, but these are jointed on just one side of the ball. Still, these joints work fantastic, much better than we’ve seen in other lines.

Finally, they have a half foot pin joint, and a rocker chest. The articulation is really, really impressive on the Spartans, and the more I played around with them the more I liked them.

The Brute Cheiftain has similar articulation, but the sculpt and armor does restrict it a bit more. He has the terrific ball jointed neck, shoulders, hips, ankles, wrists, elbows, knees, rocker waist…even a modified hip joint where the ball attaches to the torso that allows for additional movement. But his armor and bulk does restrict some of the posability, at least more than on the Spartans. It’s not a major issue, but pulls him down slightly.

Accessories – EVA, Chieftain **1/2; Cortana **
The one category with this series does poorly is Accessories. There aren’t nearly as many as you might expect considering the game and style of play.

The EVA version of a Spartan soldier has his gun, with a good sculpt and paint. All three of the Spartans that I have now exhibit drooping gun barrels, which sounds like an excellent idea for an ED commercial. Still, with a little hot water/cold water, you can have them straightened right out.

He also has a grenade, and two pegs to attach the grenade and gun to his body where there are convienently placed holes.

The Brute Chieftain comes with his deadly weapon, and the small end pops off to allow you to more easily slide it into his right hand. He can hold it in a number of menacing ways, and the sculpt and paint are excellent. This is easily my favorite accessory out of the first series. He also comes with one of the little pegs to attach the weapon to his back.

The only thing that Cortana comes with is her base. There are three LED lights in the front lip of the base, pointed back toward her like spotlights. Put a couple AAA batteries in the compartment on the bottom (they are NOT included), and with the flip of a switch you get the light up effect. I shot a photo of that effect below…it looks kind of cool in the shot, but keep in mind that I left the shutter open for about 20 seconds to get the effect. Yep, the lights are THAT dim. Get some seriously juiced up batteries and you might have a little more success, but don’t expect this thing to light her up like Britney on stage.

Fun Factor – EVA ****; Chieftain ***1/2; Cortana **
These are actually great toys – not the usual Nerd Hummels that Mcfarlane has become known for over the last few years, but more of a return to their early days when they were trying to produce the coolest action figures on the market.

Of course, the static Cortana isn’t nearly as much fun as the other figures, and most kids would find her pretty boring.

Value – EVA, Chieftain **; Cortana *
You can find these at some retailers at $10 each, and at that price you can easily add another half star, and maybe even a full one. They are light on accessories to be sure, but the articulation, sculpt and paint make up for it if you’re spending a ten spot.

However, most places you find these will be charging $12 – $14. At that price, you really aren’t getting a great value, especially for the weakest of the bunch, Cortana.

Things to Watch Out For –
If you’re picking them out on the shelf, watch for the best paint jobs. In general, the ones I’ve seen are quite consistent, but occasionally there’s one with a scratch on the visor.

Also, the wrist pegs on the EVA could tear if they are painted tight. Take extra care freeing them up, and even use the freezer trick if necessary.

Overall – EVA ****; Brute Chieftain ***1/2; Cortana **1/2
For quite some time now, Mcfarlane Toys has gone the route of the plastic statue. Even with licenses like the Simpsons, 24 and Lost, they stuck with Nerd Hummels rather than providing any real articulation. Some folks were beginning to wonder if they could even do good articulation any more, let alone great.

This line proves they still can do it, and do it better than anyone else in this scale. The joints are useful, tight, and have a terrific range of movement. This was no easy feat either, because the Spartans aren’t superheros clad in skin tight spandex. If they were, the articulation could easily be added and the sculpt wouldn’t interfere with it. No, these are armor clad fighters, and generally figures wearing armor have poorer articulation, simply because people believe that it has to be that way. It’s just natural that the armor is going to interfere, isn’t it?

Mcfarlane proves that doesn’t have to be the case. Yea, the huge Brute still has a few constraints, but the Spartans are both armored AND articulated, and this useful articulation doesn’t hurt the appearance of the sculpt at all. This is one of the best overall lines Mcfarlane has produced in some time, and I’m hopeful that the smaller scale won’t turn folks off to giving them a try. Once you get them out of the package, you’re going to find that they are much better than you might have anticipated, and most of your concerns over their size are likely to vanish.

Where to Buy –
If you’re looking for the regular figures, I’d suggest hitting Toys
R Us or your local GameStop. You can also find them at these great
online retailers:

– Urban-Collector has a case of 12 for $130. This might be your best bet to get a full set.

– CornerStoreComics has them for $13 – $14 each.

– Entertainment Earth has them in stock at $14 each.

– YouBuyNow has them at $15 each.

– or you can search ebay using My Auction Links.

Related Links –
Before Halo 3, and before
Mcfarlane got the license, Joyride Studios made larger action figures based on Halo 2. Here’s some guest reviews:

– here’s their version of the Grunt.

– there’s also a guest review of the Elite Guard.

– And you can’t forget their version of Master Chief!

– I’ve also reviewed four more of this first series over at Captain Toy/Michael’s Review of the Week – Master Chief, Mark VI Spartan, Jackal Sniper and Grunt.

It’s that time of year once again when the toy companies gather in New York to show off their upcoming 2008 lines to retailers and press. I’m not attending this year due to family plans that conflict, and family always comes first of course. But I thought I’d do the readers a favor and compile some of the ‘best’ news out of the show. Of course, it depends on how you define ‘best’.

If you’d like even more toy and collectible info and coverage, check out my regular review site at Michael’s Review of the Week. So let’s talk a look at what some of my favorite companies are planning for 2008…

Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow is not attending Toy Fair this year either. That’s not too much of a surprise, since they don’t depend too much on retailers selling their product, opting to sell it themselves. With that kind of business plan, and with their fans attending shows like SDCC to see their product, the cost of something like Toy Fair is hard to justify.

But they are doing their own version of Toy Fair at their site. They’ve announced several new products, including a second John Wayne Premium Format figure and a Zombie Babysitter in their Dead line, but the first big news was the 12″ Gandalf. Of course, there’s an Sideshow Exclusive Edition, as well as the non-exclusive version. This is big news for sixth scale LOTR collectors, since this gets them one figure closer to having the complete Fellowship (c’mon, Gimli, Merry and Pippen!), but the $90 price tag has some folks reeling.

What I’ve been waiting for is their Indiana Jones announcements. They started out with a shot of their 12″ Indy (on this month’s Tomart’s cover), and today the exclusive and regular versions of the first figure went up for pre-order. Wow! Okay, so we’ll see if the head sculpt turns out in the final production version, but you have to admit that the costume, new body (they’re calling it the “Prometheus”) and TON of accessories are fantastic. There’s a bunch of swappable hands, both gloved and bare, two versions of the whip (one for the belt, one to pose in action), two guns, TWO HEADS (one wearing a sculpted on hat, one without), a separate hat for him to hold, the idol, the bag of sand…and the list goes on. This is going to be Sideshow’s flagship line for ’08.

In the Star Wars sixth scale world, they also made a big announcement – their first armored figure! It will be Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Trooper armor, and the Priority Pre-Order starts at 10am PST on February 22nd. The pre-production figure looks terrific, and the armor looks very similar to Medicom’s earlier work. But the headsculpt is fantastic, and looks to continue their current 2008 level of quality.

They announced several new lines, including 12″ figures based on G.I. Joe Real American Hero, statues and dioramas around Jurassic Park, and one more that will be announced tomorrow.

Hasbro

Speaking of Indiana Jones, the other company that will be raping my wallet this year is Hasbro. My son (who is seven) has fallen in love with Indiana Jones, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ll be splurging on all the toys for him and me, spending mad green on Hasbro’s toy offerings. And they are going all out with the license, with everything from 3 3/4″ and 12″ figures, to Mighty Muggs, Mr. Potato Head, Titanium series vehicles….they’re pulling out all the stops on this one.

Hasbro has put up their own website for Indy toys, but Cool Toy Review has done a bang up job covering them at Toy Fair. There are 3 3/4″ figures of course, including some nifty deluxe sets and vehicles, and an interesting 12″ series as well. My son is going to love the Adventure Heroes too, done in the same style as Star Wars Galactic Heroes.

The buzz is also going around a mail in promotion that Hasbro will have as well. Send in 4 POPs and get the special mail away item, and there are mail away items in each of the three main lines. So you can get a scaled Ark for the 12″ line, a ‘mystery figure’ from the 3 3/4″ line, and an Indy with white horse from the Adventure Heroes.

Hasbro added some more Marvel Legends news as well, but I gotta tell you…I’m losing the love. However, if you’d like to see more info on the ML stuff, I suggest checking out the coverage at Action Figure Insider.

And how can I not mention Star Wars? For some terrific coverage and photos, head over to RebelScum. For me, the animated Clone Wars figures might just suck me back into the 3 3/4″ world after years of avoiding it.

NECA

NECA has been hitting me up with their Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and Cult Classics lines. It looks like they’ll be getting plenty more of my money in ’08. Figures.com has some great coverage of their stuff, and I’ll be linking to them for photos.

The first line that interests me is the Harry Potter series, of course. They’re adding figures of characters like Lucious Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, the Weasley twins, and Mad Eye Moody to their 7″ line, and all of them look terrific. There also doing what they are refering to as 7″ dioramas, adding a small backdrop to several key characters in the 7″ scale.

The are continuing the Cult Classics line with some very strong additions, including Beetlejuice, Megan from the Exorcist, and several others.

Most folks will be very excited about their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, based on the original comic book appearance, but I’m more interested in what they do with the Princess Bride. So far only Wesley has been shown, but other figures have been discussed as well. They also surprised folks with the license to do Arnie Conan figures.

Mezco

Mezco has been getting a ton of press in recent weeks for their announcement of the 7″ series of Heroes action figures. We might have to wait til next fall for new shows, but at least we’ll get some nifty figures to go with them. The Fwoosh has some nice coverage up, including figures from waves 2 and 3. Characters like Nathan, Elle, Linderman, Niki and others will be getting their plastic representation.

This also looks to be the year for 3 3/4″ figures, with not just the aforementioned Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but a ton of other licenses going this scale. Heroes is one of those, as is another Mezco line, Hellboy 2. While they will also be doing the figures for the second film in scale with the original film, they are adding a 3 3/4″ line to the mix. Again, check the Fwoosh for some great photos.

The big new license for them is The Spirit, a film based on the old comic book hero. There wasn’t much for them to show yet, but expectations are high.

Mattel

One of the oddest things this year is that the big two – Mattel and Hasbro – who make mass market toys are the ones that will be getting most of my money this year, rather than the smalle companies making the more expensive specialty market stuff. Let’s check out Toy News International’s coverage of Mattel.

The most interesting announcement for me was the new 3 3/4″ DC line called DC Universe Infinite Heroes. Toy News International has some nice shots of what was on display, but they will have added articulation since these are early prorotype sculpts. I know I’ll be picking up this whole series, along with the DCUC figures. They had Wonder Woman and Cyborg on display from that series, and they are looking great.

Mattel is doing figures for The Dark Knight as well, and you can see some photos of their display here. I have higher hopes for this movie line, but I’m remaining cautious.

The DC Super Friends line continues, and includes a nifty Joker, and Mattel is expanding the ‘kids’ DC theme with their Imaginext series, including a cool Batcave!

In other movie lines, they’re doing Speed Racer as well, but I’m more interested in their Kung Fu Panda line. I like the promos for this movie so far (and the funny movie intro bit they’re doing to tell you to turn off your cell phones, etc.), and the toys look terrific.

Mattel will have more coverage today, as that’s when they will do their big Internet press coverage, or ‘Nerd Herd’. Check the various sites I have listed at the end for even more interesting news, especially around The Batman.

Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant is hitting the Lucas Film licenses hard, of course, including Indiana Jones and Star Wars. For some great coverage on the Star Wars statues, busts, etc. hit RebelScum. And the biggest news is that Rebelscum will have their own exclusive mini-bust this year – Lt. Rinz! He’ll even talk, saying “You rebel scum!”. How cool is that?

GG had the already announced HP busts on display, but it didn’t look like anything we haven’t already seen, from what I can tell. We’ve seen most of the LOTR stuff already too, and I don’t have too high of hopes for either of these lines seeing the end of ’08.

The Indy bust and statues have already been announced, and nothing new was added that I’ve seen. But the ‘desk accessories’ look like sixth scale goodies that you could use with your figures…except the rumor is that these will be exclusives, blind boxed, and a royal pain in the ass. Worst news of Toy Fair.

And if you’d like to see more pretty pictures of GG’s stuff, hit Millionaire Playboy, where they have some great coverage as well.

DC Direct

Let’s head back over to Action Figure Insider to check out some of the DCD releases.

Of course, they had a ton of stuff to show in all formats, but some things really stood out for me. Last year they announced a 1:1 Batman bust, and they’re following that up with a very interesting 1:1 Joker. Definitely creepy.

In their quarter scale line, they’ve added Wonder Woman, and in the prop replicas there’s a very cool Superman cape. I’m a big fan of their Batman Black and White statues, and the Frank Miller version looks terrific, and they’re reissuing the 13″ Green Lantern with some upgrades. I was a little disappointed there were no other 13″ announcements for the year, but I’m sure we’ll see more this summer. Series like Justice, Teen Titans, Secret Files (which look terrific!), Green Lantern, and Smallville keep cranking along, with new series like Showcase, All Star Batman and New Gods hitting.

Like I said, Action Figure Insider has some terrific photos of these and all the DC Direct offerings.

Diamond Select Toys

Now we’ll stop by several spots to check out the DST offerings. Cool Toy Review has a good coverage of their Star Trek offerings, but I have to say that none of it blew me away. Perhaps that’s because I’d hoped for some Playmates Toys news on the movie line, which is pushed back to 09 now.

Perhaps the most unique news from DST was their die cast 1/12 (6″) scale Power Loader from Aliens! It’s actually a Medicom product, but DST is distributing in the US. It ain’t cheap at a $125 SRP, but it looks pretty sweet. Action Figure Insider has some photos.

They are really doing up the mini-mates this year, with licenses like Desperately Seeking Susan, Silence of the Lambs, Platoon, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (modern and classic), 24, For a Few Dollars More, and others. And of course, they’ll be doing up the BSG and Stargate action figure lines with a several more waves each. Unfortunately though, they don’t have plans to solicit past wave 8 for the DC mini-mates, so you best start the petitions!

But the biggest news is that DST is moving into the 18″ scale, with mixed media figures that are ARTICULATED! Supposedly 21 points, and they are supposedly keeping the price at $75. They’re releasing big figures for Star Trek, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Will they be giving Sideshow a run for their money?

Mcfarlane Toys

Mcfarlane hasn’t been to a Toy Fair in awhile, but they went back to attending this year. Most of their stuff, like Halo, Spawn 33 and 34, Legend of the Bladehunters, and Warriors of the Zodiac have already been shown at their site, but some of the sites I have listed at the end have additional photos of the figures for your enjoyment.

Lego

My son is a huge Lego fan, and I have to admit that their Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones stuff has been terrific so far. They have plenty more planned for this year, and Millionaire Playboy has up some great coverage of their booth.

The Other Guys

There are several smaller companies that had some interesting product and announcements. One of those is Amok Time Toys, who used to be a retailer, but is getting into the manufacturing gig for 2008. They’ve taking over some of the old Majestic Toy lines, like the 12″ Lost In Space (Yes!), as well as doing some new 12″ and 7″ monster figures, like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Night of the Living Dead. But the coolest is their “Monsters HD” series that has all kinds of cool old B movie beasties. Check out this page at Figures.com for some photos of what’s to come!

Another smaller company with some cool looking goodies is Unimax. These guys are behind the Forces of Valor military sets and 3 3/4″ figures at your local Target, and now they are branching into ancient warriors. The line is called Ages in Action, and has some real potential!

My Key Take Aways

There are several interesting trends this year. First, it’s clear that everyone is hitting the 3 3/4″ format. With Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Prince Caspian, Hellboy 2, Heroes, both Marvel and DC, it looks like this format is going to be booming. Of course, the introduction of this scale came in the late 70’s, as the price of oil drove toy manufacturers to use less product, so it’s not a surprsie to see it again. It also means we should see more vehicles and playsets than usual this year.

Oil prices don’t seem to be slowing down the larger scales though. Sixth scale will be booming this year, with Sideshow, Hasbro, DC Direct, Amok Time, and of course Hot Toys and Medicom cranking out the stuff. Even Gentle Giant and Diamond Select will be doing more 12″ in ’08.

And the quarter scale seems to be making a comeback. Sideshow never left of course, making their Premium Format 18″ figures the ones to beat, but now DST is coming in with Star Trek and others, going the articulated route, while DC Direct, Mezco and NECA will add be doing figures in that scale.

While there’s clearly less specialty market product than in past years, what is being shown is extremely high quality. Even the mass market boys have upped the ante in terms of quality, and this should be an excellent year for the collector…and the kid.

Where to Go Now

I’d suggest that you do some serious perusing of the Toy Fair Coverage at the following sites. They all have lots of photos and plenty of additional information:

Action Figure Insider
Cool Toy Review
Figures.com
Fwoosh.com
Millionaire Playboy
RebelScum
Toy News International

You can also pre-order many of the goodies that were shown at these retailers:

Alter Ego Comics
Amazing Toyz
Andrew’s Toyz
Circle Red
Clark Toys
CornerStoreComics
Dark Shadow Collectibles
Fireside Collectibles
Time and Space Toys
Urban-Collector

The Transformers film might not have been high cinema, but it sure did make the bucks. Not only that, but Hasbro’s Transformers line of toys has been one of the very, very few hit toy lines based on a movie in the past decade. But if you’re looking for something a bit more than toys, and perhaps a bit more old school that the Michael Bay interpretation, you should check out some of the cool busts and statues currently on the market.

