Category: Toy Box

 

  

To become a true, card carrying geek, there are certain requirements.  It’s not enough to like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings – God knows, just anyone does that these days.  Oh no, to become truly one with your inner nerd, you must be a master of other films.  And while Monty Python is a good start, you can’t skimp on the 80’s fantasy.

This 1986 film was produced by George Lucas, directed by Jim Henson, and starred the cool geek, David Bowie.  It also starred a young Jennifer Connolly, who went on to star in other top 10 flicks on the nerd-o-meter like The Rocketeer, The Hulk, and even Dark City.

Labyrinth involved goblins, and the Goblin King Jareth.  Not all Goblins are alike of course, and when Plan-B picked up the license to produce some statues based on the film, they had several to choose from.  They are producing a mini-bust of Jareth, as well as status of a sitting goblin and a hanging goblin – we’ll take a look at the hanging goblin today.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com.  Now, on to the goblin!

“The Hanging Goblin – Labyrinth”

In the maze that was Jareth’s ‘labyrinth’, the goblins liked hanging out on the spires and columns.  The hanging goblin is doing just that…hanging out.

 

 

Packaging – ***
It’s a box – but it’s a relatively attractive box that does job number 1, keeping the statue safe, extremely well.  They use the good styrofoam here, not that crap that falls apart and gets all over the house.  And while the box does lack a window, it provides some reasonably accurate photos of the production statue.

 

 

And of course, like pretty much all boxes for statues and busts, it’s collector friendly, allowing you to put the statue back in for transport or storage without tearing anything up.

Sculpt – ***1/2
The goblin is a distinct entity from the column, appearing to be made from completely different materials with a different texture, when in reality it’s all the same stuff.  The stoney texture of the column is offset by the smoother appearance of the goblin, although that doesn’t mean there isn’t small detail texture work there as well.

 

 

There’s a malevolence in the eye and expression, something creepy and awful about such a small creature.  They’ve managed to capture the movie interpretation extremely well, and fans of the film should be happy with the likeness.

These statues aren’t big however, and overall it stands just 7 inches tall, with the goblin himself about three and a half.

Paint – **1/2
If I have one complaint, it’s with the paint application.  In the prototype photos we saw some areas with a gloss finish, but here almost the entire goblin is glossy.  While this works well for his eyes and mouth, and to a lesser extent his face, it seems out of place for his clothing and boots.  It reduces the reality of the overall look, by making the entire goblin seem too consistent.

 

 

That aside, the basic quality of the paint application is excellent.  There’s little to no slop, and even the smallest details are clean and neat.  It’s also a colorful piece, with lots of variety in the goblin’s outfit.

Design – ***
The design is somewhat basic, but true to the film.  People who aren’t fans, or who don’t remember the movie well, are unlikely to recognize this character right away, but card carrying members of the geek patrol will pick up what Plan-B is laying down right away.

 

 

I like the basic black base as well, which is simple yet effective.  It doesn’t take away from the rest of the scene, but in it’s simplicity makes the texturing of the stone all the more obvious and interesting.

Value – **1/2
Suggested retail is $40, which isn’t cheap.  However, most mini-busts are at that price point currently, with some companies pushing things up into the $50 – $60 range.  Considering the likely low runs on these, and the uniqueness of the license, the price is right about where you’d expect it.

 

 

Things to watch out for –
Not much.  I’d be careful when handling the goblin that you avoid tapping the spike on his hat on anything, since it’s the single most likely break point.  But other than dropping him on a concrete floor, you should be good.

Overall – ***
The statues are a little small, and the heavy gloss on the entire goblin was a bit disappointing.  But the sculpt is excellent, and fans of the movie have been starved for any product. Combine this hanging goblin with the sitting goblin, and put them on either side of the very cool Jareth mini-bust, and you’ll have one hell of a Labyrinth display.

Where to Buy –
Online is your best bet:

– Plan-B has their own store, where you can pick this up for $40. 

Related Links:
You’ll want to check out some of Plan-B’s other goodies:

– You’ll want to check their own website, of course.

– I reviewed some of their WWII Special Forces figures awhile back.

– They’ve produced several mini-busts for the Dark Crystal license, including the Skeksis.

– the also produced the special Rex Gannon figure.

– and they did the very hard to find Ladder 49 figures, based on the movie of the same name.

 

 

 

  

Earlier this week I did an ‘early’ review of the fourth series of Dragon figures from Mcfarlane Toys over at MROTW.  Today the circle will be complete with my review of the deluxe figure from this set, the Komodo Clan dragon.

Mcfarlane first started the Dragons line in 2005, based on an internally developed mythology.  The dragons belong to six different clans (so far) – Fire, Water, Eternal, Berserker, sorcerer and Komodo.  These clans interact with each other and with humans to varying degrees and in varying ways, and a war between the clans is brewing that will eventually destroy them.

In each of the previous regular series, one clan member was pulled out to be the deluxe figure.  For series 4, it’s the Komodo Clan Dragon, covered in today’s review. After series 5 (due in January of 07), we’ll be seeing some new clans, including Fossil, Hunter, Warrior, Ice and Scavenger.

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

“Series 4 Deluxe Komodo Clan Dragon”

Komodo Clan dragons like to burrow underground, but like climbing trees as well.  They’re fast runners, and are definitely man-eaters.  They have plenty of attitude, but that tends to come with ugly and big.

 

 

Packaging – ***
While the regular release figures come in clamshells, the deluxe come in boxes.  The graphics are solid, with some explaination of the character and clan on the back.  It shows off the figure well, and holds up to shelf wear pretty good.  It’s not particularly collector friendly, but Mcfarlane packaging rarely is.

 

 

Sculpting – ***
The sculpt is technically excellent – lots of small detail work, with a scaley skin and leathery wings.  Plenty of interesting textures, and a nice use of different styles to differentiate between the log, the earth and the dragon.

It isn’t so much a technical issue as an artistic one that tends to interfere with my complete enjoyment of this guy.  In the 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s, when a low budget movie or television show needed a dinosaur, remember what they did? That’s right, they dressed up an iguana, often in the silliest of costumes.  I can say without a doubt that this is the first of any of the Dragons that reminds me of an dressed up iguana.  Maybe it’s the itty bitty version of Rachel Welch down on the base, maybe it’s the pose, maybe it’s the skin texture and wattle under his neck.  Whatever it is, it makes him a tad more silly for me.  Your mileage will vary, probably depending on how many bad 1950’s science fiction movies you’ve watched.

 

 

One of the things I do really like about this guy is the cool harness around his neck.  There are a number of real metal chains hanging off of it, although the one actually running down to his ‘masters’ hands isn’t.

The later series of dragons have gotten smaller in scale than the original series.  The scale has always been claimed at 6″, but the actual size of the dragons has decreased a bit.  For some, this is a deal breaker, especially if the price point rises.  For others, the size is still close enough to make for a consistenty and cool display.

Paint – ***1/2
No issues once again here.  There’s the smallest amount of slop on the skin of the human, and there’s some transitions on his skin that aren’t quite as smooth as what I saw in the regular series Dragons, but in general the job is well above average, even at this price point.

 

 

Articulation – **
This is one of those figures that appears to have more articulation than he does.

There’s a cut neck, which you can free up with a little work but is a tad restricted by the chain harness.  There’s also ball jointed wings, although they both had some issues.  The left wing was very loose, and had a tough time holding a pose, while the right wing was so tight it was almost impossible to get to move in and out from the body.

 

 

It may look like there are joints at the four legs and tail, but with the paws glued in place to the tree, they wouldn’t do you much good anyway.  And no, I couldn’t get the tail freed up, and believe it’s glued in place.

Accessories – **1/2
There isn’t any accessories as you’d traditionally think of them, since the dragon is attached to the tree.  Still, I’m counting his base in this category, and have to admit it’s pretty sharp.

 

 

The hot chick on controlling this bad boy is probably the first feature you notice, but it’s the detail work in the tree, branches and roots that really sets it apart.  The much larger size is appreciated as well, and is more in line with what you’re paying than the regular series figures.  Too bad the price goes up as well.

Also included with this deluxe set is a nifty booklet giving a much longer and deeper backstory on the dragons.  Similar to some of the stories included with other in house lines in the past, this was a very pleasant surprise.  You won’t spend hours reading it, but it’s good enough to add some interest and value to the overall line.

Fun Factor – **1/2
Okay, so these aren’t highly poseable action figures with a ton of accessories or a cool license to back them up.  But kids love dragons as much as adults, maybe moreso.  And dragons make for excellent bad guys to battle.  While these aren’t huge, they do work pretty well with 1/64th scale figures, and you can even get away with 3 3/4″ figures battling them.

 

 

Value – **
The deluxe has a more intricate and larger base than a regular figure.  Otherwise, it’s pretty much a regular figure.  Considering that they regulars used to cost a ten spot, paying $22 or so for this guy is a less than average value.  Fifteen to seventeen tops feels about right for this guy, but with the retailers drying up and lower production runs, the price increases aren’t surprising.  But can the line survive them?

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a hell of a lot.  Of course, you always want to check the paint, but that’s rarely an issue with Mcfarlane on this line.  Also, if you try freeing up some of those glued joints, take care.  The plastic is soft enough to twist til it breaks.

Overall – ***
While this guy is larger and more impressive than the rest of series 4, he falls in the later half of the group for me.  The iguana like appearance is only part of the reason, and the poor wing joints were perhaps my biggest issue.  Had they worked well, they would have been a great addition, but since neither functioned properly, it was a bit of a let down.

 

 

Still, for fans of the line, he’ll make a decent addition.  It’s great to see them giving us once deluxe in each of the five original clans before we get new clans in the sixth series, and I’m really looking forward to the first 12″ dragon they have planned for release in 2007.

Where to Buy –

– Clark Toys has the singles for $13, or the set of 5 for $60 – or a case of 12 at $115.

– Killer Toys has the set of 5 for $65, a case of 12 for $117, and the deluxe for $23.

– Entertainment Earth has the case at $140, or the deluxe at $28.

Related Links –
For the dragon fan:

– the Mcfarlane website has a nice section on these, with their own photos and info.

– earlier this week I covered the regular figures in wave 4.

– I’ve reviewed past waves including the deluxe figure from the first wave, and a guest review of the rest of wave 1.

– and if you’re a fan of dragons in general, there’s the cool Hungarian Horntail Dragon from Gentle Giant, Singe from the long ago Dragon’s Lair line, or even the cool Megablok Dragons.

 

 

One thing that there’s no shortage of is San Diego Comic Con Exclusives.  It’s become a requirement for any company, no matter how big or how small, to have some sort of exclusive offering for the show each year. 

The Four Horsemen are a group of artists you should know well.  They’ve done some amazing work for companies like Mattel, where they worked on the Masters of the Universe line, the Batman comic line, DC Superheroes, and even the initial Harry Potter series.  This gang of four extremely talented artists met first at Mcfarlane Toys, where they produced some amazing stuff.

Just like you’d expect from a bunch of really creative people, the Four Horsemen came up with a new idea for this last summer’s SDCC.  They brought the fans and collectors into the process of creating an action figure, from the concept to completion, and called it the FANtastic Exclusive 2006.  At most of the steps in the process, including selecting the theme, the actual figure, and various other items, fans were allowed to vote on their favorites.  They helped set the direction and scope of the exclusive, and they were even rewarded by the Four Horsemen when the line was distributed.  Along with the SDCC exclusive, they produced several variants that were distributed by several of the major collector websites.

Tonight’s review covers the SDCC version, the minotaur (although he’s not, technically) called Xetheus.  He hails from a planet called Mynothecea – and he’s basically a big, mean heffer.

“Xetheus: Champion of Mynothecea”

 

 

Okay, that’s cool and all, but you didn’t know about the whole voting thing last year.  Never fear – they’re doing it again for 2007!  Voting has already begin for the overall theme of the exclusive, so head over to the website and let your voice be heard!