One of those is the Action Figure Express exclusive mini-bust of Grimlock. The bust was sculpted by Art Asylum and produced by Diamond Select Toys, and at 6″ fits in nicely not only with their other Transformer mini-busts (of which there are quite a few), but with some of the past busts done by other companies as well.

Grimlock is a limited edition of 600 mini-busts, and runs around $50. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or visit my website Michael’s Review of the Week. Now on to the review!

The War Within Grimlock exclusive mini-bust

This version of Grimlock is based on the comic book series “The War Within”, published back in 2002. These comics were grittier than the old show, with a more ‘adult’ feel. The writer, Simon Furman, now works for IDW Publishing who hold the rights for Transformer comics, so the rumor (and it’s just a rumor) is that we might see the series continue.

Packaging – ***
On the plus side, the packages keep the busts quite safe, they’ve used the nice, sturdy styrofoam for the interior trays, and there’s a great Certificate of Authenticty that comes in the box. On the negative side, there’s no windo, so you’ll be flying blind til you get him home.

Sculpting – ***
Grimlock sports a reasonable amount of detail, very typical of this style of mini-bust. He’ll fit in nicely with the rest of the gang if you’ve been picking these up over time, and he’s relatively realistic. Or as realistic as a Transformer can be.

One of the keys to a robot sculpt like this is a sharpness to the lines and angles. Robots aren’t soft and round – they have hard edges, better to slice you up. Sometimes it’s hard to get that metallic sharp appearance in a material like resin, but they’ve done a decent job.

Paint – ***
The paint work is fairly clean, although not outstanding. Grimlock is a character with a nice, broad pallette, which makes him a visually interesting guy on the shelf. Most of the cut lines are clean between these colors, and there’s very little slop. Some of the silver was a bit inconsistent in the coverage, but it was a minor issue, as were the few areas where the colors bleed into each other.

Design – ***
Grimlock is ready for battle, looking like he just walked off the pages of the comic. The War Within Grimlock (and actually, Grimlock in general) is a character that likes hand to hand battle, and prefers using his Energon sword. Here, he’s preparing to take your head off with it, a fitting pose for the character.

Value – **1/2
Bust prices have crept up about $5 – $10 over the last year, going from the old $40 – $45 to $45 – $50. Sad as that is, I can’t say it’s surprising considering the current economy. And at that price, this guy is a pretty average value.

Things to Watch Out For –
Be careful attaching the left arm and the ‘wings’ on his back. Both of these fit with metal posts inserted into the resin body, and it is very easy to break the resin if you don’t take your time.

Overall – ***
For fans of the license, this is a solid contender. He fits in well with most of the rest of the busts, even with him being done in the slightly different War Within style. If you’re a big fan of Transformers, I recommend giving him a look.

Where to Buy –
He was an Action Figure Express exclusive, but they may already be sold out. You can do an ebay search with MyAuctionLinks as well.

NECA and the Four Horsemen have been producing the very cool series of ‘staction’ figures (better known as ‘statues’) based on the Masters of the Universe line for the past few years. In 2005 at Comic-Con, they had an exclusive of King Randor. Those sold out long, long ago, but now Action Figure Express has a slight variant called the Classic Colors version.

Along with slightly different paint (in a 1980’s scheme), there’s a new head sculpt, new cape, and new shield accessory! This is much more than the usual repaint variant, with plenty to make it unique. It’s a limited edition of 2500, and is $30.

If you have any questions, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or swing by and check out my website at mwctoys.com. Now on to the review!

NECA Masters of the Universe King Randor exclusive statue

Packaging – **1/2
Unlike the regular release ‘stactions’ which came carded, these come in a box. The styrofoam insert is one of the annoying ones though. You know, the type with the soft big chunk styrofoam that falls apart when you try to pull it out of the box and makes a mess all over the carpet that requires a Dyson to get out. But at least it keeps him safe til you do pull him out!

Sculpting – ****
As usual, the sculpting is top notch. The Four Horsemen do an outstanding job on this series, and this one is no different.

The new head sculpt looks good, with some very nice detail work. The battle damaged shield looks terrific, and the new cape has actual fur! Yes, it’s fake real fur, but it’s certainly unique. He might shed a bit more than the normal statue, but he makes up for it by looking far more realistic.

The stance and pose are dynamic enough to be interesting, but aren’t over done or extreme. He’s done in a 6″ scale, and looks terrific with the other figures released previously in the series.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint isn’t quite as nice as the excellent sculpt, but it’s close. These are quite well done for the price point.

There’s a bit of a slip up around the beard on mine, where the hair line isn’t quite as clean as it should be, but considering the $30 price, I’m not complaining too much. The 80’s colors are pretty cool, and he sports a nice combination of flat and gloss finishes to give the impression of different materials.

Accessories – ***
Oddly enough, he’s a statue with accessories. The sword, shield and base are all removable.

The base fits in with the rest of the line, sporting a similar design. His feet fit well on the pegs, and there’s no danger of him toppling over under normal circumstances. The bases are a little dull, but they do make sense in the context of the series.

The sword fits easily in the left hand, while the shield attachs to the wrist of the right. The sculpts and paint on both are in line with the rest of the statue.

Value – ***
Statues, even 6″ statues, don’t cost $30. Compare these to the similarly styled Batman Black and White statues from DC Direct, which cost $45 – $55 a pop, and you can see what I mean. And this guy even has a fuzzy cape!

Things To Watch Out For –
Not much. Take your time putting the feet on the base, just to make sure you don’t chip anything.

Overall – ***1/2
Had the paint been just a hair better (pun intended), this guy would have hit the four stars. I really do like the MOTU stactions, even not being a huge MOTU guy. Fans of the 80’s show will appreciate this repainted King Randor, and I’d suggest picking it up while you can. These will be statues that folks will wish they’d picked up a few years down the road.

Where to Buy –
This is a limited edition exclusive to Action Figure Express, so that’s your best bet right now.

Related Links –
I have a few other reviews of past MOTU Stactions:

– this guest review covered the series 5 figures, while this one covers series 2, and this one on series 1.

One of the most successful lines of statues for DC Direct has been the Batman Black and White series. The concept is simple enough – have different comic book artists design a Batman in black and white that is then translated into a 6″ scale statue by a capable sculptor. I’ve lost count of how many they’ve done so far, but almost every one has been interesting and unique, if not always to your personal taste.

The latest was released last week, and is based off the artwork of Andy Kubert. Andy comes from the extremely well known family of comic book artists that includes his dad Joe and his brother Adam. He’s been working on the Batman titles for a couple years now, and his art style has been widely acclaimed by fans. As I said, this came out to your LCS last week, and should be available there, or you can pick it up from one of the fine folks in my Where To Buy section.

Any comments or questions, just drop me an email. Now on to the review!

Batman Black and White Andy Kubert

Packaging – ***
This is one of the most carefully packaged statues or busts I’ve ever seen. There’s foam stuffed between every crevasse, wrapped around the cape and body, and tucked in places you wouldn’t want to go. They’ve done all they can to reduce the chance of any sort of damage in transit, and it’s very much appreciated.

Unlike some companies, DCD doesn’t do Certificates of Authenticity, but they do put the edition number on the bottom of the statue. This is an edition size of 4000.

Sculpting – ****
While this is based on Andy’s design, the actual sculpting was done by Jonathan Matthews, one of my favorite DCD sculptors. He’s done a fantastic job capturing the feel of Andy’s work and translating it into three dimensions, and I think this is now one of my top 3 or 4 statues in the series.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint is generally clean, with no bleed and very clean cut lines. There was a hint of slop around the eyes and mouth, but it’s still quite a bit above average for a statue in this price range.

The color scheme that is the theme of this line is fairly restrictive of course, but DCD has found ways to make even the basic colors more appealing. I particularly like the use of the high gloss black on the gloves and boots, while the cape and cowl are matte finish. This gives the impression of different materials, and adds to the visual interest.

Design – ***1/2
This was a statue that I had really no expectations about going in. Early photos hadn’t done much to sway me one way or the other, and so it was a very pleasant surprise to open it up. The design turns out to be very strong, with a very dynamic and fluid pose. Nothing about it appears excessive, extreme, or inhuman, avoiding those pitfalls in many ‘action’ poses. But it’s certainly not static either, and there’s just the right amount of fluid movement implied to give it a ‘split second in time’ quality.

Value – **
DC Direct is going to have to be careful here – they’re edging the price up, but the edition sizes are still huge. They’ve jumped up from around $45 – $50 to the $50 – $55 range, hurting the overall value a bit. If you can still get this guy for around $50, add another half star, but I’m grading it on the $5 hike.

Things to Watch Out For –
This is one you’ll want to take care freeing from his prison. The foam is packed in tight around the cape, and for good reason. Don’t go nuts pulling and tearing it out – take your time, as the cape could easily be broken by excessive force.

Overall – ***1/2
I was very pleasnatly surprised by this statue. As I said, I was expecting it just to end up one of those middle of the road versions, not bad, but certainly not outstanding. Instead, what I got was one of my favorites of the series. He’s not going to unseat Mignola or Jones, but for a relatively straight version of Bats, they managed to make him unique and interesting.

Where to Buy –
If your LCS is lacking or too expensive, your online options include:

– Alter Ego has him at $55.25.

– CornerStoreComics has him for $51.

– Amazing Toyz has him in stock for $51.

Related Links –
I’ve covered a few of these, including the Jim Lee, Matt Wagner version, Mike Mignola version, and Kelly Jones version.

Also, one of the better action figure lines from DC Direct was Batman and Son, also based on Andy’s art.

Old Boba has been immortalized in just about every way possible. It’s not bad for a guy with only a handful of lines and an embarrassing death.

The latest incarnation is on the shelves at your local Target. It’s called a “Mighty Mugg”, and is a series of Star Wars figures done in a designer vinyl style. You know what I’m talking about – hollow rotocast smooth vinyl figures that use paint as their main source of definition.

There are several in the first wave, including Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader…and of course, Boba Fett. As a big collector of all things Fett, I couldn’t pass him up, particularly at the ten buck price tag.

If you have any questions, just drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com. Now on with the review…

Boba Fett Mighty Mugg

The designer vinyl figure craze has been in full swing for a couple years, and yet I’m still surprised to see major retailers take a chance on it. If anything seems clearly a collector focused line, it’s something like this, but it’s nice to see the mass market folks trying to tap into the market a bit more.

Packaging – ***
The boxes are a tad flimsy, but at least the graphics are clean and vibrant. They do look like most every other vinyl specialty line, but most folks seeing these at Target aren’t going to realize that. There’s also a window in the box to allow you to see the figure, and the packaging can be opened and resealed without damage (aka ‘collector friendly’).

Sculpting – **1/2
‘Sculpting’ is a bit of a misnomer here, since there really isn’t any. With this type of figure (much like the mini block figures), the body, limbs and head all have one general shape, size and style, and it’s the paint that makes the characters truly unique.

Unfortunately, the style here ain’t really flippin’ my patties. The head approximates a helmet I suppose, but it actually looks much better with the human characters (like Han) than it does with the helmeted characters (like Vader and Fett). For someone like Boba, the style is simply too rounded for my tastes.

He does stand up great on his own though, and the hands COULD hold something if something was available. The jetpack isn’t removable, but it’s a decent looking addition. Whether you really consider this a ‘vinyl’ figure or not is debatable, as the material they’ve used seems a lot more like a very hard plastic, but they’re still trying to piggy back on the vinyl popularity with the style.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint is critical, and it’s nice to see that it’s very clean and neat. The cut lines are razor sharp, and there’s no bleed and almost no slop. In fact, the quality reminds me of some much more expensive vinyl specialty market stuff, which surprised me considering the cost.

Articulation – **
Vinyl figures aren’t known for their articulation, but even then this one is a tad lacking. He has a neck joint and cut shoulders. The legs appear to have cut joints at the top, but mine don’t want to turn. Even if they did, there wouldn’t be much point, since turning them wouldn’t have any appreciable effect on the pose.

If you’re a regular buyer of designer vinyl stuff, this lack of articulation won’t be much of a surprise.

Accessories – Bupkis
Yep, nothing here. A blaster would have gone a long way to improving this guy for me.

Fun Factor – **
This isn’t for kids, and not because they’d break it. In fact, they’d be able to show it some pretty serious abuse, and it would be fine. No, this isn’t for them because there’s not much point to playing with him.

Value – ***1/2
Designer vinyl figures tend to be expensive, and in some cases, very expensive. Even the specialty market stuff that’s produced in moderate quantity can run $40 or $50 a pop easy, and the more limited stuff runs in the hundreds. When I picked this guy up off the shelf at Target, I was therefore expecting twenty bucks to be on the tag, and was quite happily surprised to see just $10.

Now, on the flip side, let’s keep in mind that there’s not much to any vinyl figure like this. The high end pricing gets driven by artist demand, not actual cost. But with a mass market item like this, actual cost is much more a factor…and that cost is relatively low.

Things to Watch Out For –
Zippo!

Overall – ***
I liked this guy better in the package than out – that’s never a good sign. He actually would have lost another half star on my overall if not for the excellent value, particularly for folks that are accostumed to paying 4, 5 or more times the price. I think that most folks that are really into these will pick up the whole series, because that’s how they really look best – as a set together on the shelf. Individual figures don’t really don’t do as much for you.

Where to Buy –
Target and Toys R Us are getting these in at around $10 a pop.

If you have one of those hard to buy for pop culture addicts on your list, or maybe someone with a twisted appreciation for the undead, or just somebody that loves horror, then I have the perfect gift idea for you!

A few years ago, Sideshow Collectibles started a line of 12″ in house designed zombies called The Dead. Since then, they’ve released an ever increasing number of the undead into our lives, each one better than the last. They also have other items that proclaim your love of all things flesh eating, like t-shirts and sweat shirts with The Dead logo on the front.

But for Christmas, they decided to go all out and produce a very nifty The Dead zombie ornament. For just $10 plus shipping, you can bring home this delightful yuletide brain eater.

If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. On to the review!

The Undead Christmas Ornament

I have this guy already on my tree. And he gets a lot more attention and comments than Winnie the Pooh!

Packaging – **
Normally, Sideshow does amazing packaging. The Dead line tends to be very minimalist though, and that’s the route they went here. There’s actually a sticker on the back that has The Dead logo on it, but the front, sides and top are completely white. The window shows off the ornament well enough though, so I’m not bothered by the plain white container.

What does bug the crap out of me is the styrofoam insert. This time they went with the cheaper, lighter stuff that falls apart in your hands, and I hate this stuff. By next Christmas, it’s going to be in several pieces, and useless for storing the ornament.

Sculpting – ****
Wow! This might just be an ornament, but this is my favorite zombie head sculpt they’ve produced!

The nice thing is that it’s done in sixth scale, so it actually fits in with the figures. The detail work on it is amazing, with some truly realistic rot around the exposed skull and nasal cavity. It’s not all the sculpt – the paint goes a long way too – but this head sculpt has some of the best detail we’ve seen in the line.

The zombie is coming up over and out of the ornament itself. The right hand is reaching out menacingly, while the bared teeth show his true intent. And it’s to eat Carols, not sing them. The bulb itself is actually plastic, and not glass, but the seam along the side is fairly tight and difficult to see unless you inspect it closely.

Now here’s the real beauty part – the head and hand can be removed from the bulb with a little effort! That means you can grab yourself a spare body, tear up some extra clothes, and put together ANOTHER zombie in your The Dead line! Sounds like you better buy two of these guys, one for the tree and one for a custom.

Paint – ****
Great sculpts can be ruined by mediocre paint. But great paint can take the sculpt to a whole new level, elevating the realism and life-like nature. And while this guy wouldn’t technically be ‘alive’, the paint does bring out the detail and the coloring in a way that’s truly life-like.

The glassy right eye looks amazing. The subtle difference in color between the graying skin and exposed skull is remarkable. Even the work on the teeth and nose are above average, even for companies like Medicom or Hot Toys. If every sixth scale figure produced by Sideshow had paint that looked like this, they’d have no competition in the category.

Design – ***1/2
I have to admit that the plastic ball ends up pulling a half star off this category, along with the lack of anything particularly ‘Christmasy’ about it. On the one hand, I’m quite happy that he lacks a silly Santa hat (for example), because that makes it much easier to produce a nifty custom with the head and hand. OTOH, I really would like it to be more festive, and besides – if he was wearing a Santa hat, wouldn’t he make a terrific zombie Santa custom? In fact, I just might have to try that out anyway…

Still, he’s going to look terrific on just about anyone’s tree.

Value – ***
If you’ve been in a Hallmark store lately, you know how damn expensive good ornaments are. Most of the regular ones cost $12 – $15, and are rarely this large – or this detailed in sculpt and paint. At $10, he’s a solid value, even after you add in the extra shipping cost.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. Other than your wife freakin’ out when she see’s it hanging between her 2006 Barbie and the ‘Our First Christmas’ ornaments.

Overall – ****
This was one of the best surprises I’ve had in quite awhile, at least when it comes to pop culture collectibles. It really did turn out amazingly well, and is going to be a perennial addition to my tree. Unless my wife ‘accidently’ breaks it. I ordered two though, just in case.

If you do pick up one or two to make custom zombies, please drop me a photo. I’d love to see your creativity in action! And steal your ideas for myself, of course.

Where to Buy –
You can pick him up at Sideshow right now for $10!

Related Links –
I’ve reviewed only one of the previous The Dead figures, although I’ve bought the whole line. I covered Subject 5, the zombie security guard. If you’re a zombie fan in general, you should also check out:

– the Peril Unlimited 12″ zombie, the GITD Flesh Eating Zombies, and the recent Shaun of the Dead 2 pack.

– my review of Cult Classics 4 that included the plaid shirt zombie from Dawn of the Dead and the zombie fighter Shaun from Shaun of the Dead; and the Cult Classics 3 Flyboy Zombie from Night of the Living Dead.

– then there’s my review of Earl, from Mezco’s line Attack of the Living Dead.

– check out the Marvel Legends monster boxed set that included the zombie from Tales of the Zombie.

– SOTA recently released the Land of the Dead figures.

– and don’t forget the cool (but expensive) zombies from the sixth scale Dust series.

I managed to make it out to the movies this weekend, catching the much anticipated (by me, anyway) film adaptation of The Golden Compass. I am a fan of the books, and was very pleased by the line of toys, which I reviewed last week. After seeing the film, I’ve come to a rather unique conclusion – I like the toys better than the movie.

That’s not to say the film is bad. I’d give it a B, if you forced me to do such a thing as grade it. The effects are fantastic, and there’s some great acting from Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliot (hey, he’s always great!), and the newcomer Dakota Blue Richards. The bear fight alone is worth the price of admission. Oh, I thought it felt rushed, there was too much exposition and explanation, and they veer from the book on some key points, but it was a decent film.

The toys are great though, at least the regular releases so far. Tonight I’m looking at the two bears, which are sold individually, Ragnar (King of the Bears) and Iorek (our hero). Ragnar is voice by Ian McShane in the film, while Ian McKellen does Iorek. I wasn’t thrilled with his version of Iorek, but you just have to see that damn bear fight.

If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. On to the review!

Iorek and Ragnar – the Golden Compass from Popco

These guys are hitting Toys R Us stores first, but I’d expect to see them at other retailers soon. The smaller figures are just $6 each, but the larger bears (with action features that the regular figures lack) are $10 each.

Packaging – ***1/2
The packages are decent, and don’t waste space, which is a big plus these days. The nice square shape also makes them easy for MOCers with storage. There is also some personalization too, which is a big plus for me.

Sculpting – ***1/2
The sculpting work is actually quite good, and can be better appreciated after seeing the movie. Let’s face it – these are bears, and the general sculpt isn’t all that difficult to capture. The trick is getting some of the personality of the two specific bears into the face and body sculpts, and they actually managed to pull that off.

There were two things I was particularly happy to see. First, the scale here is pretty good. Place them with the human figures, and you’ll get a pretty accurate representation of how they appeared on film in terms of size. I say pretty accurate, because even in the movie their size in relation to the humans altered from time to time. Gotta blame that CGI.

The other thing that impresses me is that their size in relation to each other is quite accurate. Ragnar is the bigger bear in the film, with a wider body and wider more grizzly like head. Iorek has a more traditional polar bear body and head, thinner and less square. They could have cheated – hey, these are mass market toys after all – and just used the same bear body for both with different head sculpts, but they didn’t.

The front paw sculpts aren’t my favorite, particularly the right paws which are flat. The armor isn’t exactly screen accurate (for example, Ragnar lacks the chain mail on his belly), so they aren’t perfect. But they are surprisingly good considering the price and the intended audience.

Paint – ***
There’s nothing about the paint to get excited about, but it’s decent mass market quality. Unlike the small figures, the bears don’t have a whole lot of small detail work. They’re white, they have eyes, noses and some paw details, but that’s about it. Even the armor is a consistent color, but they did manage to make it pretty realistic in appearance. The work is fairly clean, with only a few spots or sloppy cuts.

Articulation – **1/2
Unfortunately, the articulation is once again the weakest link. This was true with the regular figures, and it remains the case with the bears.

There are a couple high notes though. They have a ball jointed neck that works surprisingly well, and in combination with the jointed lower jaw, gives you a chance to add a lot of personality to the figure. Once you’ve seen the film, you might decide to customize your Ragnar too.

The four hips have regular cut joints, but the front hips are limited by the silly action feature. They aren’t designed to walk on all fours due to the front paws being sculpted in specific ways, once again for the silly action feature. That ends up hurting the number of poses you can actually do, outside of the upright fighting stance.

The front paws both have ball joints though, so you can exhibit at least a little creativity with the fighting pose.

Accessories – ***
Both bears come with small stands, and their armor. The armor is completely removable, although both come wearing the major pieces in the package. Most of it pops together to stay in place, but there’s actually a clear plastic chin strap to hold Ragnar’s helmet in place (which isn’t really necessary), and his arm pieces snap in place. The armor sculpts are good, and the metallic apperance is relatively realistic.

The bears are clearly more interesting wearing the armor, but making it removable adds to the fun. And since the bears aren’t always armored in the film, it matches the source material as well.

Action Feature – **
My feelings about 90% of the action features out there are pretty well known. I think action features on toys are to kids what a lot of options on cars are to adults. They might actually seem nifty, and they might actually make the sale – but the novelty wears off quickly.

For these two, you press a button on their back and they swipe with their arms. On it’s own, it’s harmless enough. It’s not particularly useful after you’ve tried it once or twice, and most kids will make their own version of a swatting action and just skip the button. But if it didn’t negatively effect the sculpt and articulation, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Unfortunately it does effect both. Because of this action feature, the toy is actually less fun than had they just skipped it. And when the world is better without you than with you, that’s never a good thing.

Fun Factor – ***
These two would actually be more fun without the action feature, which just gets in the way. Without it they would have been more posable, and kids could have supplied their own ‘slashing’ action.

Value – **1/2
The six dollar regular figures are an excellent value, but the larger bears are really pretty much in line with the usual mass market pricing these days. You won’t feel ripped, because they have some nice size to them and the armor is well done, but you’re not going to be amazed by the price either.

Things to Watch Out For –
There’s really no issues. You might find that once you take the armor off, it’s a tad tricky to get back on, so small kids may need your help.

Overall – ***
The sculpts, paint and armor on these guys is quite good, especially when you consider that it’s a mass market line aimed at kids. Had they skipped the silly action feature and given us a bit better articulation, I could have easily seen these guys getting the extra half star.

Even with the faults, they both look terrific posed together or with the other humans from the regular line up. Considering how important Ioker is to the story line, you really can’t skip him. And while he’s a cool bear, it’s Ragnar that gets the better looking set of armor. He is King of the Bears after all! Pick up both, pose them in battle, and they’ll add quite a bit to your Golden Compass display.

Where to Buy –
Toys R Us is your best bet right now, but I think you’ll see other major retailers stocking them soon.

Related Links –
I covered the rest of the first wave last week, and I’ll have a review of the flying machine coming soon as well.

Everyone – good guys and bad guys alike – need their posse. They need a cadre of dudes around them to protect and guide, otherwise they end up like Britney. And nobody wants that.

In the original trilogy (and you know which trilogy I’m talking about without my having to say it, so don’t act so puzzled), Emperor Palpatine has these cool, deadly looking red robed guards. Now, it has to be a bit of a bummer being this guy’s guard, since he could clearly kick your ass with his little finger, but at least you get to wear the cool red robe.

In later films, which are actually earlier stories, Palpatine was just a lowly Senator. His guards were the guards of all the Senate as well, appropriately called Senate Guards (rather than Royal Guards). They dressed in blue robes with a slightly different helmet. When Sidious rose to power, becoming Emperor, he gradually phased them out with the red version, and renamed the group.

If you have any questions or comments, just drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. On to the review!

Royal Guard mini-busts from Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant produced a whopping 10,000 of the guards, but split it up into red ones and blue ones. The red, classic look is the majority of the run, with the blue version put in as a chase. I’m not sure of the actual numbers, but it looks like there was a blue for every two or three red, similar to what we’ve seen with some of the early Clonetrooper color variations.

Packaging – ***
These come in the usual, bland, black packaging that we’ve seen dictated out of Lucasfilm for awhile now. On the upside though, they have windows to see the contents, and those nifty GG baseball card style Certificates of Authenticity. On an interesting side note, they used the exact same base foam shell for both busts, even though only the red has the removable weapon.

Sculpting – ***1/2
While neither of these are extremly complex, it’s not really the fault of Gentle Giant. On certain characters in the past, I’ve complained about GG’s lack of texturing, but here it makes complete sense. These costumes always appear very smooth, very clean, and very ominous. The outfit itself lacks detail by design, so complaining about the smooth robes and helmet would be a tad disengenious.

Other key aspects are right on target, like the scale of the helmeted heads to the body, arms and hands, and the stoic poses. Put a couple of the red guys behind your Emperor bust, and a couple of the blue behind the Palpatine bust, and you’ll have an excellent display.

It’s worth noting here that the weapon on the Senate Guard is part of the permenant sculpt and is not removable. However, the majority of the weapon and left hand on the Royal Guard comes as a separate attachment, held tightly in place with magnets. It stays in plce quite well, and is much easier to get lined up and attached than some of the other recent busts.

Paint – ***1/2
Like the sculpt, the paint is going to be pretty basic on these. Lots of red or blue, a little black, and a dash here or there of some other color with the weapons perhaps.

The paint work is extremely clean, and to make up for the lack of detail, they used a nice high gloss finish on the helmets, and a matte finish on the robes. This does an excellent job of setting the two apart, and adding visual pop to the otherwise consistent color.

Design – ***1/2
While neither of these busts is in a particularly dynamic pose, that fits the characters perfectly. Like the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Buckingham Palace, these guys were stoic bordering on statue. They made for nice set dressing, and added a bit of ‘royal’ to the look of the Senate (and later to the Emperor), but they weren’t men of action in the films. Creating a bust like this, where only the upper body is visible, in some sort of extreme action pose wouldn’t have fit the character well. Also, since the main display option is as a guard(s) to a Palpatine mini-bust in one form or another, an action pose would have made that impossible.

Value – red **1/2; blue **
The busts will run you the usual $45 each or so, except if you’re trying to get a Blue version. Since these were the smaller run, retailers had little choice but to either charge more, or set up package deals where you purchase two reds and you can also buy a blue at the normal cost.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. While the weapon on the Royal Guard is held very tightly by the magnets, I still wouldn’t carry him around or handle him without one hand keeping it savely in place.

Overall – ***1/2
Gentle Giant’s track record with the monsters and masked characters in their Star Wars mini-bust line has been extremely good, certainly better than the overall quality of the human likenesses. These two continue that tradition, and will make an excellent addition to your collection. However, if you don’t already have the Emperor or Senator Palpaltine mini-busts, you will most likely be less inclined to take the plunge on buying one or more Guards.

Where to Buy –
There are plenty of great online options:

– the best deal around is at Urban-Collector, at least if you’re looking for both red and blue. You can buy them as a pair for $89. And if you’re just looking for the red, he’s just $37!

– Andrew’s Toyz has a slightly higher price than some on just the red – $45 – but you can get a good price on the blue if you buy him as part of a set of three, two reds and one blue, for $135.

– Amazing Toyz has a great price on the red at $40, or you can get the red AND blue together as a set for $120.

– CornerStoreComics has just the red for $42, or the red AND a blue for $120 as a set.

– Dark Shadow Collectibles is all out of the blue but has the red for $42.00

– Alter Ego has just the red version, available for $42.50

Related Liniks –
Other reviews include the Jawas,
Dengar,
Zuckuss, Chewbacca and Darth Maul, Jedi Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn, Palpatine and Skiff Lando

As adults collecting toys, we really have it made. We can eat our cake and have it too – we’re reliving the joy of our childhoods through our collecting habits of our old age. But there are lots of children out there who don’t have the kind of childhood we had – or the kind of childhood we wish we’d had. These children are less fortunate than we were, or at least most certainly less fortunate than we are now.

In 1947, a woman named Diane Hicks had made a Raggedy Ann doll as a craft project, and decided that it should go to a less fortunate child at Christmas time. She asked her husband, Bill Hendricks, a major in the Marine Corp Reserves in Los Angeles, to find an agency that could deliver this toy appropriately. When he found that none existed, she suggested that he start one. That first year, he collected and distributed 5000 toys to needy children. And thus was born Toys for Tots.

The program was so successful that in 1948, the Marine Corp adopted it and turned it nationwide. It’s been delivering on it’s goal to bring the joy of Christmas to America’s needy children ever since.

During the 2006 Toys for Tots Campaign, local Toys for Tots Coordinators distributed 19.2 million toys to 7.6 million needy children.Concurrently, local campaigns were conducted in 558 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands – the most extensive coverage ever.

Over the 59 years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 370 million toys to more than 173 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U.S. Marines the unchallenged leaders in looking after needy children at Christmas. Over its 16 year life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented local toy collections with more than 70.2 million toys valued at more than $387 million; plus has provided promotion and support materials valued at over $4.7 million. I’m proud to say that I’ve helped in those numbers for the past decade, and I’d like you to consider giving back some of your love of toys to children that might not ever realize just how wonderful it can be.

So here’s your call to arms. You collect toys because of the love you developed for those silly playthings of your youth. By giving new, unopened toys to your local Toys for Tots campaigns, you can give other children the chance to develop that same bond, to have that special friend in Pooh or Tigger, or to learn just how much fun they can have with a couple G.I. Joes and an empty lot.

When you see those toys on clearance, think about it. Is it really all that much to spend a little on bringing the joy to a child on Christmas morning? I’d think most of us would agree that helping kids is the greatest work we can do.

To get further information on the program, and contact information for local coordinators, check the official web site at www.toysfortots.org. There will be drop off bins at many of your local stores, including Toys R Us again this year. Do what you can, even if it’s only a little – every bit helps.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming!

If you’ve been collecting any form of toy over the last decade, you know all about mini-mates. Born out of the mini-figure boom of a few years back, the figures produced by Art Asylum were an instant hit. The Marvel figures were clearly the most popular, but the style was applied to all kinds of licenses.

Diamond Select took over the mini-mate line last year, and are now producing not only the Marvel and DC characters, but some truly unique and unusual licenses. One of those is the classic Back to the future. This set includes Marty McFly, Biff, Doc Brown and Lorraine McFly, and is hitting your LCS and online stores now.

Back to the Future mini-mates!

With all the time travel shows on right now – between Journeyman, and Hiro on Heroes, and even Lost, where time might be a question – you have to admit that while BTTF wasn’t exactly great science fiction, it was at least entertaining. If you’re looking for the more sci-fi version, I suggest Primer. But there’s no Marty McFly in that flick!

Packaging – ***
All four figures come packed together on a bubble/cardback style of package. The graphics are decent, and the size is good (no wasted space!), but you won’t get all hot and bothered over it.

Sculpting – ***
The mini-mates aren’t exactly the most specificly sculpted figures – they’re pretty basic, even by basic standards. And yet, somehow, they managed to get these pretty recognizable. It’s partly due to the hair sculpts, which are particularly unique, but also for some of the clothing. Marty is so recognizable as Marty because of the red down vest, and Doc Brown has that wild funky hair.

As usual, you can swap the various body parts if you’d like, but with a character specific series like this I don’t know that it’s all that important. Of the set of four, Biff is the least recognizable, followed by Lorraine, but there’s no doubt about Marty and Doc Brown.

Paint – ***1/2
The quality of the paint ops are always critical for the mini-mates, due to the simplistic sculpts. Much of the recognizable look of the figures depends on the quality of the paint work, particularly the tampo painting of the faces. Fortunately, the work here is generally great. There’s a little slop, but it’s so minor that it’s not going to be an issue for any but the most anal.

There’s quite a bit more detail here than usual as well. Biff actually mirrors the usual work, with the face having the most detail, and just some basic details on the clothing. However, the other three figures here have much more detail, from the pattern on Marty and Doc’s shirts, to the cool giraffe on Lorraine’s skirt.

Articulation – ***
These are very articulated for small mini-figures, but I’ve never been completely thrilled with the actual mobility of the joints.

Each of the figures has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders and hips, pin jointed elbows and knees, and cut joints at the wrists, ankles and waist. That’s quite a bit for a figure that stands about 3″ tall. However, most of the joints are a bit limited in their range of movement.

The best part of these joints is that most of them – like the shoulders, hips, wrists, waist and ankles – allow for the body parts to pop off and be swapped around. I’m not sure that it works particularly well with this license, but it’s always a nifty idea. All the figures stand up great on their own too, which is always important.

Accessories – Marty, Doc Brown **1/2; the rest Bupkis
While the hands on the mini-mates can certainly work with accessories, there are often very few included with the figures. That’s the case with Biff and Lorraine, but Marty and Doc Brown both have one addition.

Doc Brown comes with his funky invention/hat, which is actually attached to a whole new head. That’s a nice touch, since he can have a different expression entirely. But it’s still not quite as cool as Marty’s included skateboard, which he can stand on with the help of a post on the board and a hole in his foot. And yes, the wheels turn.

Fun Factor – ****
Yep, they’re plenty of fun. These are the kind of figures that you can put on your desk at work, and you’ll see people actually playing with them while they talk to you. It’s just a natural thing!

Value – ***
One of the problems with mini-mates has often been price, but you can pick up this full set of 4 for around $12 – $13 if you’re careful. That’s a good deal on the current specialty market, especially for something this…unique.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. They’re sturdy, can handle play, and have little issue with paint consistency.