Packaging – ***
The Horsemen went with a traditional cardback/bubble package, but spiffed it up considerably with great Seventh Kingdom (the name of the in house line from which the Big X hails), along with the FANtastic logo.  There’s no wasted space, and the bubble and card are both quite compact.  A nice example of exclusive packaging that does the job, and looks good doing it.

 

  

Sculpting – ***1/2
If you’ve never thought the bovine branch of the farm animal tree was particularly tough, think again.  You know those bulls that run in the streets, chasing morons?  Xetheus here could have them for lunch, with a little steak sauce.

 

 

The detail work is excellent, with multiple textures to indicate various material and furry skin.  The various ABS and PVC plastics that were used work extremely well to mimic the boney horns, leathery clothing, and metal blades and armor.

The sculpt complements the articulation fairly well, and he stands great on his own even with the small hooves.  The hands are sculpted to hold the accessories, and work well with both large weapons.

The scale is around 7″, although he does seem just a hair on the small side for a cow in that scale.  I think he really fits in better with 6″ scaled human lines than the straight 7″ lines.  EDIT – yep, he should be considered really in a six inch scale, which as you can see from the final comparison photo, makes him quite a bit larger than a standard human in that scale, as you’d expect.

I do have one question though – why does everybody keep refering to this guy as a minotaur?  Minotaurs have the legs of a man, and old Xetheus here definitely does not.  He’s a bipedal bovine, something not seen in our ancient mythology.

Paint – ****
If there’s one thing better than the sculpt, it’s the paint.  As I’ve said many times, a great paint job can make even a mediocre sculpt shine, and when you put one on an excellent sculpt – as is the case here – you have the makings of a dynamite figure.

While the textures of the various parts are important to make them appear as though they are made of different materials, the real key is the paint.  To get the horns to look like horns, the blades to look like metal, or the loin cloth to look like material, it requires just the right application of paint.  They’ve done a fantastic job with this figure.  Notice I didn’t get all corny and say FANtastic?

Now there might be an issue for some folks with the basic pallette they chose. I’m betting blue won’t be everybodies cup of tea for your basic butt kickin’ bull, but there are the various other variants to choose from.  And you can rest assured that the technical application of the paint is top notch on all of them.

Articulation – ***
Xetheus has plenty of articulation, and almost all of it works in concert with the sculpt.  There’s the ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, pin chest, cut waist, pin elbows, ball jointed wrists, ball jointed hips, double pin jointed knees, and ball jointed ankles. The ball joints at the shoulders and hips are the best kind, jointed on both sides of the ball and allowing for the maximum amount of articulation, and having ball joints at the wrists and ankles is just icing on the cake.

 

 

Most of the joints are tight, although I did have a little trouble with the ankles and knees.  Their weakness is probably due largelly to the weight of the body they are holding up.

Accessories – ***
There are three accessories, which for an exclusive is at least two more than we usually get.

 

 

Xetheus has two weapons – a very large double ended contraption that would turn his opponents into T-bones and Porterhouse cuts pretty quick, along with a smaller, one handed double bladed knife-like implement of death called the H-Blade. Both of these weapons are very reminiscent of Klingon like blades.

X can hold them great, and pose with them in some pretty deadly looking stances.  The weapon comes apart, and can be carried on his back in a nifty sculpted bull horn attachment.

He also comes with a third accessory, that looks an awful lot like a baby rattle to me.  I have no idea what it is, although I’m betting it attaches to him someplace… EDIT – thanks to the fine folks at 4H, I now know that it’s a totem symbolizing his deity, which is also represented on his chest plate and knee pads.  He’s a very religious cow.

Fun Factor – ***
While these are designed specifically as toys, you can certainly see that’s where they get their inpiration.  They are fairly sturdy, with the exception of a couple joints, and the accessories make them even more fun for kids in that 8 – 10 range.  Who doesn’t need a barnyard animal to battle the evil forces?

Value – ***
Most con exclusives are merely repaints of existing figures, and run around twenty bucks.  Here you get a new character, that was influenced by you (as long as you did your civic toy duty), with great sculpting and paint, along with good articulation and accessories.  What more could you ask for?

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much.  A couple of the joints are a little weak, but that’s about it.

 

 

Overall – ***1/2
Exclusives are like any other figure – there’s everything from the most awful crap to the finest craftsmanship.  When it’s a figure from the Horsemen, odds are good it’s closer to the amazing than the awful.  Xetheus is a very cool design, treated with real care and attention by a group of guys that clearly love their work.  Oh sure, it’s not some fancy smancy license of the hour, but it’s definitely creative.  And the addition of getting fan input really takes this exclusive a level above the majority.

Where to Buy –
Well, since this was a con exclusive (and the other five variants were all website exclusives at different sites), the options are a tad limited.  However, you can order this regular version direct from the Store Horseman (cute, huh?) for $20 plus shipping, or you can order the super limited (only 250) variant they just announced, The Royal Guard, also ONLY at the Store Horsemen.

Related Links
One of last year’s Four Horsemen SDCC exclusives was Commader Argus from their in house M.A.G.M.A. Corps line.  And of course, you want to get your vote in for next year’s FANtastic Exclusive.

 

 

I love Family Guy.  Now, I realize that it’s a show that you either love or hate – there’s no middle ground.  Either you like the style of humor, the use of Manatee jokes, and the often rambling (or non-existant) plots, or you despise them with ever fiber of your very being. 

Mezco has been doing a bang up job on their action figures based on the show.  We’ve gotten some terrific original characters, including Herbert, who I recently reviewed right here at Quick Stop.  And they’ve done some much appreciated variants, boxed sets, and even large scale figures.

For this year’s San Diego Comic Con, Mezco did an exclusive large scale figure.  Standing 12″ tall, the Evil Monkey from Chris’ closet can now threaten you with his evil gesture!  And in this scale, he’s actually pretty close to reality, if you consider a cartoon monkey some form of reality.

If you have any questions, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or swing by my site, Michael’s Review of the Week, for more toy review goodness.

The Evil Monkey!

 

 

Packaging – ***
Since he’s so big, you’d expect a big box, and that’s what you get.  It’s also a fairly plain white box, with simple black outlined graphics and text.  It does the job though, keeping him safely cradled inside.  It also points out the critical highlights, such as his exclusivity, size and flocking.  This isn’t a ‘display it on the shelf’ sort of box, but gets job number one done.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
Cartoon based sculpts are never as easy as people think.  Translating a two dimensional character to three is tough enough, but the appearance of animated characters (particularly proportion and scale) can vary from scene to scene, and especially episode to episode.

 

 

That being said, Mezco has done a very good job with this translation.  The body, limbs and proportions are all excellent, and the expression matches the source material perfectly.  If I have one nit to pick, it’s in the size of the mouth around the teeth.  Generally on the show – but not always – the upper part of the mouth and lips are larger then they are here, rising above his teeth more.  Here, the entire mouth around the teeth is pretty much the same size, with little difference between the upper section and the lower jaw.  It’s not a huge problem, and depends on your angle as well.

Paint – ***1/2
One of the coolest features of this guy is his flocking.  It cuts down on actual paint of course, but looks much, much better than all that open expanse of plain brown paint would have.  It’s also done extremely well, with a very even coating and almost no signs of rubbing or damage.  The joints at the hips, neck and tail are also engineered in such a way that none of the flocking rubbed off during the few weeks I’ve been goofing around with him.

 

 

If it were merely the flocking I was grading him on here, he’d be a four star figure.  Unfortunately, there are some issues with the paint on the face.  The eyes are great, with clean lines and even pupils.  I have him sitting about three feet above my head at work, pointing down at me, and his stare is drilling into the back of my head.

But the only major issue is in the teeth, where the bright white slops over onto the upper and lower lip in a number of places.  Since the teeth are recessed back from the lips, it’s not super obvious in photos, but in person it’s pretty clear. 

 Articulation – ***
For a rotocast figure, and a cartoon design at that, he’s pretty well articulated.  He has a ball jointed neck (yay!), and ball jointed shoulders, which work quite well and have a nice range of movement.  He also has cut wrists and ankles, so you can turn the hands or reposition the feet.  And finally, his tail has not one, not two, but three cut joints, allowing you to position it in a myriad number of ways.

 

 

Accessories – Bupkis
Nope, nada, zippo.  Not sure there was anything actually important, although we have seen him kicking back and enjoying some Foghat and a little doob on the show.  I suspect that might have been pushing it though.

Fun Factor – ***1/2
Kids love monkeys.  Okay, so most will have no idea who he is unless they watch the show, and come to think of it, his expression may scar them for life.  God knows, it hasn’t been good for Chris.  So maybe he’s best suited to the adult crowd.  But even they’ll find him real ‘fun’, and not just a display piece.  Folks at work will get no end of humor out of seeing him in your cube, although he might end up in some poses you hadn’t expected while your at lunch.  Ah, those crazy co-workers.

 

 

Value – **1/2
He’s a convention exclusive.  He’s huge.  He’s flocked.  He’s licensed.  And I doubt they made very many.  I was originally going to give him a half star less in this category…but then I got to thinking.  Hey, I gave that I.W.G. Sasquatch two stars here, and he was about the same price – non-licensed, much smaller, and less articulated.  That doesn’t seem quite fair…

After more consideration, the $45 price tag did seem about average for a rotocast figure of this scale and quality, particularly with the exceptional flocking.  That stuff ain’t cheap by any means.

 

 

Things to Watch Out For –
The monkey came packed with some protective foam around the inside of the shoulder and neck joints.  This is there to protect the flocking during shipment.  After it was removed, and I played around with the joints for awhile, I didn’t notice any flocking getting rubbed off, unlike the recent I.W.G. Sasquatch I reviewed, but I’d still be careful when using those three joints.

Overall – ***1/2
When I usually sit down to write a review, I have an overall score already in my head.  I then break the figure down into it’s components, looking at each area individually.  And then I come back to my overall, taking into consideration the various weights of each category, and that seperate undefinable ‘it’ factor.

When I started this review, I had three stars in my head.  But by the time I got done looking over the figure again, playing around with it, and having it in my office for awhile, that score climbed to ***1/2.  This is a damn cool figure, and is probably the most sensible of all the large scale cartoon figures Mezco has done so far, since it approximates real size in your own environment.  The price point seemed a tad high at first, until I started considering some of the other SDCC exclusives and their cost, and similarly flocked figures.  In the end, I’m really glad I picked him up, and he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite exclusives from this year’s show. 

Where to Buy –
Obviously, the Con was your best choice.  But Mezco Direct, Mezco’s own online store, should have some available soon.  You can put in a pre-order there now, and they cost $45 plus shipping.

 

 

Harry Potter, with all the books and all the movies, is a world wide phenomena.  And yet, there have been so few actually good collectibles based on the property. 

Oh, there’s a few, including the nifty wands from the Noble Collection.  But when it came to figures, statues and busts, things were beyond weak.  Don’t even start talking about the awful toys from Mattel.  That all changed a little more than a year ago, when Gentle Giant released their first mini-busts.

In reality, it didn’t quite change then.  The first couple busts – Harry and Sirius – were good, but not outstanding.  It wasn’t until the very cool second set of Snape and Dumbledore were released that folks really started to take notice.  Then the Dementor and Dobby hit, cementing the fact that this line was going to be a major hit.

Once again this summer Gentle Giant released a convention exclusive Potter bust, limited to just 500 pieces.  This time it was Lucius Malfoy in his Deatheater costume.  This was technically a variant, since at about the same time they were releasing a more generic Deatheater, along with Nearly Headless Nick.  I’ll take a look at all three of these guys tonight.

If you have any questions, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or visit my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week.

“Harry Potter Busts – Nearly Headless Nick, Malfoy as Deatheater, and a Deatheater”

Both the regular Deatheater and the Nearly Headless Nick are regular releases, and the runs were 1500 each.  Lucius Malfoy in his Deatheater garb was an SDCC only exclusive, and as such they only made 500 of him. 