Overall – ***
Okay, I’m not sure how many of these little guys they can really sell – is BTTF really a license that can sell anything, let alone mini-figures? – but at least they gave it a good shot. If they don’t sell well, it won’t be because they aren’t well done, but rather that the license just doesn’t have the appeal they thought.

Where to Buy –
Online retailers include:

– Alter Ego Comics has the set for $12.74.

In every universe, there’s a Rodney Dangerfield, some poor schlupp that just can’t get any respect. In the Star Wars universe, that would be Dengar. While his colleague’s Boba Fett, Bossk, Zuckuss and even IG-88 were treated with admiration by fans for their cruel bravery, old Dengar was just some fat guy with a towel on his head. And the towel wasn’t even wrapped very neatly.

It should be no suprise then that all the aforementioned characters have been treated to mini-busts by Gentle Giant, and yet poor Dengar has been the excluded bounty hunter. That situation has finally been rectified however, and Dengar’s bust is now available online and perhaps at your LCS. He’s a limited edition of 4000 (although you could argue that it’s not particularly ‘limited’ at that kind of quantity), and will run around $45.

“Dengar – Gentle Giant Mini-bust”

While he might not get much respect, Dengar is definitely one of the crueler and rougher bounty hunters. Capturing the cold, emotionless danger was GG’s real challenge. How’d they do? Let’s see!

Packaging – ***
When you’ve seen one recent GG Star Wars box, you’ve pretty much seen them all. While the basic look is still rather plain, this one benefits from having the window (occasionally they do not) which allows you to inspect your particular purchase. It also includes the cool baseball card style COA, which I’ve always thought was a bright move on GG’s part.

Sculpting – ****
Yep, this is Dengar alright. He has enough of a unique look that he’ll be instantaneously recognized by any Star Wars fan, but isn’t a popular enough character to end up being scrutinized on every detail for screen accuracy.

The head sculpt is excellent with the scarring etched realisticly into his face. He has Han Solo to thank for that. And GG of course. The cloth has a nice texturing added to it to differentiate it, and in fact, this bust has appropriate textures added everywhere. One of the flaws of some GG mini-busts is the lack of realistic texturing on clothing and skin, making the overall appearance too consistent. Here we see a nice break from that, with unique textures on the various pieces of cloth, the skin, and the leather pieces. It’s not perfect yet, and some of the areas still tend to blend in together, but it’s a big step forward.

Some of the best sculpting on this bust is in back, where you rarely look. Dengar has his backpack, which I believe also worked with his cybernetic parts to help keep him alive. There’s tons of detail here, with a nice use of both the sculpt and paint to add visual pop to the basic character. Gentle Giant seems to take extra care with all the bounty hunters, and it’s nice to see Dengar get the same level of treatment.

Paint – ***
While the paint isn’t bad, there were a couple distinct issues I had that held him back from a higher score. The overall quality of the paint operations is solid, with clean cuts between colors and a nice, consistent application. There’s also a nice mix of color, which is a surprise considering how bland most folks assume this character is.

My two issues revolve around the eyes and the lips. The eyes lack the shiny gloss application that gives them that wet, alive look. With a flat finish, the character looks more like a mannequinn than an actual person.

The other issue is the lips, which are a very bright red. The lines are also very clean, which actually adds to the appearance of lipstick. They needed to back off a bit on this dark color, giving him a more natural color.

Design – ***1/2
Dengar’s expression is well designed, giving him a cold, emotionless look. The poor guy had his emotions all mucked up with the surgeries on his brain, making him a pure killing machine. There’s just enough mean in his look to get the point across, and a feel of impending violence. The overall design isn’t overly dynamic, but has just the right style for the character.

Value – **1/2
At an SRP of $50, with street prices closer to $40 – $45, these are about an average price for the current market. Considering how much other pop culture collectibles have risen over the last few years, it’s nice to see that mini-busts have remained fairly constant. Let’s hope that continues!

Things to Watch Out For –
As I mentioned, the hand/gun piece comes separate in the package and must be attached. To do so, you need to put the gun in between his posed left hand and body, and get the post for the right hand in *just* the right spot to slide it on. Once in place, it’s going to stay there, but you don’t want to get too impatient or you could damage the gun pretty easily.

Overall – ***1/2
Gee, with those scores above, do you think this is a ***1/2 star figure overall? Solid sculpting, clean paint and a terrific design all add up to a much nicer version of Dengar than we usually get. My only real quibble here is that they didn’t give his eyes that coat of shine that adds so much life and realism to the bust. Had they added that touch, this would have been a near perfect representation of a much ignored character.

Score Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – ****
Paint – ***
Design – ***1/2
Value – **1/2
Overall – ***1/2

Where to Buy –
There’s plenty of great options online:

– Urban-Collector has this bust at just $38, and they have some of the new pre-orders like Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura at just $39! That’s an excellent price all around.

– Fireside Collectibles has him at just $40.

– Alter Ego Comics has him at $42.50.

– Amazing Toyz has him at $43.

– CornerStoreComics also has him at $43.

– Andrews Toyz has him at $45.

Related Links:
I’ve reviewed plenty of Star Wars mini-busts, including:

– recently, I checked out Zuckuss right here at QSE.

– Other Star Wars mini-busts I’ve covered include Chewbacca and Darth Maul, Jedi Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn, Palpatine and Skiff Lando.

Robocop is a true cult classic film, combining a cool futuristic story line with some great acting and special effects. It was such a hit in 1987, that it spawned two sequels (and a third is in production) as well as a television series. And let’s not forget all the classic one liners that people continue to use at inappropriate times to this very day.

Robocop had a terrific cast, including Peter Weller of course, but several other folks that have had long careers as character actors like Ray Wise (currently the devil on Reaper) or Miquel Ferrer (currently on Bionic Woman). But it’s perhaps best known as an ultra-violent film, even by today’s standards, twenty years later. The death of Officer Murphy is not for the squeamish, and relatively unknown (at the time) director Paul Verhoeven made sure it wasn’t a scene you’d soon forget.

Robocop 3D Wall Art

McFarlane Toys started producing three dimensional versions of classic movie posters and album covers a few years ago. I’m not into vinyl, so the album covers didn’t do a lot for me, but I’m a huge fan of great poster artwork and have been picking up the majority of their ‘3D Wall Art’. The latest release is based on the classic Robocop movie poster, and is now hitting stores. Expect to pay around $20 or so, depending on the retailer.

Packaging – **
The package only covers the edges and back of the poster, not the front. That means that the poster can get damaged on the shelf fairly easily. I cut them some slack in this area in the past, but with all the complex three dimensional sections, scratching or damaging the paint is a real possibility.

Sculpting – ****
If you haven’t seen one of these in person yet, be prepared for a visual treat. They take the basic concept of the original iconic poster, and produce a sculpted, three dimensional version. This works much better for some posters than others, and the amount of the image that’s brought out varies, but the Robocop poster was an excellent choice.

They’ve managed to sculpt the small details with an appropriate level of accuracy, staying with the appearance of the original print and yet giving it a new life. There’s probably more here in 3-D than any of the other posters theyve’ done so far, including the entire Robocop, almost every aspect of the police car, and the main logo. By placing the rest of the credits on a flat surface that is actually brought out to the front of the box, they’ve provided the perfect step for Robocop’s left foot, and with proper paint work still given it a poster-like appearance.

These are actually fairly large, at about 8 1/2″ by almost 13″ tall and a couple inches deep. They’ve actually reused the basic exterior box from the Alien 3-D poster, and still have the battery compartment (glued shut) on the back.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint work here is solid, with almost no slop or poor definition. The choice of colors matches the original well, and in some cases they’ve even flattened some of the 3-D appearance of the sculpt with the paint. That creates an interesting effect, tricking the eye and making you not quite sure what you’re seeing at first.

There’s a few cut lines that aren’t quite perfect, but these issues are very minor compared to the overall exceptional appearance.

Design – ****
Obvioiusly, the design is based on the poster and follows it almost to an exact reproduction. That’s a good thing though, since the image is so iconic. They also created the three dimensional areas in sensible and attractive ways, bringing out the beauty of the poster.

Value – ***
These are about $20 each online, and that’s what I’m grading them at. The size of these is more impressive in person, and the price point is actually pretty good considering the varied licenses.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. Obviously, with no protection for the front of the poster in the package, you’ll want to watch out for any possible shelf damage that might have occurred to the paint or sculpt. But if you have a good one in your hands, what you see is what you’ll get once it’s out of the box.

Overall – ***1/2
This is one of the best of the posters they’ve done so far, and that’s saying a lot considering how well past releases have turned out. These make terrific decorations for a movie or home media room, or a ‘rec room’ for those of us old enough to remember what those were. They aren’t intended to take the place of normal posters, but to be their own unique entity, and in that they succeed quite well.

Where to Buy –
There’s a number of online options:

– Amazing Toyz has him listed at $19, and they have many of the past releases as well.

– Cornerstorecomics has him at $19 as well, with others available.

Related Links –
I’ve covered a number of the other releases as well:

– there’s my review of the Jaws and Friday the 13th posters, as well as the Rocky Horror Picture Show poster and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Don’t we all feel a little lost once in awhile? And yet somehow we manage not to become monsters of the night. Not so for Keifer Sutherland and his teenage friends in the cult classic The Lost Boys. Released back in 1987, it features a much younger Keifer than his 24 fans are accostumed to, along with one of the most attractive actresses on the planet, Jami Gertz. If you’ve never seen the film, go rent it. Right now. I’m serious.

The latest set of Cult Classics from NECA features two figures from this film. One is David of course, the vampire leader played by the young Sutherland. The other is Michael, the new boy in town, played by Jason Patric. He ends up a vampire through a ruse by David and his gang, and has to destroy David if he wants to break the curse. Of course, you knew all that because you’ve seen the film. Right? I was serious about renting it right now.

The Lost Boys – David and Michael

These two figures joint the Hare Krishna Zombe from Dawn of the Dead and the S-Mart Ash to round out the full series 6 of the Cult Classics. I have a review up of the other two over at MROTW.

Packaging – ***
The’ve gone with the usual clamshells, of which I’m a big fan. Sturdy on the peg, fairly easy to store, and they show off the figures nicely. I could have used some instructions to figure out what the Hell I’m supposed to do with Michael’s chandelier, but that’s a minor nit since putting it together wasn’t all that difficult.

Sculpting – David ***1/2; Michael ***
The sculpts on all four heads and all four sets of hands is solid, although some of it might be getting lost in the somewhat mediocre paint.

I was really impressed by the David 2 Up that was at SDCC, and the smaller version looks like it translated well. The bared fangs, spikey hair, and rough look are all there, but the paint is obscuring a bit of it. The human head isn’t quite as good, but that’s more of an effect of the attempted expression than the actual likeness. It certainly looks like Keifer as David, but the slighty odd smirk throws off the accuracy a bit. The human head also has a bit of a Maniac Cop jaw going on here, larger and squarer than Keifer’s own. This is partly due to their attempt at sculpting the unshaven face.

The work on both sets of hands – gloved and bare monster versions – are also nice, with some interesting bare vampire feet too. The size, scale and proportions on the body are good, and I love the many small details in the clothing. In fact, David’s outfit is perhaps the best work of this wave.

Michael’s head sculpts are both solid, but not particularly exciting. The detail is there, and while the likeness isn’t quite as strong as with David, it’s still reasonable. The heads on both figures pop on and off easily enough, and yet aren’t prone to falling off on their own or with basic posing.

Michael’s outfit is screen accurate, but a tad dull of course. This is a figure I’ll be leaving in vamp mode for the shelf, since an unknown vampire is more visually interesting than an unknown guy in a sweater.

Both of these figures can stand on their own, which is pretty important for Michael. Unlike the other three figures in the line, he has no holes in the bottom of his feet, and his display base does not have any pegs to keep him standing.

Paint – ***1/2
While I’m not dancing on the roof tops over the paint job here, particularly on David, it still does appear that the majority of the big issues NECA was having in this area earlier in the year are solved.

It might be that they just went for too much this time around, and couldn’t quite pull it all off. There’s an awful lot going on with David’s face, between the spikey hair, fanged mouth, and attempt at an unshaven look. They pulled it all off in the sculpt, but when they added paint, things didn’t look quite as good.

The two big problem areas are the mouth and beard. The teeth lose definition, and one side of the unshaven face is darker than the other. These errors aren’t as agregious as some we’ve seen from the previous factory, but they hurt the final figure for me.

Michael has a bit more slop than I’d like, particularly on the vamp face, and again he loses some definition. They may have went for too much paint detail here, and detail actually get lost in all the noise.

Even with those issues though, I gave these guys high marks in this category. You’ll want to pay special attention to David on the peg, because I saw some that were much better than the one I received in the mail.

Articulation – **1/2
These aren’t supposed to be highly articulated. Understand that, and you won’t have as much issue with the few joints that are here.

Both figures sport very, very good ball jointed necks. I got a very nice range of movement out of both of them, and they really added to the posing possibilities and the personality of the figures.

Both also have the usual NECA ball shoulder joints, but on Michael they are a bit more funky looking than David. David’s coat has been used to blend them in a bit better, creating a nicer looking line.

Both have cut wrists of course, since the hands are swappable, and they have cut ankles as well. Both have cut waists, and a cut joint on the left elbow. Michael adds the extra cut elbow on the right arm as well.

You can get a couple decent poses out of them, particularly with David, but these aren’t super articulated, and you shouldn’t go in expecting too much more than plastic statues.

Accessories – David ****; Michael ***1/2
The cost of specialty market figures has risen at the local retailers, but NECA has countered that wallet pain slightly by upping the ante on the accessories.

David has a nice display base with an attached section of wall. There’s a sculpted Chinese take out box with worms crawling out, right from a specific scene in the film. He also has his extra head, extra set of gloved hands, and extra set of booted feet. The hands and feet go on and off fairly well, but be careful with those small fingers!

He finishes off the rather impressive set of accessories with the bottle, also from the film. That’s quite a solid number of accessories for a figure in the $12 range.

Michael also has a small display base, but his is flat (well, actually it’s the wood floor from his house, I believe) without any peg or sculpted additions. He does have his extra normal head along with normal hands, but there are no additional feet.

He does have one huge accessory though – the chandelier that played a role in the movie. It’s a nice idea, and it goes together well. But what should I do with it? Lay it on the ground? Prop it in a corner? Throw it at the cat?

Fun Factor – **1/2
While these aren’t exactly toys, they are both vampires which increases the fun a bit. Kids love vampires, even when they have absolutely no idea who they are. The only problem is the lack of articulation, holding these back from being more fun.

Things to Watch Out For –
The swappable hands and feet have fairly short pegs, and you’ll want to take care removing and replacing them. The hands were particularly tricky, since the fingers are much softer plastic than the posts. Bending and breaking the fingers while forcing in the pegs is a distinct possibility.

Overall – David ***1/2; Michael ***
If you can snag one of the David’s with the best paint jobs, you’ll be quite pleased. The vampire sculpt is great, and the added accessories really make him pop on the shelf. Michael isn’t quite the hit, but fans of the film will appreciate him.

Score Recap-
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – David ***1/2; Michael ***
Paint – ***
Articulation – **1/2
Accessories – David ****; Michael ***1/2
Fun Factor – **1/2
Overall – David ***1/2; Michael ***

Where to Buy –
While you might eventually be able to find the full set at Hot Topic or Suncoast, I’d suggest going for an online option:

– CornerStoreComics has them for $12 each or the set for $46.

– Amazing Toyz has the singles at $12 each as well, but the set of 4 is $55.

Related Links –
There’s been plenty of Cult Classic reviews:

– last was series 5, including Lector and Jigsaw, series 4, series 3 broken into two reviews of McClane and Bubba Ho-tep, and Flyboy and the Endoskeleton in another. Finally, there’s also reviews of series 1 and series 2.

If you loved the Muppets, then you know Ken Lilly, or at least his work. As the heart and soul behind the amazing line from Palisades, he made his mark on the action figure market. After leaving Palisades, Ken moved on to form his own company, Creatus Maximus.

The first product Ken developed on his own was Smart Bombs. These are actually Little Boy and Fat Man, the two bombs dropped on Japan to end the Pacific side of World War II, done up with clear domes that show off small brains inside. While the first sets were done with satirical designs, like R2-D2 or Batman, the new releases are completely blank. In fact, they are called ‘blanks’. They are designed for YOU to free your creative beast, and see what you can do with a couple unique bombs.

In my review of the original Smart Bombs, I did a long intro on the history of these two particular weapons. Check it out here for the full skinny – now on to the review of the blanks!

Packaging – **1/2
The white boxes do a fine job of getting them to you in one piece. The graphic design is solid, but the basic packaging fits the style and size of the company itself.

Sculpting – ***1/2
The sculpts aren’t exact duplicates of the infamous bombs, but are designed to be as close as possible, and still be unique. You (or anyone that stops by your cube) is going to instantly recognize these two guys, no matter what funky paint job you might give them.

As I mentioned in the previous review of the painted Smart Bombs, the actual scale between these two bombs is actually quite good, being only slightly off. They are fairly small though, with Little Boy at about 3 1/2″ and Fat Man at 3″. It’s going to depend on how you paint them up as to what other lines they might work well with.

The sculpts are a bit more detailed than you might expect, with rivets and other doo-dads giving them some texture. The sculpt on the brains is a bit soft, but considering the scale, it’s not too much of an issue.