Packaging – **1/2
While past GG Potter busts have had windows, all three of these releases have dropped them.  You won’t be sure of the condition or appearance of the bust til you open him up.  There are photos of the actual product on the package, and the interior styrofoam design is so good that you’ll have very little to fear in terms of breakage, but the windows will be missed, at least by me.

 

 

All three of these come with Certificates of Authenticity, but they continue in the recent tradition of being more like trading cards in terms of size and style than COA’s.

Sculpting – Deatheater ****; Malfoy, Nick ***1/2
The sculpting on the Potter series of busts continues to amaze me.  While there are issues with human likenesses for every company, including Gentle Giant, they seem to be doing every one of the Potter busts with extra care and attention.

 

 

Nearly Headless Nick looks almost exactly like the Cleese character.  It’s not quite as perfect as either the Snape or Dumbledore, but it’s damn close.  The face is a little flat to be perfect, and that may actually be an issue of the mold, not the original sculpt.

There’s a ton of detail in the body as well, with the various buttons and edging actually sculpted.  There’s also some nice gorey detail in the neck, reminding us just how he got his name.

 

 

I think the best work in this set of three is actually in the generic Deatheater.  The face mask is a rotting human skull, and the realistic detail in the teeth and bone is amazing.  I also like the overall pose of the body, head and arms, and the sculpted translucent flames above the torch are excellent.

It’s nice to see that everything flows in the same direction too – the various flaps of clothing match the flow of the fire, giving the impression that the wind is blowing them all the same.  Details like these help cement the subliminal realism of the sculpt.

 

  

The Malfoy is nice as well, although his mask isn’t quite as appealing or visually interesting as the generic version.  Here’s the part that really surprises me – he’s truly a new figure, not just a basic variant.  As far as I can tell, the only reused sections of the sculpt is the torso and stone base.  The arms, hands and entire head (including the cap) are entirely new, which was a big surprise.  That greatly increases his value on the shelf!

Paint – Nick, Deatheater ****; Malfoy ***1/2
Paint ops are solid once again all around, with absolutely no slop, poor cuts, or bleed.  It might appear that there’s a little less detail work here, but that’s not the case at all, and once you get up close you’ll see the intricate dark patterns on areas like the Deatheater caps.

 

  

Nick has some excellent work on his face and head, but the real stand out here is that his entire body, from the sliced neck down to the stone base, is actually translucent.  It’s hollow, and cast from a greenish blue plastic.  At first glance it appears solid, but in reality passes light quite easily.  The combination of the painted head (and hand) and small details on the costume, with this clear material to imply his ‘ghostly’ appearance, makes an otherwise nice bust fantastic.

 

 

The regular Deatheater is also quite nice, with some wonderfully realistic work on the mask.  There’s plenty of small detail work too, but it’s this bone paint work that really sets him apart and gives him a truly creepy appearance.

 

 

That leaves Malfoy, who has more detail work on the costume and body than the regular Deatheater, including a great snake motif on the front of his cap.  However, the blonde color of the hair is much too yellow, and mine actually had a couple stray marks on the robes.

 

 

Design – ****
While the technical aspects of the sculpt and paint are always crucial to a bust or statue, the actual design of the character is what really sells it.  What’s the pose, expression, and demeanor?

 

  

Nick is in a classic pose, exposing his neck to you, just so you know why his name is Nearly Headless, instead of just Headless.  His expression also implies that he’s none to happy about it, and would have been much happier had they finished the job cleanly.

 

 

Both Deatheaters look dangerous, with slightly dynamic poses.  The robes flow nicely, and the hand positions match up well with the direction the head and body are facing.  Everything looks natural, avoiding any awkward appearance.

 

  

I still can’t get over how distinctly different the two poses are between the Deatheaters.  Altering the set of the head and arms made all the difference in the world.

 

 

Value – ***
You’ll pay around $40 – $45 each for these, although if you hunt (and pay attention to my suggestions at the end of the review), you’ll come in closer to $40.  That’s below the price of most of the GG Star Wars busts these days, and considering the quality and design, I’d say it’s a good, if not great, value.

 

 

Things to Watch Out For –
There’s not much.  Both Deatheaters have wands that are easy to break, but as long as you take some care you’ll be fine.

Overall – Deatheater ****; Nick, Malfoy ***1/2
This line continues to impress me, and could easily become over time the finest set of Potter collectibles produced.  With critical characters like Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Voldemort, and Mad Eye Moody coming up soon, and dozens of other potential characters to produce, this series could last for several more years.

Where to Buy –
Online options are almost you’re only bet, and Ebay is probably you’re only chance for Malfoy now, unfortunately:

– Dark Shadow Collectibles has these two at $41 each, and they have pre-orders for the upcoming releases of Mad Eye Moody and Hagrid, already up.

– Fireside Collectibles is sold out already of these, but has an excellent preorder price of $40 on upcoming busts in the series.

– Alter Ego Comics has the two regular busts for $42.50 each.

Related Links:
While there hasn’t been a lot of Potter merchandise, I have reviewed it:

– first, there’s my review of the Snape/Dumbledore and Dementor/Dobby releases, along with a guest review of the initial Harry/Sirius busts.

– there’s also the first full statue based on the license from GG, the Hungarian Horntail.

– There’s the Potter wand from the Noble Collection.

– and if you like bad toys, there’s always the Extreme Quidditch Harry action figure, and one of the Dueling Club Harry.

– and finally, there’s the little Magical mini-Dumbledore!

 

 

I’m a big fan of cartoon lines.  Simpsons, Invader Zim, Ren and Stimpy…Hell, I even have Cow and Chicken stuff.  Everyone always talks about the likenesses on real people, and how tough it is to do, but the simple lines and easy designs of some of our best loved cartoons are just as difficult to do in three dimensions as any human likeness. 

Humans are already in three dimension.  They also don’t vary in scale and proportion just because they turned to one side or the other, and they don’t vary based on the individual animator working on them that day.  Perhaps most important, they don’t have a ‘style guide’ that must be followed, even when it hasn’t been accurate in a decade.

The classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons spanned many decades and many classics, from the Flintstones to Yogi Bear.  Mcfarlane Toys picked up the license last year, and has just released their first series of figures, including two Tom and Jerry sets, a Fred Flintstone, Quick Draw McGraw, and Hong Kong Phooey.  I reviewed this wave earlier this week over at MROTW, and today I’m covering the deluxe boxed set based on that old Bedrock madman himself.

 

 

 This set is called Fred Flintstone in his Cruiser, although I think the name:

“Hot Rod Fred Flintstone”

is more befitting.  Or maybe Rat Fink meets Fred Flintstone.  Rat Flintstone?  Fred Flintfink?  You get my point.

Packaging – ***
This deluxe set, like most Mcfarlane deluxe sets, comes in a box with a large window.  The set is laid out in the interior tray for maximum display potential for the MIBers, and has some nice character specific graphics and text.  I also like the light colors and kid-centric pallette. 

 

 

One of the advantages of boxes over cardback/bubble packaging is that it is usually more collector friendly, allowing you to remove the figure and set without destroying the packaging.  That’s not the case here, and you’ll be tossing this box as soon as you’ve freed him.

Sculpting – **1/2
When I was a kid, I loved Fred Flintstone.  The predecessor to cartoon dads like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffen, he bumbled his way through the stone age.  He definitely wasn’t a complex guy, and there were certain things he did – and didn’t do.

The deluxe boxed set depicts Fred drag racing in some sort of hot rod.  As I mentioned earlier, it has a prehistoric Rat Fink look to it, and unlike his regular car which was ‘motorized’ with Fred’s own feet, it has an engine of sorts.  More on that later.

 

 

The sculpt is decent in terms of general detail, scale and quality.  These figures are probably supposed to be in the same 4″ scale as the recent Simpsons sets from Mcfarlane, and that works out pretty well with the Quick Draw and Phooey, but Fred does tend to be a bit on the tall side when placed with the others.  That is, if you could place him with the others.  Fred is permenantly attached to the seat of his hot rod.  He does have a full body however.

There’s as much small detail work as you could get into a cartoon figure, including some terrific stone texturing on the wheels and car itself.  My issue with this sculpt is not one of technical quality, but rather aesthetic appeal.

You see, this isn’t the Fred I remember.  I’m betting at some point in some later version of Fred, he actually drove a hot rod.  Perhaps it even looked like this.  But this isn’t an iconic look for Fred, something people will instantly recognize.  It’s like having your first Homer Simpson figure dressed up like Ganesh – sure, it happened, and you’d recognize Homer, but fans would be left wondering ‘huh?’.  That’s my major problem here.

The deluxe boxed set in the second series will have Fred in his traditional car with the family at the drive-in, betting the ribs delivered, right out of the old opening sequence.  It will also have an individual Fred figure with Dino, hopefully also from the opening sequence.  These are classic moments, and I’m betting I’ll be much happier with those two.  Your dinosaur mileage may vary.

BTW, why is the little pterodactyl tied on the antenna (an early version of Sirius radio?), and why does he have a cigar in his mouth?  I don’t remember any pterodactyl’s smoking cigars…did Fred have a pet pterodactyl in the later cartoons?  We may never have the answers to life’s most perplexing questions.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint ops on all the figures and this set are excellent, with only the barest amount of slop and bleed between colors.  These figures sport a much wider range of colors than the usual Mcfarlane figure, and the quality is up to their normal standards.

 

 

There’s a little gloppiness in the skin tone in some spots, and some of the tougher colors have issues at the cuts between them, but these are all very, very minor.  I’m particularly impressed by the stone wash, and how well it worked on the car’s body, although there are a few issues with consistency between various parts (hood, body, interior of engine).

Articulation – *
The only ‘articulation’ on this set is the front hood, which opens to reveal the true source of power  a small green dinosaur with the usual white tusk on his nose.  It’s a nice feature, and works fine.

 

  

You could say the rear wheels are articulated, since they do turn, but that’s more of the action feature and I’ll cover that in the later section.

Accessories – **
There are no traditional accessories with this set, although the car can detach from the base itself, and the antenna is a separate piece.  The detailing on both of these is terrific, especially the base, where the grass and dirt detail is amazing.

Action Feature – **1/2
Mcfarlane decided to add pseudo action features to all the figures in this line up so far.  The deluxe boxed set has ‘wheelie poppin’ action, which means that the rear tires can lock into three positions up off the ground.  There’s no real ‘action’ since you have to lift the car off the ground with your hand and pose it in a new spot, so it’s more of a display option than an action feature.

 

 

The biggest issue with this feature is that Fred is sculpted to only look good in one mode – all the way up.  When the car is flat on the ground, he’s staring down at the hood, and with no articulation or ability to move him in his seat, he looks pretty silly.  That makes what appears to be an interesting display option not really much of an option at all.

Fun Factor – **1/2
This isn’t really designed as traditional ‘toy’, but it could hold up to most play.  Kids who are lucky enough to get Boomerang from their local cable company, or kids who watch way too many Fruit Pebbles commercials, will at least recognize Fred, and kids always love cars, right?  Obviously, that’s the conventional wisdom.

Value – ***
One thing that all Mcfarlane figures are – at least so far – is a great value.  For around $22, you’re getting a technically well sculpted, well painted, decent sized diorama type item.  That’s a solid value in a market where a twenty is getting you less and less with every release.

 

 

Things to Watch Out for –
Not much.  In fact, there’s little change of damaging anything in putting the few parts together, and little chance of having problems with the action feature.

Overall – **1/2
If you look at these photos and think this is one great looking design for Fred, than you’re overall score is going to be much higher than mine.  I wasn’t expecting much in terms of accessories, articulation or even the goofy action feature, so my overall is based largely on paint and sculpt.  Because this is not an iconic look for Fred, and because it is their first attempt at him, I was disappointed in the design.  If you’re not, then this score will easily jump up another full star for you.

The best thing about this set for me is the apparant quality, especially in the paint.  The Simpsons line has been a bit of a disappointment in that regard, but the higher quality paint here means that the more traditional Flintstones set in the second series, and other characters like Yogi Bear and Captain Caveman, are more likely to be exceptional.

Scoring Recap:
Packaging – ***
Sculpt – **1/2
Paint – ***1/2
Articulation – *
Accessories – **
Action Feature – **1/2
Fun Factor – **1/2
Value – ***
Overall – **1/2

Where to Buy –
These are hitting Toys R Us stores, if you’re looking for a brick and mortar retailer.  Online options include:

– Clark Toys has the deluxe set for $20, and the regular figures for $12 each OR if you’re buying the set, they have the best deal at just $50 for the full set of 5!

– Amazing Toyz has the singles at $12, the boxed set at $22, and the set of 5 for $55.

– CornerStoreComics also has the singles at $12, the set for $55, and the boxed set is at $23. You can also get all five and the boxed set for $75.

– Killer Toys doesn’t have this regular series listed yet, but they do have the boxed set of Fred in the dragster for $23.

Related Links:
I reviewed the full series of wave 1 earlier this week.

 

 

 

Every year at SDCC I always see something new, something I haven’t noticed before.  This year, it was the I.W.G. – Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo.  This line of nifty activist animals is brought to you by Rocket World, a small independent company run by Patrick Ma.  The basic concept is that aliens, called the Astral Overseers, infect the planet with a retrovirus that makes certain animals self aware.  These sentient animals begin a resistance movement against the poachers and polluters that are ruining their world, often using the very tools of those they battle. 

I picked up Sasquatch at their booth.  He’s the subject of the review tonight, but I also included a shot of the Yeti in my SDCC coverage, and their website has TONS of info and the ability to order product direct. 

If you have any questions or comments, drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com, and if you like the reviews, check out my other site, Michael’s Review of the Week.

The I.W.G. – Sasquatch

 As I mentioned, I picked up Sasquatch.  He’s a guy, but he was lucky enough to find a Yeti of the female persuasion, and they’ve since fallen in love.  It was an Internet dating thing.  Amazing how successful that can be.

 

 

Packaging – ***
The package is pretty basic, with simple graphics and a clean design.  It’s pretty sturdy, so there’s little chance of damage to the figure, and it’s also quite collector friendly.  There’s a couple twisties, but no need to damage the package just to remove the fuzzy guy.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
These are one of those cute designs, and like many other vinyl products, will speak to some people, while others have no idea what the hell it’s about.

These really caught my eye, with a neat design and great style.  They were sort of like those old Applause stuffed animals, with Uzi’s and hand grenades.  Cute but deadly!

The Sasquatch has an interesting design, although he doesn’t stray too far from what you’d expect.  Big feet, big body, with a cool flocking of hair over the majority of the figure.  Only the hands, face and feet are bare vinyl.

 

 

Yes, this is a rotocast figure, and yes, one eye is bigger than the other.  But that’s part of his charm! Or at least that’s what the Yeti thinks. He also has a groovy little soul patch, also flocked.

He stands just under 8 inches tall, and is larger than the majority of other animals in the I.W.G., which makes sense. His hands are sculpted to hold the weapons, or to actually hold hands with his main squeeze, the Yeti.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint ops are extremely clean and neat, although they are very basic.  There’s not a lot of detail in the design, but there’s at least three or four unique colors here, and there’s no major slop on any area.

 

 

I had some issues with the flocking rubbing off around one shoulder (which I’ll mention in more detail in the Things to Watch Out For section), but the flocking itself is very tight and very even and consistent.  It’s a great touch, and adds quite a bit to the overall appearance of the figure.

Articulation – **
Even though he’s a vinyl figure, he has some articulation, and it’s about as much as the design allows for.

 

 

There’s cut shoulders, wrists and ankles.  That’s not a ton, but it’s enough to raise his weapon in a threatening manner, and hold hands with the love of his life.

Accessories – **1/2
He comes with a slightly cartoony chain saw, big enough to make Thomas Hewitt happy.  It fits well in his hands, although the limited articulation means that it can’t be held in both hands at the same time.

Value – **
Like many of the ‘designer’ toys, Sassie is pretty damn expensive.  I coughed up $45 for him at SDCC, but two factors keep it from getting a lower value score.  First, the flocking really is extremely well done. Second, it’s a limited edition of only 500 figures, and at that small of a production run, I’m much less surprised by the price.

 

 

Fun Factor – ***
While not really intended as ‘toys’, these are in fact pretty cool for kids.  They’re quite sturdy, and while the flocking would take a beating in regular play, kids that like cute, adorable killing machines will find these right up their alley.

Things to Watch Out For - 
The flocking is pretty cool, but I did have quite a big hunk rub off at the left shoulder joint when I turned the arm.  The movement of the arm tore off a hunk all the way around, so be extremely careful when you are first using the arms. 

 

 

Overall – ***
A high price holds these back from an extremely high score, but they are certainly a solid designer toy.  Like most art, you’re either going to think the design is cool, or it’s not going to speak to you at all.  It’s unlikely that there will be much middle ground, but that’s common with all art, and is further proof that figures like these have successful made the jump.

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

Where to Buy –
The Rocket World website has some of the animals up for sale, along with some suggestions for retailers.

 

 

You know, it just seems like there are so few exclusives at SDCC these days.  Really, what’s a guy supposed to do if he wants to spend some money? 

Obviously, I’m kidding. There are more exclusives at SDCC than hookers at a Charlie Sheen bachalor party. Even the smallest company has them, and often there are several from the larger companies.  Many of these are highly sought after, at least during and immediately after the convention, but are they really worth it?  I’ll be doing a number of reviews over the next month on some of the most interesting.

I’m starting tonight with the Family Guy Herbert from Mezco.  If you’re not a regular watcher of the show, you may not remember Herbert.  He’s the old man who often has rather inappropriate thoughts about Chris, leering at him whenever he delivers his newspaper.  With Herbert’s perverted and illegal sexual desires, it’s not surprising that he hasn’t been featured in any of the regularly released waves, even if he is a fan favorite.  Mezco made a smart move using the convention exclusive route to get this guy out to us, and hardcore fans will be pleased.

Herbert cost $20 at the show, but that wasn’t the only way to get him.  You could order him in advance of the show at either the Club Mez site, or the Mezco Direct site, and now that the con is complete, you can order him there again.

Family Guy Herbert – SDCC 2006 Exclusive

 

 

Packaging – ***
The package is designed for the convention, with a convention exclusive sticker on the front and a photo of the two Family Guy exclusives – Herbert and the giant evil monkey – on the back.  Otherwise, it matches the normal Family Guy packaging, which looks decent and does the job.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
The sculpting work is solid here, and some aspects are four stars.  Still, the work on his head is slightly off, although putting my finger on it exactly is tough.  First, it seems a tad large for the body, moreso than on the cartoon.  Several of the features seem slightly off proportional as well, particularly the nose.  This is one of the tough characters for them to tackle on the show though, since there’s more ‘character’ in his face than others.  The sculpt is a little rough around the front of the chin, but still looks quite a bit like the old geezer.

The body sculpt is fine, although lacking in some of the weird lines of the show. It’s straight up from heel to hump, instead of having a bit of a bend at the waist.  The hand sculpts are terrific, allowing you to use the accessories and have some interesting poses.

While the head and body aren’t perfect, they’d be solid three star work at least on their own.  But one single feature pushed this guy up another half star for me – the hairs.  You see, poor old Herbert still has six or seven hairs sticking out of the top of his head from two different location.  Instead of trying to paint these, or use some sort of sculpted material, they used a stiff nylon (or that’s what it appears to be).  That means he has these nifty little stiff gray hairs poking out of the top of his head.  They’re almost impossible to see in photos, but in person they look terrific.  Excellent!

Oh, and unlike the cartoon Herbert, the action figure Herbert can stand fine on his own without the walker.

 

 

Paint – ***
If you own other Mezco Family Guy figures, you know pretty much what to expect with the line.  Things are relatively clean, but there’s some bleed between colors, and the cuts aren’t always clean.  Herbert also suffers from a bit of blush on the cheeks, throwing off the consistency of his skin tone. It’s solid work, but not quite up to the same level of quality we’ve seen on other Mezco lines.

 

 

Articulation – ***
Herbie has more articulation than the standard Family Guy figure, due in part to the design of the character.

See, he has this long skinny neck on the show, something most of the characters do not.  This allowed Mezco to include a ball jointed neck, up at the top, just below the head.  It works great, and fits the character’s attitude well.  Of course, you know how I feel about ball jointed necks.

He also has cut shoulders, cut elbows, cut wrists and a cut waist.  That gives him very good arm articulation for a cartoon character, and he can pose well with the walker, popsicle and newspaper.  Considering the design of the body and legs of the character, there wasn’t much addiitional articulation they could add there anyway.

 

 

Accessories – ***1/2
Herbert comes with some terrific unique (no re-use!) accessories, that are very specific to his character.  There’s Jessie, his dog who has lost the use of his back legs, and drags himself around by the front.  Jasper’s sculpt is excellent, and he’s even articulated at the neck!  Obviously, he stands great on his own.  Or lays.  Or half lays.  You know what I mean.

There’s also Herbert’s walker, and if fits nicely in his sculpted right hand.  He can also rest on it with his left hand, so either position works great.  It takes a little work positioning the arms and hands just right, but you can also have all four feet of the walker flat on the ground with it in position in his right hand.

Chris delivers the newspaper to Herbert, so it’s fitting that he also has a rolled up paper.  This can fit in his left hand, but it takes a little finesse.

Finally, he has a popsicle, a treat he’s used to tempt poor Chris with on more than one occasion.  This one appears to be grape.  While the pre-production photos showed this in his left hand, that sculpt was altered to the more interesting version you see here.  He can still hold the sweet treat in his right hand, however.

 

 

Fun Factor – **1/2
I’m not exactly sure this is a figure I’d give my kids to play with.  Even if I did, I have a tough time imagining a scenario in which he’d be useful.  Kids aren’t generally interested in wrinkled up old men, even when those wrinkled up old men might be a little too interested in them, like Herbert here.

However, he’s a great addition for any friend you might have that loves the show, and is a great figure for the desk at work.

Value – **
Twenty bucks – ouch.  People who are accostumed to paying $10 – $12 for a regular release figure might have a bit of a tough time with the price tag, but it’s not too unusual for a con exclusive.  $15 actually seems closer to right to me, at least for an average value score, but even at $20 you won’t feel too bad.  Unlike many exclusives that are nothing more than repaints, Herbert is a unique character with a unique set of accessories.

Things to watch out for –
Not a thing.  No worries here!

 

Overall – ***
At $20, Herbert is a pretty expensive figure.  As an exclusive though, he’s a great choice, and as always with exclusives, his production numbers will be pretty low.

Casual fans aren’t going to care a whole lot about him, but hard core fans and collectors won’t want to miss out.  He is certainly a unique character, and you can even put him on the shelf with a few Michael Jackson dolls, and start your own special sub-category of action figures.

Where to Buy –
You can pick him up on ebay of course, but Mezco Direct is taking orders for the figures they have remaining after the con.

Related Links –
I’ve got plenty of Family Guy reviews to choose from:

– my last review covered wave 5, including the Greased Up Deaf Guy! 

– they recently released the series 1.5 family boxed set so you can have the whole family.

– Here’s my reviews of wave 1, wave 2, wave 3 and wave 4.

– also, I reviewed both the Peter and Lois two pack, and the Peter and Chicken two pack.

– Finally, there’s the review of the large talking Stewie.