Paint – Bupkis
Usually a bupkis is not a good thing, but this time it’s really the whole point. These are white, with clear domes to show off the ‘brains’. These are intended to bring out the artist in you, allowing YOU to design the paint scheme, much like the vinyl figures from many Japanese companies.

Articulation – **1/2
The articulation here is at the arm joints. Since several arms are included, and are meant to be easily swapped around, there’s one post joint where the arm meets the body. It’s not too much, but considering the size, probably enough. Some of the extra arms could have had wrist articulation, but it’s not a major loss.

Accessories – ***
As I mentioned, both bombs come with all three extra sets of arms. There’s robot arms, cartoon arms (think Mickey Mouse), and bat wings. By including these arms, or skipping them altogether, you can create quite a number of different looks for the base body. This gives you even more options when it comes to the final deco. The actual small bomb attachments on the sides pop off to allow you to attach the various arms.

Fun Factor – **
Hmmm. Not sure exactly how these would fit in with the normal 8 year old play patterns, but the concept of drawing and painting on them would go over big. I’m betting most parents would prefer cut bears or cats though, and those are out there in blank form as well from other companies.

However, if you’re an adult looking for a fun, creative project, then you can add at least another star, maybe two to this category for you!

Value – **1/2
These are actually a pretty good price at $10 each. The painted sets from last year were $30 for the pair, but they were also a convention exclusive. It’s also a plus that these are sold individually, rather than in sets, allowing you more choice.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. What you see is what you get, and it’s sturdy and well made.

Overall – ***
If you’re looking for something interesting and unique upon which you can unleash your inner creative spirit, these are a great choice. In many ways, I like the blanks much better than the versions that were already painted, and I can’t wait to see the many cool ideas that CMX fans come up with to decorate their Smart Bombs.

If you’re still not sure about using two of the most deadly weapons ever unleashed on civilization as templates for art, I can’t do much to change your mind. I did go through an explanation in my previous review though, which I’m going to post here again:

“Are these anti-war? Pro-war? Or bad taste? In reality, they’re art. And that means they will be anything and everything, acting as a mirror to the viewers opinions and feelings rather than representing the same thing to everyone.

I can’t speak for Ken, since what he felt when he designed them and what purpose he hopes they serve is a personal thing. I could assume of course, using my own conceptions and judgments to color that assumption, but I’ll leave that for the more rabid.

I can tell you though what they mean to me. I am terribly afraid that we’ve forgotten what these bombs represent. In a world where people are stupid enough to believe the Holocaust never happened, or that the U.S. never landed on the moon, there are already going to be enough people stupid enough to believe that nuclear weapons are somehow a possible solution to a conflict. They think it’s like somebody else has a vest of dynamite strapped on, but we have the button. In reality, everyone has a vest of dynamite strapped on, and they all have the buttons – and once one of them pushes it, they are all going to explode.

While we can’t get past the fact that there will always be some people that stupid, we can’t let them become the majority. We have to remember that this genie can’t be let out of the bottle again. The first time, we were children playing with an electric outlet. Oh, sure, we had some logical idea that it was going to hurt, but we had to experience it to understand it emotionally. But that was a long time ago now, and forgetting is a little too easy. If something like this disturbs you, or you find it in bad taste, that’s a good thing. It means you remember and appreciate the magnitude of destruction that these little bombs represent. And if you appreciate the irony of the little brains in the top, and the silly motifs, well, all the better.”

Where to Buy –
These are available through the Creatus Maximus online store, and run $10 each. They aren’t quite there yet, but should be listed by Friday, so book mark the site!

Related Links –
Check out my review of a couple of the original painted versions from CMX, and head over to their site as well.

I’m betting that some folks might take issue with the title ‘Legendary Comic Book Heroes’ and the actual figures being released under said title. This second series consists of Darkness, Star, Stryker, Anne O’Brien (with Monkeyman as the BAF), Judge Death and Marv from Sin City. Oh, I’m sure you recognize at least a couple of these characters…but legendary? I’m betting that the Marketing guys liked the name a lot better than “a bunch of characters you don’t know but really should check out when you have a few minutes”.

Fans of these characters don’t care what you call the line, since this is really their first opportunity to get these guys (and girls and monkeys) in a highly articulated action figure. Hell, for some of them it’s the first time they’ve ever had a plastic version, articulated or not. And if anyone was going to be able to do these justice, it’s Marvel Toys (formally known as Toybiz). There isn’t another company around with the talent or intelligence to pull off a line like this.

Unfortunately, they are having the exact problem you’d assume in getting these into stores…convincing the stores they should carry them. If seriously anal comic book fans such as yourself don’t even recognize all the characters, what do you think some middle aged doofus retail purchaser who thinks of Adam West whenever someone mentions Batman is going to think? In fact, I suspect the only reason that Marvel Toys managed to get a two pack of Panda and Clownface on the shelves is because the buyer had absolutely no idea who they were. I’m amazed we’ve gotten two full waves of figures, and I think that fans of the indie comic scene ought to thank their lucky stars for every one of these figures that they manage to get out there.

I picked up all but one of the figures this last weekend. Marv still alludes me, but I’ll snag him soon I’m sure. I decided to break the wave up again this time in to two equal reviews of three figures each, so tonight I’m looking at Darkness, Stryker and Judge Death. These run around $10 at most retailers, although if you have a local Meijers, they’ve been a bit cheaper there. And you can find the two packs there as well.

LCBH 2 – Darkness, Stryker and Judge Death

Technically, Judge Death was part of this second series, but Wal-mart had a deal where they got him shipped early with the wave 1 cases, so plenty of collectors have picked him up already. As with the previous wave, there’s a Build a Figure (BAF). This time it’s Monkeyman, and Anne O’Brien is one of the regular release figures to go with him. There’s two versions of Anne, with a slight difference in clothing color making one a variant. There’s also two versions of Judge Death, and this time the varient is made in all clear plastic.

Packaging – ***1/2
Once again, I’m giving Marvel Toys big props here for designing what is in essence collector friendly mass market bubble/cardback packaging. Simply slit the tape around the bubble in back at the base and sides, and you’ll be able to lift it off the cardback and remove the inner tray without any damage to the overall package. If you’d like to return them to the bubble, slide it right back in. You can even retape it if you feel the need.

There’s a few annoying twisties of course, but I can live with those considering the cool design of the card and bubble. The colors don’t knock me out, but I do like the simple style of the logo. BTW, the packaging photo I used shows the variant version of Death, done in clear plastic.

Sculpting – Judge Death ****; Stryker, Darkness ***1/2
While the first series of figures had some ups and downs (and remember, I’m only considering Darkness, Judge Death and Stryker here), the second series is pretty much terrific across the board. There’s real improvement here from one series to the next, which is always an excellent sign.

If you’re looking for some amazing detail work, look no further than Judge Death. Sometimes, great looking sculpts get worse the closer you get. Throw the eye of a macro lens on it, and the real issues appear. Not so with Death, who just looks better and better the more closely you inspect him. The detail is amazing, and extremely realistic. The teeth are particularly well done, but the skeletal body and sinewy hands and feet look terrific as well. Put him next to the series 1 Judge Dredd and they make quite a team.

Darkness is my next favorite in this particular category. Again, there’s plenty of small detail work here, and the proportions are reasonably comic book accurate, even with the uber articulation. The armor has a very metallic look, while the hair has just the right amount of detail to add realism without going overboard. His sculpt and articulation also worked the best together for me, allowing the joints to really do the most.

Finally, there’s Stryker. Again, he sports an excellent detailed sculpt, especially on the armor. And speaking of hair – his looks terrific, and the additon of some loose stray hairs on his forehead was extremely well executed. There’s some great detail work on the face, although I’m not particularly thrilled with the gritted teeth expression. He also has a body seam that runs along the top of his shoulders that hurts the sculpt score slightly, but in the end I was quite impressed with how he looked on the shelf.

These are in the usual 6″ scale, and fit in nicely with the first series (as well as with Marvel Legends figures).

Paint – Darkness, Death ***1/2; Stryker ***
It’s important to keep in mind that these are mass market toys, not specialty market. Oh, I don’t think they’re selling in quantity like any regular mass market toy, but they are still being handling by that market and are subject to their expectations on price and quality. And considering the expectations of that market (that quality isn’t job 1, but they damn well better be cheap), I think Marvel Toys has done a pretty good job with the quality.

If something is going to take a hit at production time, it’s usually paint. It’s the fastest and easiest way to cut unit costs. Fortunately, there’s nothing lost on these three figures, and with the use of washes, dry brushing, different textures and finishes, and a nice use of color, they’ve managed to produce three terrific looking paint jobs.

Darkness and Death get a slightly better score than Stryker due largely to the wash on his metallic parts. The wash here is a bit heavier than I like, and this heavy handed application takes away some of the realism for me. Still, considering the markets and the constraints, the overall work is well above average.

Articulation – Stryker, Darkness ****; Judge Death ***1/2
Occasionally we see some real innovations in this category. Stryker is one of those times. I was a bit concerned at how they’d pull off the bionic triple right arm, but they did it with imagination and style.

But first let’s talk about the rest of his joints. There’s the usuall pin neck, but I was able to get a bit better range of movement out if it with him than with other characters. It still doesn’t tilt, but you can get a psuedo-tilt if you turn it just right. He has the clicky chest joint, cut waist, ball jointed hips (jointed on both sides), double jointed knees, cut calves, pin/rocker ankles, and pin half foot joint that this line is now known for. Almost all the joints work quite well, although I did have a little trouble with the hips. The balls are fairly small, and it was difficult to bring his legs together for a fully upright pose.

But now let’s discuss the arms, where the real beauty comes in. The left arm sports the usual articulation – ball jointed shoulder (jointed on both sides) with a double jointed elbow, cut and pin wrist, and a single pin joint for the fingers. This series of joints really gives you a tremendous amount of poses that are possible with the arm.

He has three right arms of course, and the amazing thing here is that each of these three has that same articulation! There’s a single shoulder joint at the torso, and all three arms attach to that ball. Then each arm turns at the ball, and has the same double jointed elbow, cut and pin wrists, and even pin jointed fingers! That gives you an amazing number of possible poses for the triple arm, and really adds an amazing number of poses to this figure. This is a toy that even the most cynical collector will have a ton of fun posing.

Then there’s Darkness. If Stryker hadn’t come along, I would have been pretty impressed with Darkness’ articulation. He has the usual – pin/plate neck, ball jointed shoulders, double jointed elbows and knees, pin/rocker ankles, cut thighs and forearms, half foot, cut waist, clicky chest, and even individually articulated fingers. The fingers are particularly useful this time since the claw armor makes for some cool looking hand poses.

I had the least amount of trouble getting and keeping poses with Darkness (out of these three, anyway), and I think folks will be very happy with the articulation in general.

Finally, there’s Judge Death. Again, he has all the usual articulation. Think Darkness, or just about any of the other figures in the line, but rather than having the individually articulated fingers, he has the single pin that allows them all to move as one. Because of the long, thin legs and arms, the articulation might seem a bit more difficult to work with, but you should have no trouble getting some great poses.

Accessories – Stryker, Darkness ***1/2; Judge Death **
One of the things that disappointed me slightly with wave 1 was the lack of accessories outside of the BAF. That’s less of an issue with this wave.

Stryker comes with the right arm of Monkeyman, but also has not one but TWo guns. These fit nicely in two of his three right arms, are well sculpted, and make great sense with the character.

Darkness has the torso for the big ape, but also comes with two ‘demons’. These little guys aren’t articulated, but they do make nice little pets for him, each with a very unique and distinct sculpt.

Judge Death has only the right leg of MM. While I love a good BAF (don’t we all?), I would have liked to see something else added in here.

And speaking of the BAF, I’d normally do a separate section for him. However, I’m still missing Marv, so until I come up with that figure, the true beauty of Monkeyman will remain to be seen. When I do get the final figure, I’ll be reviewing Marv, Ann and Star over at my site.

Fun Factor – ****
These are toys first, collectibles second. That might seem odd for a line clearly destined for collectors, but let’s remember that action figures are SUPPOSED to be toys first. Take away the toy, and the action figure loses much of its heart.

Value – **1/2
Prices are going to soon kill the action figure market entirely. With concerns of lead paint creating a huge need for tighter quality control, manufacturing costs will rise, and you know that will be passed on to you. We can only hope that we’ll still be able to buy an action figure like these for ten bucks in another 6 months.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. I didn’t see much variation in paint quality, and the joints are generally strong and tight.

Overall – ***1/2
Each of these figures had something that really made them stand out, and had a few minor issues of their own. They are all an improvement over wave 1 and I loved that set, so it’s no surprise I’m even happier this time out. Of course, until I find Marv I’m not sure if the BAF will live up to expectations, but I suspect it won’t take too long to track him down.

If you’re a fan of these comics, you owe it to yourself to snag these. Even if you’re not – and believe me, I’m nothing more than a passing reader of any of the licenses represented in this second series – you should still check them out. They’re terrific figures that are extremely well designed, and considering that they are mass market toys, sport some terrific sculpts and decent paint.

Where to Buy –
The following online options are all very reliable:

– CornerStoreComics has the single figures for $10 – $15, depending on the character, or a set of 8 figures for $80.

– Amazing Toyz also has the singles for $10 – $15, along with the case of 8 for $80.

Related Links –
I’ve covered all of the line so far, including the other half of this line up. That review isn’t quite up yet though, since I have yet to find the elusive Marv. The other reviews are:

– I did one half of series 1 here at QSE, and the other half at MROTW.

– I’ve also reviewed both the Body Bags two pack, and the Conan/Wrarrl two pack.

I’m a bit TOS fan. Oh, TNG is fine, and Enterprise, DSN and Voyager have all certainly had their moments. But for me, TOS will always be the one true Trek.

I’m also a big minimates fan. Yes, I do like Mez-itz better in the land of mini figures, but that’s not to say I don’t like the uber-cute nature of these little blocky figures.

So it was a no brainer that I’d be picking up the new Star Trek TOS minimates from Diamond Select. There are three regular two packs – Kirk and Vina, McCoy and Scotty, and Pike and Spock. There’s a fourth variant set that includes Scotty again, but a ‘dress uniform’ version of McCoy. These have hit online retailers over the last couple weeks.

“Star Trek TOS mini-mates: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Pike and Vina”

These guys might look familiar to you. That’s because Art Asylum did do a set of TOS figures back in the very early days of minimates, but they were in the 3″ scale, not this new 2″ scale. So yes, you have to buy them all over again, and these don’t fit in with the old versions size-wise.

Packaging – **1/2
The packaging is the new basic card bubble stuff you’ve seen with the DC minimates line. I like it because it’s nice and small, but on the downside, it’s not particularly attractive. Still, it does job 1 (keeping the figures safe) relatively well.

Sculpting – ***
Sculpting is not exactly the strong suit of minimates. The style is supposed to be fairly basic and consistent, with only minor sculpt additions and changes (like the hair), and unique paint work.

The Spock is perhaps the most distinctive and easily recognizable, although they did a better than expected job with Pike. I don’t know that Kirk looks all that much like Kirk, and Vina is fairly generic, but Scotty and McCoy benefit from fairly distinctive hair styles.

My only complaint with the sculpt is the goofy added flairs on the bottom of the pants. Yes, they had bells on those pants back then, but these are too over done and look odd. I pulled them off Kirk in some of the photos, and I think he looks far better without them.

Paint – ***1/2
The key to good minimates is great paint. The tampo style paint work on the eyes, lips, and various ‘wrinkles’ in the clothing make all the difference in recognizing and distinguishing the characters.

Vina’s paint job doesn’t make her all that less generic, although the green skin is pretty much the giveaway. Most of the characters have fairly distinct expressions, and Scotty is downright depressed. Again, Spock seems to do the best in this department, but overall the paint work is extremely clean and well done. That’s critical for the success of the design.

Articulation – ***
Minimates have a ball jointed neck, shoulders and hips, along with pin elbows and knees, and cut wrists, waist and ankles. It’s pretty decent articulation in this scale and style.

One of the cool features is that the body parts all come apart, allowing you to mix and match if you feel the desire. This usually includes hair pieces, so even Shatner can try on new looks…just like in real life.

Accessories – ***
All the two packs come with three or four accessories, depending on the set.

Spock and Pike come with four accessories – the tricorder and regular phaser, which come with a number of the other figures, along with the very specific old style phaser for Pike, and the very unique extra hand for Spock, posed in his well known greeting.

Kirk and Vina only have three accessories, all for Kirk. Again, there’s the commonly used phaser, and the communicator, but Kirk also has the very specific phaser rifle. It fits well in his hand (as do all the accessories), and looks great. Too bad Vina doesn’t have anything, but that would have been pretty tough.

McCoy and Scotty have two of the common phasers, and the common tricorder and common communicator. Even with the reuse, these are pretty handy.

Fun Factor – ***1/2
If there was a kid that had any idea who these characters were, they could actually have a great time with these guys. These are really toys first and foremost, which is what makes it tough to sell them to the adult collector market. Still, there’s enough big kids out there who like actual toys that the minimates market has been able to survive, particularly with the Marvel and DC lines. Whether they can pull that off with the many other licenses they have – like 24, Back to the Future, and these – remains to be seen.

Value – ***1/2
You can get these basic six characters for around $18 at a lot of retailers. At just $3 each, that’s a great value. Most of the Marvel and DC stuff is running slightly higher, closer to $4 each even when you buy them in sets.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. Take some care with the tricorders, as they pop off the shoulder straps a tad easily, and once they do, they come off way, way too easy.