 

 

Top Ten Best…and Worst…of the San Diego Comic Con, 2006

Top Ten Best…and Worst…of the San Diego Comic Con, 2006 

Ah, another year gone by, another SDCC passed.  Once again this year I made my annual pilgramage to San Diego to hang with my geek brethren, and to partake in the orgy of pop culture.  And as always, I’m exhausted.

I’m doing general coverage of the various new toys over at my regular site, but here I’d like to chat a bit about what made this year’s con stand out amongst the many years, both good and bad.  Because you can never have the good without the bad – that’d just be boring.

 

 

I’ll throw out my lists, and let’s compare notes:

Number 10 on the good side:  The lottery system for con exclusives.  Ah, no more running nut cases, trampling small children in their path to get an exclusive, or ridiculously long lines of exclusive-craving fanboy zombies, desperate to get that repainted figure of a third rate character.  Now you just pick up a ticket at most booths, and wait for the drawing.  While this practice started several years ago, it’s now almost universal, and makes life a lot easier.  To go along with this, I’d like to commend companies like Sideshow, Mezco and Gentle Giant who allowed you to pre-order your convention exclusives in advance, and pick them up at the show (or in some cases, have them shipped to you).

Number 10 on the bad:  But those convention exclusives can still be tricky to get, and I’m betting everyone has one exclusive on their list of ‘bad’ from the show, one exclusive that no matter how they tried, they just couldn’t get it.  For me, it was the LEGO Batman set, and it now goes on my list of stuff to watch for on ebay in the coming months.

Let’s here it for 9, 9 on the good:  There were some truly amazing costumes this year, and I’m always impressed by the folks that not only take the time and energy to create them, but put themselves out there for public display and, in some cases, dehydration from sweating.  Don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t want to be them.  But I have to admire the work a really great costume takes, and the pair required to wear it in front of thousands of people.  That, or the complete lack of self awareness.

 

 

Ah, but what about 9 on the bad:  That goes to the costumes as well.  Or more accurately, the goofy little half assed costumes.  Did you think that you’d look silly dressed up like a Klingon, in full costume and makeup, but a pair of diddy boppers and a raccoon tail on your ass was somehow ‘cool’?  Look, if you’re going to do a costume, do it right – go all out.  You look just as silly in pair of cat ears, and you lack committment.

There’s 8 for the force:  Futurama is back!  Woo-hoo!  It’s about time someone picked up this license again, although I think that the announcement on the continuation of the show (Comedy Central has ordered new episodes) certainly helped get it back on the pegs.  Toynami will be producing a line of figures in scale with the old MAC stuff.  Add to that the tremendously cool line ups that Mezco has planned for their cartoon lines, Family Guy and South Park, and you have a great looking year for fans of action figures based on more adult animated comedies.

 

 

And 8 for the dark side:  The price of food and drink at the convention.  Ouch.  Oh, I know, what do I expect.  But you still have to admit that when you pay $2.50 for a bottle of water and more for a bottle of pop, or $2.50 for a chocolate chip cookie just so you don’t pass out from starvation on the convention floor, your wallet cries a little.  Not the wailing it does anytime you get close to the Sideshow or Master Replicas booth, but just a little cry, the kind that breaks your heart.

My number 7 wearing a white hat:  Two words – Ray Guns.  Actually, that’s what Weta is calling the line.  They are producing prop replica-like ray guns, with a very retro sci-fi appearance and style, but they aren’t really prop replicas, because they aren’t based on any particular license.  These are new designs, created specifically for the line up, and they looked terrific.  I’ve been bugging folks for ages now to do a line of replicas of famous B movie weapons, but this idea might even be better.

And my number 7 wearing a black hat: Companies that hold stuff to put out on certain days of the con.  They might put 90% of their stuff out on preview night, but hold back stuff til Friday or Saturday.  Why is that annoying?  Because it ignores that there are people who have one day tickets earlier in the week that would like to see everything, and it ignores that people with multiple day tickets may not be able to make it past the booth a second or third time.  There’s no point either – put out your stuff on Wednesday, all of it.

The big  6 spot goes to: Creativity.  There was plenty of it this year in the smaller companies, and that’s what it’s going to take to keep the specialty market industry alive.  Not all of it spoke to me personally, but that doesn’t mean it won’t find an audience.  And not being mainstream and being for everyone is part of what truly creative products are all about.  Two are worth mentioning – the first is the Smart Bombs from Creatus Maximus.  The designs are based on Fat Boy and Little Man, the two bombs dropped on Japan to end WWII.  But they have little brains sculpted inside the top, and the outer casings are decorated in elaborite satirical ways.  They had convention exclusives featuring a pair of Star Wars look alikes, and a couple based on some famous DC characters – I bet you can tell which ones from the photo below.

 

 

Another company that impressed me was Rocket World.  They are doing a line of vinyl-like figures called I.W.G.  These guys are various animals, mostly those on the endangered species list, that have become sentient with the help of some aliens, and are now armed and fighting back against the evil humans that have done them harm.  The character designs were terrific, part of the proceeds goes to help various wildlife organizations, and this was a line that really caught my eye.  These types of creative lines would never see the front of a peg if we only had the large companies, and they are a great indication of the importance of the specialty market.  I broke down and bought a Sasquatch – the Yeti (see below) and Sasquatch have joined up with their animal friends in the battle.

 

 

And of course, his evil twin number 6:  Redundancy.  Perhaps that’s not the best word to describe it, but there was an awful lot of ‘sameness’ from the past year.  There were many lines at many companies that were also at SDCC last year, and haven’t yet been released.  On top of that, what was new was generally a continuation of already existing lines, with very little in the way of new lines being produced on new licenses.  That’s definitely unfortunate, and doesn’t bode well for the next few years.

The panels provide number 5 on the cool side:  As with every year, there are plenty of nifty panels.  I enjoyed many, including Family Guy, Simpsons, Bones, Lost and Sony.  But my favorite was the panel on Veronica Mars, a show I just recently started to watch.  It just finished up it’s second season, and after many folks had recommended it, I decided to pick up the first season DVD and try it out.  My wife and I are now both hooked, and I’m doing what I can to spread the word.  The panel was made up of several of the key actors, including Kristen Bell, who plays Veronica.  She was as sweet and bright in person as she is on the show, and the panel did a great job of selling me on the new season.  If you want to see a witty, well written show with great character development, give it a chance.

Ah, and but the panels also managed to give us a number 5 on the minus side:  Hmmm, this is Quick Stop Entertainment, and our own Kevin Smith was scheduled for a panel on Saturday afternoon.  Unfortunately, traffic destroyed the best laid plans of mice and Silent Bob, and he had to cancel very late.  He did manage to make it down later in the day, and I believe they moved the schedule around to accomodate, but there were still an awful lot of bummed out fans.

Number 4 goes to an actual toy, rather than a collectible: Sigma 6.  And more specifically, the new vehicles for the Sigma 6 2.5″ figure line.  These vehicles have tremendous play value, with all kinds of cool action features, that allow the vehicles to interact not just with the figures, but with the other vehicles in the line.  Hasbro continues to impress me with their work on the latest incarnation of the classic G.I. Joe.

And no, the photo below isn’t the 2.5″ line, but rather the 8″ line – but I liked the photo.

 

 

Here’s a weird one for number 4, but a lot of people I know think it’s a bummer: Time.  There’s just not enough, and yet, by the time Sunday comes rolling around, you’re definitely ready to be done.  It’s impossible to see everything in 4.5 days, including all the panels.  Saturday is a seething mass of geeks, so if you can only make it one day, do NOT pick Saturday.  The best panels are on Saturday though, making it tough for a short visit.  Even those of us that stay the entire time can’t see everything and do everything, and this year I never made a single full pass through the dealer areas.  And yet, while I have this lack of time a negative, I’m always more than ready to call it quits by Sunday.

For the number 3 good slot, we have another Star Wars item: Gentle Giant’s Slave Leia statue.  One of the most realistic statues in the Star Wars universe I’ve ever seen, it’s also every drooling fanboys dream.  I have some additional photos here, just to show you how, uh, amazing it is.  It blows away every other version we’ve ever seen, and makes the Kotobukiya version look silly in comparison.  Now, let’s just hope it makes it to the shelf.

 

 

Bad number 3 is one that there really isn’t anyone you can blame, nor is there much you can do: Crowds.  This year’s show is sure to break the attendance records of the previoius years, and Wednesday’s preview night was insane.  The tremendous success of the show is actually becoming one of it’s problems, which is a problem most of us would like to have.  It will be interesting to see if the continued growth leads to any changes…

The number 2 on the good list is a general shout out to the amazing likenesses I saw.  It’s clear that sculpting and paint have become number one across the board, and every company is rising to the challenge.  From Mcfarlane, who showed their Lost line, to Gentle Giant with the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings busts, and even on to newcomers like Kaching, who had some amazing sixth scale Bruce Lee figures, the ability to capture a likeness has become required, but demonstrated.

 

 

My bad number 2 is another that you can’t do much about, but that doesn’t make it any better:  The weather.  Damn it was hot this year.  Oh, not as bad as LA, where I stopped off for a couple days before heading down to the show.  When you’re sweating while you’re taking a shower, you know it’s hot.  No, it wasn’t that bad, and the convention folks were great about cranking up the AC, especially on Friday and Saturday.  But the elevator at my hotel was obviously some sort of portal to a Lovecratian Hell dimension, and the ride up and down 22 floors was better than a half hour in the sauna.

But for number 1, let’s switch them up, with bad going first: Traffic.  Hey, we all hate it, but it seems to be getting worse and worse every year.  Now, of course this directly relates to number 2, the huge attendance, but it’s more than that.  You can’t blame someone for lots of people being there – that’s the whole point.  If the place wasn’t going to be packed, you wouldn’t get the huge number of stars, directors, writers and producers coming down from LA to give us all the info.  But the traffic snarls seemed far, far worse this year, and this is something that the city will need to deal with.  It’s not just the amount of traffic, but how it’s dealt with, especially the shuttle buses that are so critical to so many coming in from hotels in the surrounding blocks.  If it takes 45 minutes to an hour just to get a mile to the convention, it’s going to hurt the reputation of both the show and the city.  And yes, there are ways to alleviate and plan for that traffic.

We switched them up, because it’s always good to end on a high note, or in this case, the number 1 of my top ten bests: Last year, Sideshow stole the show by announcing the Star Wars sixth scale license.  Since then, they’ve produced three terrific 12″ figures, with many more already pre-ordered.

Not to be outdone, they stole the show again this year.  And again, they managed to do it with the Star Wars license.  Oh, the full scale Yoda was cool, and the Buffy fans were mighty pleased to see Giles.  But the sixth scale Jabba the Hutt, along with his full throne base, was the number one for me.  Not only will this make a truly amazing museum quality display when added to the Boush Leia, Jedi Luke and Bib Fortuna, but the price was amazing as well.  Just $120 for Jabba?  What’s he made out of, paper mache?  Oh sure, the throne is another couple bills, but it’s a huge hunk of gorgeous polystone, so I’m not surprised.  This is going to be one of the best sixth scale items Sideshow releases in the Star Wars license – and perhaps in anything they ever do.  Can you tell I have my hopes up?

 

 

Now you’ll have to excuse me, as I have to get my hotel reservations set up for next year.

 

 

 

Along with all the other awards and honors that Batman Begins garnered, it gets the dubious honor of being the film with the most expensive 12″ versions of its lead character, ever.  Yep, no fewer than five different companies have produced figures based on the Christian Bale Batman. 

Of course, Mattel did their version.  The 13″ Action Cape Batman is one of the coolest for the price, but it’s not an expensive version.  Then DC Direct did theirs, and fans started to spend some cash, usually around $70.  Not to be out done, Medicom came in with the most expensive version to date, costing as much as $200.

Two more companies are coming to the party late, hitting the mid-range of the expensive stuff.  Takara has theirs coming out within the next month, and Hot Toys has just released their version, which I’m reviewing tonight.  Both of these can be had in the $125 – $150 range, depending on where (and when) you buy.

Once the Takara is out, I’ll do a full rundown of all five figures together – a huge, mega-comparison of the pros and cons.  Until then, let’s take a look at the Hot Toys version and see where it stacks up.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

“Hot Toys Batman Begins”

 

 

Packaging – ****
It’s not quite Sideshow perfection, but Hot Toys does a pretty nice job with their packaging as well.  Here, they start with an outer slip cover, complete with bright, shiny eye catching bats and an slightly embossed photo of the man himself on the front.  Take that off the main box, and you get more photos on a standard five panel box.

 

 

The packaging is completely collector friendly, with no need to damage anything in taking him out.  There’s no assembly here, unlike some Hot Toys products, and the plastic tray is designed to hold him and all his goodies in place without twisties or bands.

The only downside, is that unlike the recent exceptional Sideshow Star Wars packaging, this box sports zero background information or text.  With all that real estate to work with, something would have been nice.  On the upside, since these are very limited (only 1100), there is a certificate of authenticity included.  If you’re going to do a limited, numbered run though, you should print the edition number on the box, not just on the COA.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
Hot Toys did a very nice job capturing the Bale Batman, making it look enough like him to know they tried, and yet making it enough like a generic person to make the cowl actually work the way it’s supposed to.  Remember, you’re not supposed to recognize who this is – otherwise wearing the mask would be bit foolish.

 

 

The head sculpt has nice, sharp, crisp lines, and is made from a solid material that holds detail well.  He has a neutral expression, befitting a man who shows little emotion.

I’ll get into the sculpt of the armor in the Outfit section, but suffice to say that it looks stupendous.  The main hands that he comes pacaged with are sculpted into fists, a squidge small proportionally speaking, but not too bad.  Better that they are a squidge small, than the oven mitts we’ve seen on some other versions.

And speaking of proportions, the head is just about the right size, considering the mask.  Any normal human wearing a mask over a normally proportioned head is going to end up with one that’s slightly big on his frame, but here the difference is just about right.

My only real issue is that the cowl sits up pretty high on the shoulders, leaving a gap.  This is a problem for the appearance of the figure, BUT is important to the articulation of the neck.  It’s a catch-22, because you want him to look as good as possible, but he can’t look as good as possible without the nifty ball jointed neck and its range of movement.  While the gap hurts his look a little, it makes up for this by giving you much more realistic poses.

 

 

Paint – ***
Most of the figure – including what I can see of the underlying body – is cast in the black plastic, but that doesn’t mean there still aren’t paint ops here.

The most obvious are the eyes and lower face, both of which are extremely clean and well done.  He does lose a little for the lipstick appearance, a common problem for male 12″ figures, but at least it was applied well.

 

 

One of the nice features of the armor is the different finishes used, matte for the rubberized body suit with a semi-gloss appearance on some sections, such as the bat symbol or gauntlets.  These different finishes give the otherwise monotonous color scheme a little more visual punch.

Articulation – ***
Hot Toys base bodies are always highly articulated, and that’s the case here as well.  He’s got joints in his joints – only problem is, the armored suit makes much of that a moot point.  The rubberized outfit, with the tight fitting rubber body suit underneath, makes some of the joints (especially the legs) difficult to move.

 

 

However, you can still get a fair share of poses out of this guy, due in large part to the ball jointed neck, and tight arm joints.  While the rubber suit can restrict movement, the elbow and shoulder joints are tight enough to stay in position, even fighting against the clothes.

This is not a bulky body though, not even as bulky as the chest might imply.  When you handle him, you’ll find out that the chest piece has air between it and the actually body, and depending on what you do with the chest and waist joints, it can cause issues in some poses.

None of the hands are articulated, but that’s absolutely fine by me.  There’s a nice assortment to allow for the basics plus a couple unique poses, and finger articulation tends to be a good idea that executes badly.

Outfit – ***1/2
Clearly the single most important aspect of this figure is the outfit.  Hot Toys has done an excellent job capturing the style and design of the Begins costume, shrunk down in scale.

The armor is made from a soft rubber, but not so soft that it appears unrealistic.  Underneath is a rubberized body suit that fits extremely tight, and meshes well with the outer armor.  There’s some excellent sculpting work, and he certainly matches the source material as well as any version to date.

 

 

Two aspects of his costume really stand out – the cape and the belt.  The cape is HUGE, much like the Medicom version, and drapes out nicely from his body.  It’s made from a very high quality material, and permanently attached to the shoulders.  It does not interfere with the head/neck articulation.

The belt has the most sculpt detail of any piece, and I believe it’s also removable.  The package implies it is, but I couldn’t quite figure out how to get it unhooked, and I wasn’t going to break it just for giggles.  There’s a place on the left side for the batarangs, and various other tubes and gadgets are sculpted and permanently attached to the belt.

The big negative for me with the outfit is the gauntlets.  They are very tight to the forearms, which is good, but they are also sculpted to work with the hands in only one direction.  Getting the spikes to line up on the forearm where you want them, and getting the hands in the pose that looks good, can be quite the puzzle at times.

Is the costume fully removable?  I doubt it.  The inner body suit is probably stitched to the body, and to get this tight of a fit and look usually requires a permanent attachment.

Accessories – ***1/2
Where does he get those wonderful toys?  One of Batman’s assets is all the nifty gadgets, so there’s never any excuse for a Batman toy without toys of his own.  This version comes with his grappling gun, two batarangs, gas bomb, and five additional hands.

 

 

The hands are all well sculpted, and designed to work well with certain accessories.  There’s a left hand to hold the bomb, a right hand to hold the gun, two open ‘knife’ hands, and a right hand in the traditional two fingered point.  The hands attach to relatively short posts in the wrists, quite close to the palm.  The big problem is that they fall off whenever you try to move them, because the hands ride inside the gauntlets quite deeply.  While this is another of those visual pluses, it does mean that the usually useful Hot Toys wrists joints are rendered moot.

The batarangs are identical, and can snap on his utility belt.  In some versions of this character by other companies, the gun can attach to the back of the belt, but not this time around.  And while the bomb is tiny (and easy to lose), it has a terrific sculpt and paint job.

Fun Factor – ***
If you have a kid on your list that needs a sixth scale Batman figure from the movie, then hunt down an Action Cape Batman.  He’ll be happy, your wallet will be happy, and some eight year old kid won’t grab the cape of a Hot Toys version and start swinging it over his head like a dead cat.

But if you’re looking to pick up a very cool version for a slightly older kid, one who is a huge fan and will treat this little guy with moderate respect, then the Hot Toys version might be just what you’re looking for.  And if you’re looking to pick up something for me for Christmas, real estate and cash work equally well.

Value – **
I’m grading this at the original cost of $120.  At this point however, you’re unlikely to find one even at that price.

You are getting excellent quality here, but there are still a few nits. Around $100 is about the right average price for this figure, and below that you’d start seeing real ‘value’.  At the $120, or more likely $140, that you’re actually paying, it’s not a terrific buy.

Still, keep in mind that this is a very limited figure, another factor in driving up the price.  With only 1100 produced, the per unit cost was bound to be expensive, and that passes on to you in the retail price.  Of course, with that few produced, it’s unlikely that you couldn’t sell this figure later if you were unhappy with it, at your cost or higher.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much.  If you do try taking off that belt, I’d be extra careful, and keep an eye on those batarangs as well.  They can fall out of the belt when you aren’t looking, and the cat would just love to scurry off with one.

 

 

Overall – ***1/2
With all these different versions out there, especially at such high prices, the big question is which is the best.  At this point, if I could only have one, I’d go with the Hot Toys version.  I really like this head sculpt, the costume looks great, and while keeping the hands attached is an issue, he’s still well above either the DC Direct or Medicom offerings.

There’s still the Takara version to be evaluated though, and based on past history, I have a suspicion that their’s will be the one to beat.  Once I have that one in my hands – probably sometime in the next 2 or 3 weeks tops – I’ll do an individual review of it, and a full comparison review of all four.

Where to Buy –
That’s kind of tough right now – with only 1100 produced, he’s in short supply.  Most places did pre-orders on him, and are now out of stock.  Sad to say that Ebay is probably your best bet right now, where you can find a few still around for $140 BINs.  I suspect that won’t last long though!

Related Links –
I have no shortage of Batman reviews, but let’s just stick with the versions particular to this film:

– there’s the under $20 Action Cape version, the $200 Medicom version, and the $70 DC Direct version.

– and if you’re looking for something more in the toy line,  there’s the Microman version, the Collector Edition, and the Battle Gear version.

– oh, and if you prefer your Bats big, there’s always the three foot version.

 

 

 

Gentle Giant has done many things, but few of them have had the legs and the overall quality of their first big hit, the Star Wars mini-busts.  These high quality busts have been the bedrock on which GG has built their organization (well, and that little scanning technology thing), and the line continues to be one of their best sellers.

When it comes to exclusives, GG often goes the same route as other companies – simple repaints or basic redecos.  Tonight I’ll look at one of their most recent exclusives, the “Darth Vader Anakin Reveal” mini-bust, or as I prefer to think of him, crispy Anakin.

You’ve never actually seen this particular version on screen exactly like this, but that’s a minor detail.  Here you get the Vader body, with the burnt, scarred head of Anakin Skywalker as seen in Episode 3, clearly visible.

This is an Entertainment Earth Exclusive, and runs $50.  That’s pretty much the going rate these days for any of the GG busts.  It is limited to a 5000 piece production run, but fear not, for that’s not particularly limited when it comes to these busts.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

Crispy Anakin mini-bust

 

 

Packaging – ***1/2
Gentle Giant packaging usually allows you to see the bust before you buy.  That’s always a big plus in my book, especially with high end items.  The boxes are also designed with extremely sturdy interior styrofoam packaging that keeps things nice and safe, and I’ve heard of very few problems with breakage on any GG bust.

GG also includes a Certificate of Authenticity with each bust, although these have gotten tinier as time has gone by.  Eventually, I assume they’ll be postage stamp sized.  They do have the edition number on them, as does the exterior of the box, in case what number you get is important to you.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
Another great job by Gentle Giant.  That scanning technology can sometimes be a crutch, and can sometimes be used to produce very realistic looking zombie versions of famous characters.  Other times, it can be used to speed up the start of the sculpting process, and allow the artist to take over to produce an exceptional final product.  The latter is the case here, thankfully.

 

 

You have to feel for Anakin seeing his appearance.  He’s been badly burned, almost beyond recognition.   The scarring is extremely well detailed, both on the front and back of the head.  The head might appear a little small at first, but remember, for the mask to be the right size, the head must be closer to this in size.

 

 

The body of the bust, the Vader section below the neck, isn’t new to the line. This is the same sculpted body as the earlier released Revenge of the Sith Darth Vader.  It’s a nice sculpt to be sure, but collectors that already have him in the display may be hesitant to fork up another fifty bucks.

Paint – ****
I’ve mentioned this many, many times, but it’s always worth repeating – a great sculpt can be ruined by poor paint, and great paint can bring a mediocre sculpt way up the scale.  In this case, the excellent sculpt is even improved on with the application of paint.

 

 

There’s a nice gradiation in the colors of the burnt skin, making it appear very realistic and lifelike.  The head is slightly shiny, with a bit of a gloss finish, but that just seems right for this type of heavily damaged flesh.

The paint ops on the body of the bust are the high quality work you’d expect, considering what we’ve seen with the rest of the line.  There’s no slop, no bleed, and the colors are well cut.  There’s also a nice use of different finishes – from gloss to matte – to imply different materials.

Design/Quality – ***
The use of the previous Vader body does cause some minor issues with the overall appearance and design of the figure.  The lightsaber is held up in front of his face, not a huge deal when he’s masked, but when his face is actually the focus, it is a bit of an issue.  Thankfully, the saber blade is removable, so it can be placed out of the way, but then the position seems a bit odd.  It’s not likely that Vader would hold his hilt in both hands in front of his body quite this way if it wasn’t already lit.