Overall – ***
I’m a fan of TOS, and I’m a fan of minimates, so it’s no surprise I like these. Oh, they aren’t for everyone, especially of sculpt and accuracy is your game. If you like toys though – especially toys like Lego or Playmobil – then you’ll really enjoy these. It also helps that there is such a wide variety now of 2″ minimates, allowing you to put your TOS figures with Jack Bauer, Marty McFly, or Buffy Summers.

Where to Buy –
There’s plenty of online options:

– Alter Ego has the set of 6 for $17.82, and they are in stock.

– CornerStoreComics has the two packs for $6 each, or the set of three two packs for just $16. They also have the full set of eight figures, including the ‘chase’ variant, for $30.

– Amazing Toyz has the same excellent prices, and they are also in stock.

Related Links:
You can check out a guest review of teh 3″ versions from a few years ago right here.

DC Direct has had themselves a fair share of good ideas over the years, but none have been quite up my alley like the Batman Black and White statues. Being a huge Batman fan, it’s been a terrific pleasure to pick up and display all these various versions of the Caped Crusader, done by different artists and sculptors, yet unencombered by questions of color. Besides, the black and gray outfit has always been the best.

The latest release is based on the artwork of Alex Ross, one of the best known comic artists of the last decade. And when I say ‘best known’, I’m not talking about within comic circles, but rather within the wider audience of the ‘regular folks’. His work is also fairly controversial within the comic book reading world, and his style certainly doesn’t speak to everyone.

This statue based on his artwork shipped a couple weeks ago to your local comic shop, where you’ll pay around $50.

Batman Black and White – Alex Ross

While the style is based on the artwork of Alex Ross, the sculpt is by the talented Karen Palinko. This statue is a limited edition of 6000, which isn’t all that limited, so availability shouldn’t be an issue for quite some time to come.

Packaging – **1/2
The box keeps the statue safe and sound, which is job 1. There’s no window, so you won’t be able to inspect the statue in store, and there’s no COA.

Sculpting – ***1/2
Ms. Palinko has done a terrific job with the overall sculpt, and has managed to capture Ross’ style without caricaturizing it. This is a very classic appearance for Batman as well, without any over blown musculature or excessively dynamic pose.

The proportions are very natural and realistic, at least in comic book superhero terms. Bats has a gritty and determined expression, but thankfully doesn’t appear to be suffering from any sort of gastrointestinal dsyfunction. There’s enough detail work here to give the statue life, including the very realistic folding and wrinkling of the cape, and the aging of the face.

The best results in bringing artist versions to three dimensions always occur when the sculptor’s and artist’s natural styles mesh. That seems to be the case here, where the sculptor brought in the right amount of detail and a clean, smooth style that matches well with Ross’ artwork.

Paint – **1/2
Unfortunately, the sculpt is let down a bit by the paint ops this time around. Obviously, the figure is grayscale, so there aren’t a lot of issues with inconsistent colors or tones. Most of the cuts are fairly clean, with just a little slop around the cool huge bat symbol on his chest, and a few around the boots.

However, the eyes are an issue, and of all the areas on any bust, statue or figure that has to be right to get the overall look right, it’s the eyes. If they are the windows to our souls, they are the key to realism on any artistic representation of us.

Here the eyes are a tad sloppy, and worse, quite flat in appearance. The iris and even the white of the eye itself are fairly large for the face, giving him a wide eyed appearance within the mask. They also lack any differentiating finish, so that the matte of the mask and the matte of the eyes blends in together. Human eyes are wet in appearance, and highly reflective in most light. This dull appearance hurts the overall apperance of the statue quite a bit for me, and is really not acceptable at this price point.

Design – ***
This is one of those weird designs, where I like the pose…but I’m not sure why.

I know that I like that it’s not overly dramatic, and there’s some restraint in the design shown here that I appreciate. But the actual pose is one of those where if you think about it too much, as I am oft want to do, you start to realize that you have no idea what it is he’s actually doing. He appears intimidating, but not in a traditional sense. It’s almost like he’s half way into doing a Bela Lugosi style Dracula pose, caught mid-move.

The more I study sculpture and portrait photograpy, the more I realize that some poses look as though they are truly a moment caught in time, more like photo-journalism. Others, while appearing cool, are more like posed portraits, where you asked the person to strike a particular pose and hold it, not because it looks particularly natural but because it simply looks cool in the end result. I think this design is more of the latter than the former, and how much you like it could depend on how much you prefer the one style to the other.

I didn’t mention it in the Sculpt section, but these are in a 7″ scale, or a large 6″ scale. This statue fits in pretty well with the rest of the series in terms of size and proportion.

Value – **
These statues are generally a tad high considering the huge edition sizes and the size of the statue itself. If you can find it in the $40 – $45 range, you can add another half star.

Things to Watch Out For –
Beyond the obvious with any statue, there’s nothing here to worry about. It is too bad though that the package lacks a window – it would make the concerns of the paint less of an issue.

Overall – ***
While the statue isn’t perfect, it is a good addition to the full display. It’s not the kind I’d buy all by itself, but in conjunction with the rest of the series, it makes a lot of sense to own. With several more statues already scheduled to be released in this series, it’s definitely getting to be a crowded shelf!

Where to Buy –
If you’re local comic shop didn’t order, or they’re charging an arm and a leg, you have plenty of online options:

– Alter Ego has him available at $48.

– CornerStoreComics has him in stock at $47.

– Amazing Toyz has him at $47 as well.

Related Links –
I’ve checked out a number of the B&W statues, including the Mike Mignola version, the Matt Wagner version, and the Kelly Jones version.

Not too long ago, I reviewed 15 – yes, 15 – figures in a single review. That won’t be happening again any time soon. The first wave of LCBH figures from Marvel Toys includes 6 figures (along with 2 variants and a BAF), so I’ll be splitting them up tonight. I’ll be looking at 3 figures here: Savage Dragon, Ripclaw and Judge Dredd. Over at MROTW, I’ll be covering Witchblade, Super Patriot and Madman. And in both reviews I’ll talk about (and have photos of) Pitt, the BAF.

These figures are currently hitting Wal-mart first, and come with two variants in the first wave. There’s a Savage Dragon with t-shirt, and a Super Patriot without the mask. While these are technically variants, they are NOT chase figures or short packs. They appear to be evenly packed with the regular version.

Wal-mart is also getting a series 2 figure in their cases – Judge Death. The regular and variant (clear) version was a special pack out for them.

Expect to pay around ten bucks a pop for these, so if you’re looking to be a completist, there’s $100 you’ll need to spend just on the single figures currently available. The full series 2 should be hitting shelves very soon (if it hasn’t already in some places!) and will include Marv, Star, Darkness, Stryker and Anne O’Brien, who goes with the BAF of Monkeyman. The Judge Death also comes with this wave along with his variant, and there’s a variant on Marv.

Legendary Comic Book Heroes series 1 – Savage Dragon, Ripclaw and Judge Dredd

I’ll state my bias up front – of these three characters, the Dragon is easily my favorite. But will that translate into my favorite in plastic form? You can almost cut the anticipation with a knife…

Packaging – ***1/2
Most of us assumed we’d never see collector friendly bubble/cardback packaging. Why? It’s just not cost feasible for mass market toys, where the bubble/cardback tends to be most predominate.

But Marvel Toys has to be commended on coming up with a package design that IS collector friendly. The bubble is sealed to the cardback only around the top edges encircling the logo. The bottom square section has ‘lips’ that fold back around the cardback where they are taped. Cut the tape in back, and you can lift up the bubble and remove the interior tray without any real damage. If you want to put him back in the bubble, just slide it back in. You can even re-tape if you feel that strongly about it. It’s a nice design, and certainly a nod to the MOCers who would also like to take their figures out and stretch their legs.

BTW, I used a shot of the variant Dragon here so you could see what he looked like in his t-shirt. The rest of the review will show the normal, t-shirtless version.

Sculpting – Savage Dragon ****; Judge Dredd ***1/2; Ripclaw ***
Several figures in this line re-use parts from old Marvel Legends figures, but they do it extremely well for the most part.

You’ll notice some similarities between Judge Dredd and Longshot for example, and he actually has the hole in his back for the old ML clear display stand. But they’ve done such an exceptional job adding in the new armor pieces and additional sculpting that I’d bet if I didn’t tell you he had a re-used body under there, you wouldn’t realize it.

And Dredd looks terrific, with some terrific detail work on the armor and boots. He’s not super meaty, but a young Dredd wasn’t as beefy as Stallone made him appear in the film. All the figures are in a six inch scale, and Dredd will fit in well with the Marvel Legends figures. His hands are sculpted to hold his weapons, although you’ll have the most luck with the one gun and the knife – the other gun doesn’t fit quite as well in either hand.

As good as he looks though, Savage Dragon has him beat. This is a great representation of Erik Larson’s artwork in 3-d form, and is easily my favorite of the wave. The head sculpt and expression are extremely well done right down to the overall size and shape of the fin, and the huge upper body is offset against the thin legs just like on the pages of the comic. The sculpt and articulation don’t work quite as well together as some of the other figures, but I can forgive him that flaw with such a terrific appearance. I liked the Mcfarlane version back in the day, but if i could only own one, I’d pick this one.

Of these three, Ripclaw is my least favorite. He never did a lot for me as a character, and his design and appearance always seemed much too busy. That is true for this version as well, and I suspect only the die hard fans (or those looking to complete Pitt) will be grabbing him. If I had to choose between this version and the one done by Mcfarlane several years ago, Mcfarlane’s would win.

As I mentioned earlier, these are a 6″ scale, and all three will fit in fine with most other 6″ lines including Marvel Legends. Dredd is 6 1/4 inches tall, Dragon is 7 1/2 inches tall (to the tip of the fin), and Ripclaw is 6″.

Paint – Judge Dredd ***1/2; Ripclaw, Savage Dragon ***;
The paint work on this series has generally been above average for the mass market, where it’s not uncommon to see some pretty serious slop.

Dredd is the cleanest of the three, with a paint application that could easily rival most specialty market toys. The colors are clean and consistent, with good cut lines and very little slop. The skin tone is even with no gloppiness, and the visor looks terrific. They’ve went with a wash on the boots and gloves to bring out some of the detail, and while it’s a tad heavy, it’s not terrible.

Ripclaw isn’t quite as clean, particularly in the white piping on the boots. The black tends to show through and make it less white and more gray, unlike the face and body. It’s a fairly minor quibble though, and along with a few less than perfect cuts, is the only real issue.

Dragon’s body hair looks decent, which is always tough to pull off well. Even with wax. Thank God there’s plenty of it too, proving that Dragon isn’t a shaver. They went with a wash on the jeans which is a tad heavy for my tastes, and there’s a bit more slop around the eyes and eyebrows than I’d like to see. But my biggest issue comes from the slightly different green on the torso and arms. This is often due to the different plastics absorbing the paint at different rates and amounts, and is tough for them to allow for. Fortunately in this case, it’s not extremely noticable if you’re not looking for it, so it’s not a huge negative for me.

Articulation – Judge Dredd ***1/2; Savage Dragon, Ripclaw ***
As with Marvel Legends, super articulation is one of the main selling points of the Legendary Comic Book Heroes. All of them have far more articulation than the usual action figure these days, and most of it works great as well.

Savage Dragon has the usual pin/disk neck that allows forward and backward movement, along with turning. It can’t tilt to the side like a true ball joint, but it does tip back and forward quite a ways.

He also had ball jointed shoulders and hips, jointed on both sides of the ball, along with pin elbows and double jointed knees. There’s the pin chest and cut waist, pin/rocker ankles, pin and cut wrists, and not one but two pin joints on the fingers! There’s even a pin joint in the middle of the thumb. Oh, and a half cut foot pin joint…I told you they were super articulated.

Many of these joints are clicky style too, so that they hold poses quite well. The pins on all of them are quite solid and sturdy, and these joints seem to be using a better plastic for their pegs.

Judge Dredd’s neck doesn’t quite have the poseability of Dragon’s, due to the helmet and armor. Like Dragon, he has double jointed shoulders and hips, and they have a very good range of movement even with the armor. The chest and waist are there as well, as is the pin/rocker ankles, and double jointed elbows and knees. He doesn’t have the articulated fingers, but does add cut joints at the calves and forearms.

Ripclaw has all the joints of Dredd, plus each finger has a pin joint. The joints don’t work quite as well on Rippy as they do on Dredd – they tended to be a tad sticky, and I had more trouble getting him to hold interesting poses – but he still blows away most other current action figures on the market in this category.

Accessories – Judge Dredd ***1/2; Savage Dragon, Ripclaw ***
The main accessories with this wave are the six pieces to build the huge – and I’m talking HUGE – Pitt figure. He’s busted into two legs (with chains), two arms (with chains), a pelvis, and an upper torso. You’ll need six of the 8 figures (all unique figures) to complete Pitt.

Judge Dredd gets the high score here, because not only does he come with not only one leg (and corresponding chains) for Pitt, but two guns and a knife as well! The knife fits in a sheath on his left leg, while one gun fits in a holster on his right leg and the other fits in the holster on his back.

The plastic used on these accessories is a little soft, but the sculpt is still decent. The silver paint is a little inconsistent in coverage (as silver is often want to do), but considering these are a mass market item, I’m not too surprised.

Ripclaw only comes with his BAF piece, the right arm of Pitt. The chains come on the arm (unlike the legs), so it’s one complete piece in the package. I’m not sure what else Ripclaw could have had, but if you aren’t interested in Pitt, you might feel a tad ripped.

I didn’t snap a shot of the Dragon with his BAF part (the other leg of Pitt), but that’s all he comes with. The chain and leg are actually separate, and the chains can be removed over the foot even after Pitt is assembled. Again, like Ripclaw, I appreciate just how cool this BAF is, but also realize that folks not particularly interested in the Pitt will find it fairly useless. Interestingly enough though, this is one of those cases where I expect more people to want the BAF parts than want each of the individual figures.

Pitt – ****
I decided to break Pitt out separately – there’s just too much about him that’s cool to not have his own section.

If you need a reason to buy this entire wave, then you’re looking at it right now. Pitt is fantastic, one of the best BAF’s any company has produced to date. Hey, I love my Sentinal too, but Pitt has a truly amazing sculpt, with tons of detail. The paint work compliments it well, although it is a smidge sloppy in spots. Still, once you have him completely assembled, you’ll be blown away by his overall size and overall quality.

Many of the parts are rotocast of course, so he is a tad light. But if you’ve worked with other BAF’s (or even other superheroes in this scale), you won’t be put off by it. It takes a little work to get some of the pieces to snap together, particularly the pelvis and torso. But with enough ummpf, you can get them to pop into their proper position and hold tight. Once they’re actually together you’ll know it – they won’t come apart easily again.

I mentioned that Pitt is huge, but even when I tell you he stands 10 inches tall, you won’t be able to appreciate his bulk until you see him. I’m not even convinced he was this huge in the comics, which would be a true first. Never before have I thought a large sized figure was too big for the scale! I can live with that, and prefer him being too big to being too small.

There’s some decent articulation here too, although the design of the figure makes some of the joints less useful than they might sound. The arms and hips are ball jointed with joints on both sides of the ball, and the neck is a cut joint. Oh, it might actually be a peg and pin joint like other ML and LCBH necks, but the design really only allows it the functionality of a cut joint.

The elbows and knees are pin joints, as are the wrists and ankles. The ankles have the rocker joint as well. The pin chest and cut waist work well, and each of the fingers has not one pin joint but two, allowing them to move independently at the hand and at the first knuckle.

Pitt isn’t going to take any extreme stances, but there’s plenty of articulation here to get him into some great poses and look great next to the other figures. Again, many of his joints are clicky joints, allowing them to stay in place over time.

Fun Factor – ****
Toy collectors are going to love these, and kids are going to love these. That’s the mark of a truly great toy – one that taps the imagination in the kid in everyone. To often companies skip on great sculpting and paint when it comes to a toy that’s ‘for kids’, because they believe either they won’t care or are too stupid to appreciate it. The fact is that kids love great looking figures too, and are certainly smart enough to weed out the crap from the treasure.

Of course, the big question is will kids care at all about these particular characters? And if they don’t, is the adult fan market large enough to make them succeed?

Value – **1/2
At ten bucks a pop though, these are a bit over the usual mass market price. I’m going to cut them some slack here on the sore though, because I realize that the BAF pieces are huge and expensive, and that the run size on these can’t be nearly that of most mass market figures. There is a much smaller market for these characters, and I have no doubt that this was taken in to consideration when the run sizes were set.

Things to Watch Out For –
I had a little trouble with a sticky shoulder joint on the Dragon, and Ripclaw’s articulation was a bit sticky overall, but both freed up with a little work. The joints feel tighter and stronger than the later ML figures too, making them great toys for the kids.

Overall – Savage Dragon, Judge Dredd ***1/2; Ripclaw ***
If the Dragon had no paint issues, he would have been a four star figure. Yes, the articulation isn’t quite as wildly uninhibited as some other figures, but it’s good enough to make me happy overall. Judge Dredd is a close second, with a great overall appearance. I know some folks would have liked a removable helmet, but I think that would have just created a bobble head situation with little extra appeal.

Ripclaw ended up my least favorite of the bunch, although that’s partly due to my general apathy toward the character. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the over posed nature of the Mcfarlane version, I have to admit to prefering that sculpt. Still, if you’re looking for a version to bring him into the same universe as some of these other characters, this one will do just fine.

Where to Buy –
Wal-mart is the first local bricks and mortar store to get these in. Online options include:

– CornerStoreComics has the singles in stock at $10 – $13 (depending on the character) or the full set of 8 including the two variants for just $80.

– Amazing Toyz has them in at $10 – $13 as well, along with the 8 for $80 deal.

Related Links –
I’ve reviewed both of the twin packs, Conan/Wrarrl and Clownface/Panda, and I covered the rest of series 1 as well.

And if you’re looking for other versions of some of these characters, check out the Mcfarlane version of Savage Dragon and Ripclaw.

Regular readers will remember that in 2006, The Four Horsemen did a very cool exclusive based on fan input. This was the first FANtastic Exclusive, developed in conjunction with fan input right from the start. I reviewed the Champion of Mynothecea last summer, and so it’s only fitting that I cover one of the 2007 FANtastic Exclusives as well.

Yep, they did it again for the 2007 SDCC, but unlike last year in which they did one figure with a number of paint variations, this year they went all out, producing 9 different figures. Of these nine, several are entirely new head sculpts!

The main character was Ramathorr, the Elephant Swordsman. He was available at SDCC, or through the Store Horsemen where he’s available for $25. The next announced figure was the Hammer of Gholl, another elephant but with a slightly different head sculpt. He’s a Diamond Comics exclusive, so you may be able to pick him up at your LCS. Next up was the Mace of Broggah, another elephant guardsman with a different paint job and some new armor. He’s available through October Toys and is limited to just 300. But wait, there’s more! Then the Club of Thraugnn was announced, a red version of the Mace of Broggah elephant. He was sold through Fwooshnet.com. Ah, but then things took a turn with the Shield of Draumm! The warriors stopped being elephants, and switched to new creatures. The Shield (as his friends like to call him) is a hippo! It’s the same basic body, with a new head sculpt. He was sold through Raving Toy Maniacs.

*whew*. Next came the figure I’m reviewing today, The Gauntlet of Vaskkh. This guy is a rhino, so there’s a whole new head sculpt again. He was sold through Action Figure Express. The Helm of Xaanm continues this style, but he’s a warthog this time. Big Bad Toy Store was the exclusive retailer on him. But with all these good guy warriors, where’s the bad guys?

That’s where the 7th and 8th variant figures come in. They are Ggruxx (carried by Toy Rocket) and Ssejjhhorr (carried by Figures.com), twin bad guys with a different paint job. But what are they? Mutants, and not very attractive ones at that. But they look great as villains!

So that’s the full line up of nine figures. They are all limited editions of course, in that 250 – 300 range depending on the character. They all run around $25 – $30 each, depending on the retailer. Tonight’s review covers the rhino, Vaskkh, who was $30 from AFX.

FANtastic Exclusive 2 – The Gauntlet of Vaskhh

While all the elephants are cool, I have to admit that the combination of the elephant with the rhino, warthog, and hippo makes this series special. Stick these guys with your cow from last year, and you have one very cool if anthropomorphic display of bad ass warriors!

Packaging – ***
The packages are quite large, but so are the figures. The only problem with such a large bubble and such a heavy figure is that it can cause separation from the cardback. If you’re a MOCer and going to store these, it might be tricky.

Sculpt – ****
Outstanding! But then, we have come to expect no less from the Four Horsemen. The detail work is excellent, especially on the rough skin texture and uber-cool armor. These figures are some of the best looking produced this year, and are certainly the best exclusives at this year’s SDCC.

This guy is big, standing at 9 inches tall at the ear tips. The hands are sculpted to hold the weapons, and they work nicely. While the hoof feet aren’t huge, they are large enought give him a good, solid base for deeper poses.

Most folks will spend their time oooing and ahhhing over the quality of the sculpt, but the quality of the engineering should not be overlooked. They managed to develop a beautiful base figure that allowed them to produce not one or two but eight very cool variants. Even when swapping the heads to entirely new animals, the base body still looks terrific. That was a tall order to cook up, but they managed to do it and do it within a pretty tight budget I bet.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint work is also strong, although I do wish there was a bit more highlighting and wash to bring out a bit more of the cool skin texture.

The quality is very high in general though, with little to no slop or poorly cut lines. There’s a terrific palette of colors here too, with some nice golds and blues to offset the basic gray skin. With a licensed property, the toy manufacturer is usually stuck with whatever color scheme the original character uses. Here, with an in house developed property, we can see the artistic talents of the Four Horsemen set free, and the choices they made were excellent.

As I mentioned, there isn’t a lot of washing or dry brushing though, which has its pros and cons. On the plus side, these techniques can be easily overused and ruin an otherwise great figure. On the con side, without them the great detail work, especially on the skin, tends to blend in. The figure could have used a little more punch in that area, but I’m not dropping the score in any major way because of it.

Articulation – **1/2
The one disappointment here for me was in the articulation. It’s not about how much there is, but rather the tightness of the joints.

Vaskkh has a ball jointed neck, although the large head restricts it a bit. He also has ball jointed shoulder (jointed on both sides), pin elbows, pin wrists, and a cut waist. Below the waist are ball jointed hips (again, jointed on both sides of the ball), pin knees and pin and rocker ankles.

That’s plenty of joints, and you can get some terrific poses out of them. Unfortunately, the joints below the waist are very loose, and his upper body is quite heavy. Those two things together means that getting him to hold those great poses for long periods can be pretty tough. These seems to be a pretty common complaint across the entire wave of 9 figures.

Accessories – ***
Vaskkh is a tad light on the accessories considering the price point, but he does come with two very cool weapons. These axes can fit nicely in his hands, or snap onto his backpack for easy carrying. The sculpt and paint are terrific, and the style of the weapons matches the type of animal, if that makes sense. Perhaps there’s something about the sculpt that reminds me of the horn, or perhaps, there’s something about their bulk that relates to the bulk of a rhino. Whatever the case, these were well thought out.

Value – **
Ah, now here’s the rub. Last year’s exclusive was $20, but some of these (like this guy) were up to $30. Several of the exclusives were slightly lower though at $25. Considering the extra bulk of these characters (and the very low edition runs/exclusivity), I can understand the $25 price tag, and would give him **1/2 at that price point. But at $30, this guy loses another half star.

Fun Factor – ***1/2
Even with the loose joints, this guy is still one fun figure. Kids could play with him with little fear of breakage (or at least not more than the usual mass market toy), and the bulky axes are less likely to pose any threat of injury. These bad ass beasts also fit in with a general ‘animals as warriors’ theme that we’ve seen for years in kid’s action figures. They are a great example of a ‘collectible’ staying true to its roots.

Things to Watch Out For –
Since you can do much about the joints til after you have him, there really isn’t much to watch out for on this guy.

Overall – ***1/2
The Four Horsemen have another hit on their hands with this year’s FANtastic Exclusive. It’s too bad that more folks don’t know how terrific these figures are, but they did seem to sell out pretty well, so word must be getting around. If you have a chance to check one of them out, I highly recommend it. And the process for the FANtastic Exclusive for next year’s SDCC should start soon, so get involved!

Where to Buy –
That depends on which version you’d like:

– Ramathorr (standard elephant) is available at the Store Horsemen.

– The Hammer of Gholl should be available at your local comic shop.

– The Mace of Broggah is available through October Toys.

– The Club of Thraugnn is available through Fwooshnet.

– The Shield of Draumm can be found at RTM.

– The Gauntlet of Vaskkh is available through Action Figure Express.

– The Helm of Xaanm was sold through Big Bad Toy Store.

– The Mutant Ggruxx is available through Toy Rocket.

– and finally, the Mutant Ssejjhhorr is available through Figures.com.

Related Links:
Check out the Four Horsemen’s site when you have time, and don’t forget my review from last year’s Fantastic Exclusive. The Four Horsemen also have a site set up specifically for the FANtastic Exclusives.

I’ve been going to SDCC every year now for at least 8 years or so, and every year it gets bigger and wilder. The crowds this year were just amazing, with thousands of people tracking through the center, filling the auditoriums, and standing in line… after line… after line.

And just like past year’s, I thought I’d list out my top ten great announcements, products, and general stuff from this year’s show. So without further ado, let’s go!

10 – Mattel’s handling of their exclusives. Unlike some other companies that still don’t seem capable of managing their exclusives, Mattel made plenty to go around. I picked mine up over the course of a couple days, and there was never a major line or any sort of serious fear that I couldn’t get them. They produced a very cool accessory in the Man-bat as well, with some really creative packaging.

9 – Cars. Yep, Mattel actually gets two nods. They had a TON of new cars on display at the show, more than I could count. They have plenty of plans to continue the successful series, and if they can manage to get the case assortments right, they just might pull it off.

8 – Marvel Icons. I enjoy the cheaper Marvel 12″ line, and I think Hasbro has done a much better job with the larger scale than the smaller scale. They had a good showing at the con of new figures, including Nightcrawler, Daredevil, Phoenix and others.

7 – Mezco and Heroes. Yep, they had themselves a little sign at their booth announcing that they had the license. I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

6 – Hasbro had an excellent booth, and really pulled out the stops on all their lines, including Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers, and even Sigma 6. The Indy display was cool, and they showed a TON of new product in lots of lines.

5 – The Four Horseman exclusive was the best of the bunch. Ramathorr was the main exclusive, but they produced eight different versions of their exclusive (and they were VERY different!). Each of the eight was sold through a different outlet, and some of them were at SDCC as well. The FH have themselves another winner with this line up, and I’m betting one or more of these guys end up on ‘best of’ lists later this year.

4 – The Simpsons movie. Okay, so technically it wasn’t the con, but I did see the midnight showing on Thursday in San Diego. It kicks ass. I laughed from start to finish, and after having seen the movie, I appreciate the figures (and their lines) from Mcfarlane that much more.

3 – Hot Toys. The figures that are being distributed through Sideshow were on display, including Rocky, Prison Break and Rambo. I had no idea how good they looked in person, and I ended up buying a First Blood Rambo later at the show. Look for some new Hot Toys reviews soon, including their Jack Sparrow and Sao Feng!

2 – At the top of the list is not one but TWO Cinemaquettes from Toynami – the Godfather and the Predator. Both of these 1/3 scale figures were truly amazing, and looked as real as you could possibly get. Let’s not forget that with over $1000 price tags, Cinemaquettes ought to be amazing, but it’s still great to see that they turn out so well.

1 – The top announcement for me actually came early, a couple days before the show. Sideshow Collectibles picked up the license to produce 12″ figures (and PF’s, along with some other goodies) for all four Indiana Jones movies. For a lot of collectors, myself included, this is a dream come true, and I can’t wait to see their first offering.

So that’s it for me. I’ll be putting up coverage over at my site for the next week, as I get time to go through the hundreds of photos. See you at the con next year!

At first, the title of this review may not seem to make sense. With the Simpsons movie hitting in a couple weeks, Mcfarlane did the smart thing and got the toys out. I’ve already covered the four Movie Mayhem figures in the standard line up, but tonight I’ll look at the boxed set called… are you ready for it?… “What you lookin’ at?”.

If you’re one of those folks that is extremely adverse to spoilers, and want to know absolutely nothing about a film before it comes out, stop reading now. This set doesn’t give away any more about the plot of the movie (as far as I can tell) than the trailers have, but I just want to be sure you’re fully away that one of the three figures in this diorama but be considered spoilerific by some of the more anal retentive movie goers.

The set is hitting stores like FYE and Suncoast right now, but you can actually get a better deal online. I have some suggestions at the end of the review as always, and if you have any questions or comments drop me a line.

“What You Lookin’ At?”

I don’t know exactly what’s gone wrong in Springfield, but clearly something has. Just look at this playset and you can see that…why the Hell would Bart be fishing with Ned Flanders? Oh, the humanity!

Packaging – ***
This set comes in a box, and like the clamshelled individual figures, Mcfarlane has gone small and compact. I’m a big fan of small and compact, and the movie graphics look great. This box also shows off the diorama pretty well, and it certainly protects it. The back of the package gives you some Simpsons trivia and shows some hand drawn cels from the film, which is a nice plus.

Sculpting – ***1/2
Ned and Bart are standing behind what I originally thought was a bush, but now believe is a rock with mossy grass on it. They are peering over at the many eyed mutated squirrel in front, who has almost as many nasty sharp teeth as eyes. The sculpt on all three of these characters is great, managing to pull off the tricky switch from 2-D to 3-D with nary a hitch.

There’s the right amount of detail here for the style of animation, including the nicely done open faced spinning reel on Ned’s fishing pole, the nylon fishing line, and the size of Ned’s glasses. The scale between these figures is good, and if Ned were standing, he’d be about the same height as the Homer figures from Mcfarlane’s other releases (just over 4″ tall).

Clearly this is a very movie specific moment, and I’m cool with that. Their regular line should cover the show, but these figures should bring movie scenes to us as much as possible. I’m hoping that this particular scene is both memorable and critical to the plot of the show.

Paint – ***
The previous animated figures from Mcfarlane have been hit or miss in this category, but it looks like they went all out for the movie release. There’s still a spot of slop here or there, but the overall quality has gone up, and from looking at quite a few figures and dioramas on the shelves, the consistency of that quality also seems to have gone up.

There’s a liberal use of black outlining here, everywhere from Ned’s ears to Bart’s shoes. However, it works great on this set, and there’s only a bit of slop to be seen in these thin lines. Most of the slop that is here is on the base itself, in the paint work on the twigs and rocks, and not on the three figures.

Articulation – *1/2
There’s not much articulation here – remember, this is a ‘diorama’, and not really designed for a lot of posing. Bart has a cut neck, and Flanders has a cut neck and cut shoulders. That way you can get them in the best ‘shocked and in hiding’ pose possible.

Accessories – ***
How you score this area depends on what you consider the accessories. I’m grading it as though the base, rock and sign are the accessories, while the Bart, Flanders and squirrel are all the ‘figures’.

The “No dumping” sign fits nicely in a peg hole on the base, and the large rock pops onto a couple large pegs in the center. The base isn’t quite as nicely painted as the figures, with some sloppy edges and bleed on several of the rocks and twigs, but there’s plenty of little details sculpted onto the ground. One of the things I like about this base is that unlike some of the earlier ones from Mcfarlane, it doesn’t feel crowded. Everything is here that needs to be here, and while it’s compact, it doesn’t seem cramped.

The rock has some nice sculpted texturing too that doesn’t come through quite as well in photos as it does in person, hence my original confusion on what it was.

Talking Feature – ***
There’s no ‘try me’ feature on the sound chip, because these don’t come with the 2 AAA batteries necessary to make them work. Obviously, the negative there is that you need to spend some more cash to get them to talk. There is a positive though, at least for the MIBers, who won’t have to worry about battery corrosion over time.

The set says the following lines:

Ned – “You know, whenever my boys bake up a batch of frownies, I take ’em fishing”; “Well, this certainly seems odd, but who am I to question the work of the Almight!”; “If you look real close, you can almost YEEAAGHH!”
Bart – “Jabbity, jabbity, jab jab jab!”; “I’m troubled”;

That’s a fair number of lines for the price tag, and clearly right from the movie. The speaker (and button to activate it) is right on top, allowing the sound to be loud and clear. There’s no static or gabled sound, and the overall quality of the feature is quite good. I’m not big on sound features when there are no classic lines – Lost is a great example – but the Simpsons have always been a perfect license for this sort of gimmick.

Value – ***
The single figures are running $12 – $15 each depending on where you pick them up. I already ragged on what a lousy value that is, but this set (with three figures, sound, and a nifty boulder) is only running $16 – $20. That’s a much better value than the single figures.

Fun Factor – **
The talking feature is fun for your co-workers, at least the first fifty times they press the button. But these are intended as pop culture collectibles, not ‘toys’. This isn’t a category that will effect my overall impression, since I know that going in, but you might feel quite a bit differently.

Things to Watch Out For –
If you’re picking them off the shelf, watch the paint, but from what I’ve seen – and I’ve actually seen quite a few of these now – the paint ops have been much more consistently good this time around.

Overall – ***
I haven’t been thrilled to death with some of the early Mcfarlane Simpsons work – the Ironic Punishment set was an unfortunate way to start off the line – but the movie figures have all really been well done. I’m enjoying these, and would love an entire Simpsons universe, like WOS, in this scale. We’ve got a snowball’s chance in Hell of that actually happening, but it’s nice to see that what we are getting has improved in quality. I can’t wait to see the Manimals set now, and I hope that the interest in this line will be at least strong enough to get a few more of these diorama sets out.

Scoring Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – ***1/2
Paint – ***
Articulation – *1/2
Accessories – ***
Talking Feature – ***
Fun Factor – **
Value – ***
Overall – ***

Where to Buy –
Online options include:

– Amazing Toyz has them in stock with most of the regular figures at $12 (I&S run $14) and the dioramas at $16.

– CornerStoreComics hast the singles at $12, but the only way to get I&S is to order the full set of 6 figures for $68. They also have the dioramas at $16.

– Clark Toys has most of the regular figures at $12 and the playsets at $18. For some reason they have Marge and Lisa at $30…?

Related Links –
I’ve covered an awful lot of Simpsons merchandise over the years. Hit this link for links to just about all of them!

There are lots and lots of aspects to any one action figure that contribute to it’s overall appeal, or it’s overall unappeal. Week after week I harp on the aesthetics of the sculpt, the usefulness of the articulation, or the play value of the accessories. But the single factor that can make or break even the best work in every other category (or on the flipside, carry some pretty weak work in every other category) is the paint.