 

 

That nit aside, the quality and design are solid.  They did a nice job working with what they had to create a decent exclusive version.

Value – **
Ah, but here’s the rub.  This bust is a full priced bust, and even then some.  At $50, he at full SRP, and generally you can get the regular release busts $8 or so cheaper than that from most dealers.  Everything from the neck down is a reuse, and at 5000 busts he’s not limited in the least.  It’s going to be tough to justify the price tag, and I suspect lots of folks will be waiting to see if these go on sale or are cheaper on Ebay.

Overall – ***
I’m very happy with the head sculpt and paint work.  However, the fact that 80% of this bust comes from another bust, and the odd pose of the hands/saber, hurt the overall score.  At this price, and at a run of 5000, the value really isn’t there.

Still, I’m happy I picked one up.  I’m a sort of completist with the mini-busts (I’m missing the impossible to get Christmas gift releases), and this one will add to the Episode 1 – 3 display.  If you’ve already bought the regular ROTS Vader, you may be less inclined to pick this up, but if you passed on that one, this one gives you all that and more.

 

 

Where to Buy:
Since this is an exclusive, your first bet is at the Entertainment Earth website, where he’s $50.

Related Links:
In the statue and bust realm of Gentle Giant, I’ve covered several areas:

– there’s the Star Wars line of mini-busts, including the recent Emperor and Lando. Also in Star Wars, I reviewed the Biker Scout statue, and I ran a guest review of the Darth Vader statue

– under the Harry Potter line, I’ve reviewed the Hungarian Horntail statue, the Snape/Dumbledore set and the Dobby/Dementor set.

 

 

If you collect any Japanese action figures or toys, then you know Yamato.  They make tons of cool high end and low end stuff, and when we’re lucky, it gets imported to the U.S.  We’re getting lucky with the new Megazone 23 line of transforming characters. 

Inspired by shows like Robotech and Macross, Megazone 23 is the story of the young motorcycle enthusiast Shogo Yahagi.  He comes across a government prototype bike that’s oh so much more than just a bike.  The government isn’t happy about him having it, and there’s more here that’s being covered up than just a prototype crotch rocket, so Shogo decides to expose the bike on a live television show hosted by the popular singer Eve. He figures that once he does that, those government goons won’t kill him.  But the mystery of the bike and what it really is turns out to be much more complex and dangerous than Shogo ever realized.

Yamato is releasing the Garland (the bike) in the U.S., in 1/15th scale.  That’s slightly bigger than Star Wars/G.I. Joe scale, and slightly smaller than the recent Batman and Superman figures from Mattel.  Of course the bike does a complete transformation into the mecha, so it has two modes – Maneuver Craft (bike) and Maneuver Slave (mecha).

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

“Megazone 23 – Garland”

Since this is a transforming vehicle with figure, the review will have a few different catagories than the usual action figure.

 

 

Packaging – ****
One thing that the Japanese toy companies tend to do really well is packaging.  They understand the added value and appreciation a buyer has for a toy that he can free from a really cool coffin.

The Garland box is completely collector friendly, and you can open it up, remove the goodies, play with him to your heart’s content, and always just pop him back in.  The outer box has some terrific graphics, but I’ll have to only assume the text is useful, since I’m a little rusty on my Japanese.

The inner tray and cover hold the bike and extras tight, but allow the casual observer a good look at them before buying the product.

 

  

Sculpting – ***
I’m going to count the sculpt on Shogo here, while I’ll talk about the bike more in the Design section.

Shogo is designed to sit on the bike (or inside the robot), and is sculpted and articulated for that specific purpose.  The sculpt is fairly good, although he is pretty much your average anime/manga looking kid.  He’s got some serious Elvis hair, but generally looks like just about every other anime biker.

 

 

Design – ***1/2
Ah, but the bike – now that’s something to see.  Sleek, solid, and sure to please the ladies.

The bike is much larger in proportion to Shogo than the artwork on the box makes it appear.  In bike mode it’s almost ten inches long, and in mecha mode it’s slightly longer.  That’s one big ass motorcycle, and it really looks more like a rocket than a Harley.

Shogo sits a little farther forward in the seat than I had expected, again due to the much larger size of the bike.  It’s well designed though, and looks great in either mode. There’s some nice touches too, like magnets to hold the bike together at key junctures, rubber tires, and enough room for Shogo to ride in the transformed Mecha (back behind the head).

Paint – ***1/2
There’s not a ton of small detail work, but that’s usual for this sort of transforming design.  Most of the pieces are cast in their color, without many additions.  There are some nice use of different plastics and materials though in different colors and levels of transparency, to give the bike (and robot) a colorful and unique design.

The paint ops that are here are well done, with almost no slop.  Shogo’s eyes are clean and straight, and while his outfit is bare bones, the paint quality is solid.  Some of the best small details are on the dash of the bike, where the various meters would be.

 

 

Articulation – Mecha ***1/2; Shogo **1/2
There’s no shortage of articulation on a transformer of this quality.  There are joints on top of joints, right down to the individually articulated multi-jointed fingers on each hand.  The mecha can handle just about any pose, although his hips don’t move outward from the body quite as far as you might like.

 

 

There’s also a plasma cannon included that the robot can handle with his hands quite well.

Shogo has a ball jointed neck, jointed at both the head AND the torso, pin elbows, pin knees, pin ankles and cut wrists.  He also has joints at the hips and shoulders, but these are designed to allow just enough range of movement to do sitting, bike riding poses – he can’t stand straight up or have his arms down straight at his sides.

Accessories – ***
Speaking of that plasma cannon, it’s one of several accessories.  It has a removable clip on the back, and the barrel can slide forward and back.  It looks good, although is a fairly basic gray with little in the way of extra color.

There’s also some additional parts for Shogo.  He comes with a set of shoulder pads that can replace his standard biker collar, and two more sets of ‘hair’.  The hair comes off the head in two pieces, front and back.  There are two more fronts included, both with glasses and headphone combo.  One has his hair in a headband, the other does not.

 

 

The two halves of the hair pop together easily enough, and the seam is fairly well hidden, although you will see it if you’re paying attention. 

Transformation – ***1/2
Ah yes, the bike is pretty, the robot cool, but does it make the transformation from one to the other as slick as spit on a door knob?

Now, I have something in my favor going in with a toy like this – I’m an engineer by education.  Unfortunately, I also have something going against me – I can’t read Japanese (the manual is not in English), and I don’t mess around with transforming toys very often.

Considering the pluses and negatives, and then judge whether the 15 minutes it took for me to get him completely from bike to robot the first time was bad or good.  Getting him back again the first time took a little while as well, because there’s a couple steps that have to be done in just the right order and way for them to work.  The fit was quite tight and solid though in both modes, and the engineering was quite impressive.  Because of the hidden hands and head, and the neat way the wheels are camoflaged in the mecha version, this is one of those rare transformers that looks very little like it’s original vehicle form when complete.

 

 

It did seem though that some of the pieces felt as though I could have snapped them had I not taken my time and extra care.  Remember, this vehicle is plastic, not metal – torquing a piece in a direction it’s not supposed to go can be very, very bad.

Fun Factor – ***
Yep, it’s a fun toy.  Now, when you see the price tag, you might be less inclined to think of it as a toy or give it to a ten year old.  If you did, you’d also want to spend some time with him or her making sure they knew the ins and outs of the transformation, since it is possible to snap some pieces if you get impatient.

But for the kid that loves this style of toy and can show a little care, or the big kid that likes to play, er, transform a vehicle into a robot, this guy can be great fun.

Value – *1/2
Ah, here’s where it gets a tad tricky.  You see, this is an imported high end Japanese transformer.  You know what that means.  You best be ready for a little sticker shock, unless you’re already accostumed to the price something like this pulls in.

This guy has a SRP of $129.95.  No, that ain’t cheap, even if you’re the Donald.  Believe it or not, that’s actually below the Japanese SRP.  It is very nice, but it is predominately plastic.  You’re paying largely for the cool factor and engineering talent – it isn’t easy to design something this complex.  I’m also betting that the production run on these for the North American market won’t be huge, another factor contributing to the high price.

Overall – ***
Big fans of Macross or Robotech style figures are sure to be fascinated by this bike, and the engineering and style are great.  However, it carries a price tag that will scare off the casual buyers, leaving just the hard core Transformer geeks.

 

  

Scoring Recap
Packaging – ****
Sculpting – ***1/2
Design – ***1/2
Paint – ***1/2
Accessories – ***
Articulation – Mecha ***1/2; Shogo **1/2
Transformation – ***1/2
Fun Factor – ***
Value – *1/2
Overall – ***

 

  

Even though both Angel and Buffy have been off the air for quite some time (and replaced in some ways for the viewing public by the exceptional Veronica Mars), their fanbase seems as lively as ever.  It is astounding the amount of product based on these two licenses that is still coming out and selling well.

The latest release from Diamond Select Toys in their line of action figures is Angel and Spike in Hawaiin garb.  Technically, this isn’t released quite yet – this is an early review.  You should see these hitting in July, just ahead of SDCC.  This pair is a Previews Exclusive, so most comic shops and online stores will be carrying it.  As always, I have some recommendations for where to pick it up at the end of the review.

Now, you might be asking “When the Hell did those two bastions of man-candy ever wear something as goofy as a Hawaiin shirt?” You’d wouldn’t be offending all those fine folks that actually like wearing Hawaiin shirts, because they know they are goofy. And while you might guess that they wore these shirts in the same episode, since that would seem reasonable, you’d be dead wrong.

Angel wore this outfit in the season 1 Angel episode “Sense and Sensitivity”, in which he was using it in an undercover mode.  Spike wore his shirt in “Doomed”, in which poor Spike is living in Xander’s basement, and borrows some clothes.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

“Hawaiin Shirt Deluxe Angel and Spike”

 

 

Somebody had to really be paying attention to come up with this set.  Since the two were never on screen in these shirts together – or even on the same show at the time – and since they were in them for about 2 minutes each, it’s pretty surprising that the idea surfaced.  It does show however, just how big of fans the folks at DST are, and their willingness to do the…uh…unique.

These are also both part of the “deluxe” series.  That means they have all that extra articulation, giving them much more posablity and seriously funky looking hips.

Package – ***
If you’ve picked up past releases, you’ll get more of the same here.  The clamshell is extremely sturdy, but will require lethal force to open.  There’s always an down to every upside, and in the case of clamshells, it seems like a fair tradeoff to me.

The paper insert shows a photo of both Angel and Spike, and also the logos for both shows.  The fact that this is a Previews Exclusive is highlighted on the bubble with a sticker.  Nothing super exciting here, but it shows off the figures fine and keeps them nice and safe til you get the opportunity to rip it open.

 

 

Sculpting – ***
Gentle Giant did the work here, and it’s good if not outstanding.  The issues that exist are fairly minor, but there’s enough of them to add up to a slightly above average score.

Spike’s head sculpt is the winner of the two.  The Vamp Spike version in the deluxe series was excellent, but they did a fine job with the human look as well.  If you have both figures, you can easily pop this head off and pop it onto the vamp body, giving you a nice looking normal Spike as well.

Spike’s flaws are in the body, not the head.  The legs are the same ones we’ve gotten with the other deluxe Spikes, but in blue.  That’s not episode accurate, since he was wearing some awful shorts along with the shirt in the scene, but it’s cost effective. EDIT: One thing about hard core Buffy fans – they remember costuming.  I was reminded that he does actually wear blue jeans later in the episode, while still wearing this shirt.  Ah ha!

The shirt and shirt sleeves are a separate rubbery piece, probably added over the Spike torso from the other figures.  Unfortunately, the fact that his is separate, and Angel’s is not, means that he is much pudgier appearing.  Considering all the discussion that’s been had over the fact that both action figures are the same height, this fat look isn’t going to be a big selling point.  You can’t remove the shirt without cutting it apart though, but if you decide to risk it, it appears as though you’ll end up with a Spike in a white tank top.  There’s certainly a white shirt of some sort underneath the Hawaiin shirt.

 

 

Angel’s head sculpt isn’t quite as good as Spike’s, although it did grow on me as I worked with the figure for the photos.  In the package, I wasn’t impressed, but once I had it out and looked at it from multiple angles, it was much better.

Still, it is a little long, and the poofy hair, while accurate, adds to the horsey appearance. But it’s a solid Boreanaz overall, effected negatively more by the paint ops than the hand of the sculptor.

 

 

Angel’s body is based on the same torso as the Destiny version, simply painted to match the episode.  That’s not terrible choice, but the arms are a little weird.  They went with the Spike short sleeve arms here, from the Destiny Spike, which are designed for the thinner appearing character.  They look a little too small on the beefier torso of Angel, and they have the same issue they did with Spike – they pop off extremely easily.  We’re seeing the mixing and matching of body parts that you’d expect with this line, just not in the ways you might expect them.

The hand sculpts work with a couple of the accessories, but most will require rubber bands to stay in place.  In fact, there are several rubber bands already in use when you open up the package, and I’d recommend using these in your own display to keep the goodies in their paws.

Paint – **1/2
The paint ops on both figures don’t do justice to either head sculpt.  Both sport that same extreme pasty appearance, and while these guys were vampires, they were never quite this white.  It is closer for Spike, but it’s much too white for Angel.

The paint is also applied a tad heavy handed, so that areas like the eyebrows end up lacking in detail.  Both look like they have caterpillars glued to their forehead.  Both also have lip issues, although Spike’s are definitely worse than Angel’s.  The color is off, and look more like lipstick than actual lips.  Spike also appears to be wearing a little more rouge than usual, usual being none at all. And while I’m complaining about Angel’s eyebrows, they are much better than the ‘worried’ looking ones we saw with the prototype.

 

  

The paint work on the shirts is fairly close to the episode, or at least what I can tell from screen caps.  There’s a little more red in Spike’s than on the show, and the red in Angel’s is a tad sloppy, but they capture the feel of ridiculousness well, even if they aren’t perfectly accurate.

 

  

Articulation – ***1/2
These figures sport the improved articulation, making them very poseable.  If you prefer cleaner body sculpts over articulation, you’ll want to check out Diamonds normal line.

Both Spike and Angel come with ball jointed necks, and both work pretty well.  Spike’s head tends to sit too low on his neck, and Angel too high, but you can adjust them a little.  The heads also pop off easily enough so that swapping these head sculpts with other figures in the line is simple enough.

Angel had ball jointed shoulders, but it’s tough to be sure what kind of shoulders Spike has.  They are probably ball jointed, but the one piece rubber shirt makes much movement up and out impossible.  They both have double jointed elbows and knees, ball jointed hips, waist, cut wrists, pin ankles, and pin joints at the half foot.  While Spike’s ball jointed shoulders aren’t super useful, he does have a cut joint up inside the sleeve – or the ball is jointed on both sides.  Either way, his arm can turn inside the sleeve.

While that sounds like a lot of articulation, some is less useful than others.  For example, Spike’s shirt makes his chest joint pretty useless (although to be fair, it isn’t super useful in any case), the ankle joints are fairly restricted by the pants on both figures, and the half foot joint on Angel is practically immobile.

 

  

 

  

Don’t get me wrong though – there are plenty of posing possibilities.  Some folks make not be big fans of the odd looking ball jointed hips, but they do work well, and at least on Spike, they are hidden by the shirt. With characters that fight, having all this extra articulation is a huge bonus.  Hey, I don’t need it on Cordelia, but having these deluxe versions of Spike and Angel to go with the deluxe versions of Buffy and Faith is mighty nice.

Accessories – ***
Diamond is pretty good about including nifty episode specific accessories, and we get some interesting goodies this time around.

 

 

Spike has a stake, a flask, and a pizza box, all quite appropriate to the character.  The pizza box does not open, but looks great nonetheless.  He can hold the stake in his sculpted left hand, but you’ll need the rubber bands to put anything in his right.

Angel comes with the hat from his outfit in the episode, binoculars, and the club, also right out of the episode in question.  The hat is sculpted to fit on his high doo, but has to sit on the back of his head to work.  He didn’t wear it like that on the show, and it looks more than a tad goofy.  Angel is so damn cool, that even the shirt can’t effect that.  But this hat sure can.  Mine is now in the big box of never again used accessories.

 

  

Fun Factor – ***1/2
These guys are dressed for fun! And the added articulation and sturdy quality make them great for kids young and old.  Now Angel can take on deluxe Faith, Marvel Legends Blade, or even Street Fighters Blanka, and hold his own with no problem.

 

 

Value –  **1/2
This is going to be highly variable, because comic shop pricing tends to be all over the place.  I’m guessing these at $25 on average, and you can adjust this score up and down from there.

You are getting two figures in a line where a single usually costs around $12.  Of course, there’s some heavy re-use here, but the accessories are episode specific.  While there are probably more of these than any of the site specific exclusives, the run is still likely to be pretty short.  In the end, the good and bad end up evening out the price around that $25 mark – get them closer to $20, and you’ll be getting a heck of a deal, spend around $30 and you’ll feel seriously abused.

Overall – ***
These figures are cute – but they aren’t really necessary to the average fan.  Oh, the hardcore will want them, and they won’t be disappointed.  The head sculpts are solid, and I love the episode specific accessories.  Better paint ops would have gone a long way to making these a more solid *** (as it is, they are borderline **1/2), but I’ll happily add the pair to my Buffy/Angel display.

Another reason you might want to pick these up: you can do some great swapping around with the Destiny pair.  If you’d like to put human heads on those two, this is the quickest way to do it.  Below is a photo of this Angel head sculpt with the Destiny Angel body and arms, but the long Destiny Spike coat.  You might have to mix and match to get your ultimate version, but it is possible.

 

 

Where to buy –
There are plenty of online options.  Remember, this pair isn’t quite out at retail yet.  Here are stores that I deal with regularly:

- if it’s Buffy or Angel related, I always start with Time and Space Toys.  The set is $28 there, but if you’re a Buffy Collectors Club member (TST runs the club), it’s closer to $23. One of the big benefits is that they usually carry all products, even exclusives to other sites and shows.

– Amazing Toyz has them listed at $23 for pre-order. 

– CornerStoreComics has these guys on pre-order for $23.

– Alter Ego Comics has it listed at $25.48.

Related Links –
I’ve reviewed an awful lot of Buffy merchandise over the years, but here’s some of it:

– in the Sideshow line, I’ve reviewed Vamp Darla, Vamp Buffy, Willow, the original Buffy and Angel, Faith, and the Gentlemen.

– there’s also plenty of this 6″ line from DST and MAC, including the deluxe Destiny Spike and Angel, the latest regular Buffy and Dawn figures, deluxe Buffy and Faith, Drusilla and the Gentlemen, Buffy, Giles and Oz, the recent Angel wave, more of the Angel wave, Fred and Illyria, Wesley, Willow and Tara, and the very first series of Angel figures from MAC.

– there’s been plenty of busts, like the Ubervamp, the four monsters from DST, the Becoming Buffy, human Spike, and Buffy vs. Dracula.

– and then there’s the Palz, like the Gentlemen, the Halloween set, and series 1.

– there’s also the oddball stuff, like the Buffy and Angel Christmas ornaments, the Dark Witch Willow statue, the Welcome Faith statue, or the Johnny Lightening cars.

 

 

June 20, 2006

Welcome to the Toy Box! Rather than write a regular column this week, I thought I’d do a little introduction, talk about what you can expect, and get all acquainted and cozy like. I’m going to through some photos in here as well of various 2006 product that I’ve thought was sharp, to keep you entertained. And besides, I have to get the hang of this new fangled posting software.

For those of you new to this site and this column, my name is Michael Crawford. No, I do not sing. No, I was not in Phantom of the Opera. And no, I was not Condorman. But I wish I was…well, except for that Condorman thing.

I’ve been collecting action figures pushing 20 years now. It all started with Happy Meal toys, considered by many a gateway toy. Collect enough of those, and you find yourself in the aisles at Toys R Us (or in those days, Children’s Palace), looking for a more expensive fix. Then comes the whole mint on card phase, the open everything phase, the threats of committment from concerned family members, and the eventual label of ‘geek’.

I’ve always been a geek anyway, but the whole toy collecting bit just solidified it. I’ve been featured in several magazines, including Lo-Fi, where I was selected as the first interviewee in their “I Am Geek” column. I’ve been involved in the online toy community from the earliest beginnings, back before Al Gore invented the Internet. After years of writing online reviews that were posted to message boards or Usenet, I started my own site dedicated to them in January of 2000. Hey, I wanted to be sure we’d all survive before I put a lot of time into it.

I’ve had the opportunity as a writer to contribute to several other sites, and have had articles featured on toy company sites as well, such as . I’ve been interviewed for sites like Mezco, Palisades, and Eternal Collector. And I’ve been happy to share my opinions with many companies on new and upcoming ideas and products, as long as they ask nice.

Back in 2002 I was offered the chance to write about toys for a new site being developed by Kevin Smith. I broke out in goose pimples. Fortunately, they have an ointment for that, but I was excited about my gig at Movie Poop Shoot as well. I was one of the original contributors, and it’s my pleasure to move over to Quick Stop Entertainment now.

So all that means I like to write about toys, talk about toys, take photos of toys…I like toys. I’ll do my best over the next few weeks/months/years to impart wisdom, spew opinion, and occasionally flat out lie here at the Quickie. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them, and what I don’t know I can certainly find out from my friends in the industry. Occasionally I’ll rant, but generally you’ll get my thoughts on something in the pop culture collectible world.

You can expect to see coverage of all kinds of goodies in my column, from action figures:

…to statues and busts:

…to even plush:

…from Star Wars:

…to superheroes:

…to monsters:

Anyone who loves pop culture crap should find something to love here!

I structure my reviews in a very specific way, a way I came up with over a decade ago and still use today. You’ll also see it copied all over the net, but believe me, now you know where it started. I break my reviews into sections of interest: Packaging, Sculpting, Paint, Accessories, Articulation, Fun, Value and Overall. This structure works well because you can get a feel for the specific areas, areas that you may weight more heavily than I in you final assessment.

For example, I might be reviewing a Mcfarlane ‘action’ figure that’s pretty much a plastic statue. Now, I know it’s going to be a plastic statue, and I go in expecting it. The articulation score is going to take a major hit, but when I get down to my overall, the weight of that category will be pretty small. However, you might be an articulation junkie, and the lack thereof is a deal breaker for you. If you only had my overall score to go by – or worse yet, no score to compare at all – you’d be left to guess as to whether YOU would feel the same way I do.

Over time I’ve added additional sections to my reviews, sometimes based on reader’s input. I’ve also worked to continously improve the quality of the photography, ensuring that you see the toy as it really is, rather than as the company would like it to look. Sometimes that’s good – sometimes it’s not so good. But if you have suggestions, either on the style or the content, just let me know.

I don’t do features. I do reviews. Reviews are a critical look at what makes something good and bad – features are just fluff pieces about the particular item, good for marketing but not particularly good for you to make a valid decision. You won’t always agree with me – nor I with you – but always remember that it’s just one man’s opinion. A brilliant, handsome, and witty man, but a man nonetheless. Okay, so I’m not any of those things, but it was worth a shot.

I’ll be attending and doing coverage at both the San Diego Comic Con and the Wizard World Chicago Con this summer, so if you see me in the aisles, say howdy. Finding me might be tough though – locating someone at SDCC is sorta like trying to find a geek in a nerd haystack.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this column, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael’s Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. I’ll do my best to have a new column up here every Tuesday, and I promise a review of something nifty next week!