Now obviously, the figure you get is painted by a machine or person working like a machine, doing the same few strokes over and over again. They use masks and forms and templates to get straight cuts and clean lines, and the final version may have fewer paint operations than expected. That’s often because cutting the paint is the quickest way to cut the unit cost at the last minute. But at the start of all this, at the very beginning, is a hand painted pre-production figure(s) that sets the stage for what they company HOPES the final product will look like. And when they want it to look it’s very best, they call in the man we’re talking with today.

One of the finest artists in this field is Edward Wires. He has worked for just about every toy company past and present, including Hasbro, Mattel, Toybiz, Diamond Select, Palisades, DC Direct and Art Asylum. If you’ve ever marveled at a Marvel Legends prototype, then you’ve been marveling at Ed’s work. I sat down with EW to ask him a few questions:

MWC: So Eddie, how did this all happen? Painting houses, painting cars, painting nudes – these are all things the common world understands. But how does a man end up painting toys for a living?

WIRES: I grew up as the penultimate nerd (the term “fanboy” wouldn’t exist for at least another 10 or 15 years). Reading comics, collecting action figures, watching cartoons, jumping off my deck with a towel tied around my neck, and blowing up Star Wars vehicles. I also built model kits. Cars, planes, tanks, soldiers, knights, and then resin and vinyl character kits. It’s something I’ve been doing all my life. As I got older (and stopped blowing up everything I built), I really got into the rendering. Especially on monsters and creatures. And it’s one hobby I’ve always stuck to. Even now.

MWC: What do your family and friends think of your work?

WIRES: They all pretty much think it’s interesting and unique. And you have to understand, I was destined to be in construction, a plumber or a bartender (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with those professions. Did them all for years), so my family is especially surprised and excited. But of course, the hardest part is explaining to them exactly what I do. I guess they can’t wrap their heads around the fact that I don’t actually “play” with toys for a living.

MWC: There are lots of talented people in the world, but your work stands out every time I see it. What is it that gives you that edge?

WIRES: Thank you for that. Sincerely. I think though, it is because I am the epitome of the uber-nerd fanboy. I am completely immersed in the characters and comics, but at the same time I know this is a business and you are only as good as your latest project. I have a passion to do this, even after nine years, because it is not something I ever even dreamed existed as a profession, let alone as something I could make a career out of. And I have this obsessive compulsive personality (with a little bi-polar mixed in; ask anyone). And because of my love of toys, I want every piece I do (no matter what it is) to look like something I want to display in my collection.

MWC: You’re good friends with sculptor Bill Mancuso. How has that influenced you? And do you get the chance to collaborate a lot?

WIRES: We’ve been friends since first grade. He’s the one that encouraged me to put a portfolio together and do the comic-con thing. And after a whole summer of “No”, he encouraged me to go back the following summer and do it all over again. We’ve collaborated quite a bit on Palisades and Diamond projects.

MWC: Are there types of work or styles of figures that you prefer working with?

WIRES: I want to get my hands on everything. From flesh eating Trolls to Pokémon. In plastic, vinyl, or resin. Anime to portraiture. I want to work on everything for everyone. Like I said, I love this business and everything it has given me over the years. Of course, I like to work on the heavily rendered stuff the best, but that’s just icing on the cake.

MWC: You’ve worked on hundreds of figures in dozens of lines – any favorites that stand out?

WIRES: Believe it or not, I think I’ve actually past the thousands mark, and that to me is the greatest testament for my love of the industry. I mean sure, some projects are more challenging than others, but I’ve painted everything from fully rendered realistic to plastic coconut book danglers.

I say it all the time, but Marvel Legends is my favorite. It is the be-all-end all of mass market action figures. And growing up a Marvel Zombie, I got to work on a line of toys, which for decades only existed in my head. And then when it became a reality, all of my, “if this ever happens I’m gonna do this”¦” got to be applied. I got to work on some of my favorite characters of all time, and make them look like they existed in the real world, while staying faithful to their comic incarnations. And that’s what I was asked to do. And after the first few series, the push went harder and further against the envelope to outdo the series before it. And I think everyone involved accomplished just that. Even with the splinter lines (“Classics”). Years from now, people will still be excited about these. And I got to be a part of that magic collaboration.

One of the other things that stands out is the people I get to work with. I work with (and among) some of the most amazingly gifted and artistic people on the planet. Every single one of them adds something wonderful to my career.

MWC: Everyone likes to talk about their favorite work, but what about the stuff you weren’t happy with? Any figures that just didn’t turn out the way you envisioned them, or didn’t live up to your own expectations of your work?

WIRES: I can’t really think of anything. I mean yes, there are a few properties I wasn’t “in to”, or was indifferent to, but I approached them with the same excitement and enthusiasm as I would anything. I am just one cog in the gears that turn the wheel. And if someone is going to pay me money to paint something to look like their vision, I have to approach everything that way. After all, it is the toy “business”.

As far as product not turning out the way I did it, I can’t control that. I used to get upset that I put all of this work into something, and then the product came out very flat, but I got paid for the job, and then costs had to be cut somewhere. Paint application is always the first to get “cut” because it is the easiest way to wrangle your production costs back in. Ultimately, I do my part of the process, and whatever happens after that isn’t up to me.

MWC: What’s a day in the life of Eddie Wires really like?

WIRES: It’s like a day of sunshine filled with marshmallow clouds and fruit roll-up rainbows. Shattered by the deafening chatter of machine gun fire and the screams of those maimed and wounded and”¦

Sorry”¦

It’s actually a lot less exciting than most people would think. I know there is this illusion that toy people live and work like rock stars and set their own hours and “hang out and play” all the time, and that is furthest from the truth.
My day usually goes like this:

Get up around 7am. After getting the whole wake up, coffee, etc, out of the way, it’s a true work day. Phone calls, emails, more phone calls, lots of painting (yes, I’ll admit it, that is exciting no matter how you slice it), phone, paint, phone, paint, take pictures, more email, then FedEx. Ahh yes. The sweet sweet delivery system with by whose clock we live and die.

The actual breakdown of phase one could be pretty boring so I didn’t give a hit by hit account of it, but it is done pretty much every day. The only thing that really changes is what we’re actually working on.

So, now the FedEx drop-off has passed. Get a cup of coffee and drive home in rush hour traffic (but this is great for getting back in touch with west coast clients). No time to relax though. There’s a short bit of a break here for about an hour or so. I have to spend some time with the wife Y’know? I’m glad she is so understanding on those nights when I can’t though.

Then around 8 or 9pm after all of the phone calls and emails are done, this is when the real digging in honest to goodness no interruptions work gets done. Usually lasts til about till one or two in the morning. Another round of emails and voicemails and then it’s off to bed where I put something on the TV to fall asleep to.

I generally work around 60 to 70 hours a week, and as much as 100 hours or more a week before a big show (toy fair, comic con, etc). During those last few days before the shows it generally goes; work six hours, sleep two, work six hours, and sleep 2. But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

MWC: Your experience has obviously taught you a great many tips and tricks to producing the best work. There are tons of customizers out there, and for many of them, getting the paint just right is the biggest battle. Any tips you can provide, or corrections to common mistakes that you see?

WIRES: I am absolutely blown away and amazed at some of the customized work I see (and I am always checking this stuff out), but the best advice I can give to anyone is; Always challenge yourself to find what works for you. Experiment with different paints (brands), different brushes, different techniques. Be your own worst critic. Don’t be afraid to redo something, even if it means starting completely over. Don’t ever look at something sloppy and say, “Well, that’s the best I can do.” Redo it. And redo it again, until it looks flawless. Straight lines, logos, cut lines (where one color meets another) should all look flawless. Push yourself to get there. You’re having fun along the way anyway. Take critique and advice when it is given. Then apply that to what you’re doing. Then do that over and over again.

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Practice, practice, practice”¦

MWC: No action figure message board is complete without at least one thread on dream lines. C’mon, admit it – you’ve posted in those threads before. What’s your dream line?

WIRES: My absolute dream line would be a six inch Marvel Legends style line of”¦

I love that format and scale, and it can be applied to anything; Indiana Jones, Star Wars, G.I.Joe. I would love to see (and get to work on) that.

If I had answered this a year ago I would have said, “”¦style line of Conan, or Judge Dredd.” Someone in the heavens was listening to my wishes on that one. Wow. Now if I can just figure out how to get the other ones rolling.

MWC: What’s the hardest aspect of your job?

WIRES: The hardest part is the juggling. Work, life, work, marriage, work, yardwork, and all that jazz. I have so many interests outside of toys, and I just don’t have time to get to them. I used to play my guitar all the time, and now it actually has a layer of dust on it. I used to customize toys like crazy, now I have 3 filing cabinets full of “some day when I get around to it” projects. I love movies. I don’t get to really sit and watch them straight through anymore. It’s usually watching them for 30 or 40 minutes at a time over the course of several nights (sometimes I’ll buy a dvd, and before I even get a chance to watch it it is on broadcast cable), and in that time I have to spend time with my wife.

And I’m not complaining, mind you. I’ve chosen this life. I can turn work down if I want a little more free time. But why would I do that? Everything tends to work out how it should anyway. Sorry to ramble there on that one”¦

MWC: How does most of your work come in these days? Is it due to referrals within the industry, or do you still have to get out there and beat the bushes?

WIRES: It’s about 50/50. I find myself on the phone a lot. I try to keep in touch with people (in the industry), even if I am not working with them. You never know when they’re going to get a job they don’t have time for, and they need to subcontract it out. Better to be fresh in their minds. And then other times I’ll get a call out of the blue from someone I’ve never talked to who got a referral from someone I haven’t talked to in a year to do a project. It’s all a big part of this roller coaster ride of the toy industry. But this is where you as an individual comes into play, and you get to put your best foot forward.

MWC: I’m not a big fan of the personality test on Inside the Actor’s Studio, but there are two questions that are actually relevant here – what’s your favorite and least favorite color?

WIRES: Favorite color is black, because it generally goes on in one coat. Least favorite color is black because if you make a mistake with it, any other color is going to take several coats to cover it up.

MWC: You’re living the geek dream life. Any words of wisdom for those looking for that special place in the world?

WIRES: You have to keep the fanboy locked up inside you. All of your knowledge of specific issues and character appearances will come in handy, but no one will want to hear it unless they specifically ask for it. You have to read up on what everybody is doing. You have to remember that this is not about you and unless it is asked for, you should keep your opinion to yourself. You are doing work for hire.

In a nutshell, you have to be a well rounded person. You have to know more than just toys. You have to be able to hold your own in a conversation about anything and everything and be able to sell yourself at the same time. You have to be willing to take criticism and disappointment. You have to be able to network, and be willing to travel and spend money and cater to the needs of the company you are trying to get the work from. You have to be able to get the work done quickly, and efficiently at an affordable price. You have to be willing to learn all kinds of things you may not have an interest in. But, ultimately, you have to deliver. Against any and all odds. And you have to consistently deliver, so that the company or person who sends you the project has every confidence and assurance that you will get it done time and time again.

MWC: What do you do when you’re not working?

WIRES: I have rediscovered the joys of lifting weights and target shooting. I love reading and watching TV (thank gods for DVR) I play my guitar when I get the chance, but at the end of the day, as long as I get some time to spend each day with my wife, I’m happy.

MWC: Any final thoughts, political rants, social commentaries, or general ramblings you’d like to get off your chest?

WIRES: Oh I could on for hours about all of the above, but I’m not going to (but if you catch me in a bar after a few drinks; I just might).

I just want to thank you for letting me share my little piece of the pie in this wacky world we call the toy industry. And I want to thank all of the kids (young and old) who buy the toys. Keep buying them, so we can keep making them.

Thanks to Eddie for taking the time to talk with me. If you’d like to see more of Ed’s work, hit his website, or hit the San Diego Comic Con in two weeks, where there will be lots and lots of new prototypes on display sporting a coat from Mr. Wires!

There are a lot of big movies hitting this summer. Which is sort of like the doctor saying ‘This might sting a bit’ before he amputates your right leg with nothing but a rag in your mouth and a bottle of whisky to make you feel better. Most (but not all) of these big summer blockbusters are sequels. And most are going to suck golf balls through a straw.

But hitting this weekend is one I’ve really been looking forward to, Ratatouille. Pixar’s latest film comes with less hype than last year’s Cars, and comes down a far less traveled story road. This is all about Remy, a little rat who longs to be a great chef in the city of great chefs, Paris. Early reviews are in, and so far every one loves it.

Last year’s Cars produced one of the hottest line of movie toys in years. Mattel continues to crank out the die cast cars, and kids and collectors continue to snap them up, a year after the movie hit. I don’t think Pixar and Mattel have any hopes that Ratatouille could possible produce the same situation, but you never know – remember how quickly that damn talking Buzz Lightyear disappeared after Toy Story hit movie screens.

Mattel has gone light with this movie, producing a basic set of action figures that look more like oversized Happy Meal toys than seven dollar figures, some animatronic Remy’s (including a RC version), and some PVC sets. I’ll be looking at the main PVC set tonight. Disney is doing another set of action figures to be sold only at their stores, but from early photos, I’m not holding my breathe on these.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. Now let’s look at those little buggers:

Ratatouille PVC set

This PVC set contains 7 characters – Remy, Emile and Django (rats), and Linguini, Colette, Skinner and Gusteau (humans). There are also two playsets so far, which include another PVC each and which appear to be in scale (sort of) with these. I can’t comment for sure yet though, because I haven’t gotten one of these sets yet. I suspect I will though this week, along with the main animatronic Remy. I think once the movie hits, Remy is going to disappear quickly.

Packaging – ***
While the box isn’t fancy, it does match up to the license well in color and graphics. It’s also collector friendly without trying, and you can easily remove the figures and put them back later if you are so inclined. I like boxes as well for the ability to store them, and there’s very little wasted space here.

Sculpting – People ***1/2; Rats ***
I have to say that I haven’t seen any of the product so far capture the look of the rats perfectly. That being said, these PVC’s are the best I’ve seen so far. The rats aren’t in scale of course, standing about up to the waist of the humans, but considering how small the PVC’s are to begin with, that’s certainly forgivable. The expressions are good, and there’s decent detail here for the material and scale.

The humans are better than the rats, and look much more like their on screen counterparts. Like the Incredibles, this is a Pixar movie with a lot more humans in it than usual, but it looks like the style of animation is up to the task.

Overall the figures range in height from Remy, the shortest at about 2 inches tall in the chef hat, to the tallest, Linquini, at 4 1/2 inches.

Paint – ***
There are a ton of paint ops here, and you won’t see any serious small detail work. But the eyes are uniformly clean and straight, there’s little to no bleed between colors, and there’s even some nice dry brushing on the fur of Django. The paint work isn’t perfect, and there’s the usual sloppy lines around some of the shoelaces, eyebrows and hair lines. But considering the scale and the cost, the paint work ain’t bad.

Gusteau is a bit different. He’s cast in a translucent plastic, due to his, uh, ‘nature’ in the film. If you don’t know about him yet though, I won’t spoil it for you. Clear figures are always cool looking, but the downside is that the sculpt is very hard to make out.

Articulation – Bupkis
Did I mention these were PVC’s? Yea, I know, but I also like to include this category because occasionally there is a point or two of articulation, even with small PVC’s. That’s not the case here though, but this lack of articulation will have no effect on my personal overall score.

It does appear that the neck on Colette and Linquini *might* be meant to turn, but mine seemed a bit stuck. The PVC is soft enough that tearing the head off is a very likely outcome, so I left things alone and figured it was best that way.

Accessories – **
Yep, these are PVC’s with accessories, so even a low score adds to the overall, since a Bupkis is assumed. The humans each include a small plastic display base, which is good since they can’t really stand without it. Making this a separate piece instead of part of the basic mold is also good, because if I’m a kid I might not want the base with me all the time. Of course, this also gives them one more thing to lose.

The fork and pile of…pickles? Tomato slices? Whatever it is…both of these come out of the hands of the other rats, and are also technically accessories. Sure, they look a *little* funny in those poses without them, but it’s not so far off that you actually couldn’t use them that way.

Fun Factor – ***1/2
PVC’s are fun stuff, even without any articulation. Little green army men were the play staple of many a kid’s toybox, and they were even posed in some God awful ways. Did anyone like the ones that were laying down?

There isn’t a lot of conflict with these characters, so action figures wouldn’t do all that well. These decorative figures, which can also be fun out in the sandbox or in the bathtub, are probably the best bet. They also go well with playsets, and I’m hoping we see more than just the two currently out.

Value – **1/2
At $15 for 7 PVC figures, you’re getting a pretty average value. These aren’t exceptional by no means, but they’re a sight better than those PVC sets that are so popular at the Disney stores and just as expensive (unless they’re having a sale) as these are.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. They’re sturdy, well made, and very consistent.

Overall – ***
If you’re looking for some decent Ratatouille merchandise, I think your best bet are these PVC’s along with the playsets, at least at this point. The larger Mattel action figures are sad at best, and the early photos of the Disney figures doesn’t do much to alter my opinion on those either. You get a decent bang for your buck with these smaller figures, and both kids and adult fans can enjoy them.

Where to Buy –
I picked them up at Toys R Us, which appears to be the only retailer carrying much of anything for this flick. If you love the movie, I’d pick up the talking Remy early. I suspect he’s going to pull a Buzz Lightyear and disappear quick once the masses figure out how good the film is.