Tag: terminator

It’s been almost four weeks since Terminator: Salvation was released to theaters, and fans and critics have not been kind. With a disappointing 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not even as well liked as the God awful Rise of the Machines.

Ah, but Hot Toys is producing a series of sixth scale figures based on the film, and let’s face it – if it’s Hot Toys, it has to be good. They have both John Connor and Marcus Wright coming soon, as well as a very cool T-600, but the first release is the T-700.

Hot Toys isn’t new to the Terminator license, and one of their best figures is the T-800 Endoskeleton based on Terminator 2, which they released a couple years ago. This figure came with several weapons, and set a new standard at the time for well designed articulation.

While the T-700 is a predecessor to the T-800 we all know and love, it’s still a very similar beast, particularly under the skin. Perhaps Hot Toys realized that, because they went with a different route for this figure, stripping him of his accessories and offering him at a considerably lower price point. While you can expect to pay around $150 for most Hot Toys figures, this guy comes in at closer to $110 at most retailers.

If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com, or check out my site at Michael’s Review of the Week – Captain Toy. Now, on to the review!

Hot Toys T-700 sixth scale action figure

Packaging – ****
While much of this figure has a been there, done that feel due to the earlier Hot Toys T-800 release, the one area that really took me by surprise was the package. This thing is way cool! It comes in a dark gray (almost black) hard foam (very hard) package, with just a top and bottom held together by a much smaller than usual outer sleeve. The foam is intricately carved, giving it a machined appearance. It’s very striking, and one of Hot Toys most innovative box designs in quite awhile.

Inside, you get the figure carefully packed and no twisties or other annoying encumbrances. The package is very collector friendly, with no need to damage or destroy anything in the removal of the figure.

Sculpting – ****
I haven’t reviewed a lot of Hot Toys figures here at QSE, but I cover quite a few at my site. And believe me, they are the finest sixth scale figures on the market today. This Endoskeleton is a thing of beauty, with sharply defined sculpting, excellent small detail work, and an amazing level of movie accuracy.

However, Hot Toys isn’t the first company to produce an amazing looking Endoskeleton, T-700 or otherwise. But they go beyond just the sculpt, engineering the figure to combine this amazing realism with stupendous articulation. It’s figures like this one that prove you don’t have to forfeit articulation for great looks.

The mechanical nature of this monster requires a sharp edge to the sculpt. Pieces need to look like machined metal, not soft plastic, and here again Hot Toys manages to give us the closest thing to the real deal possible. The surface of the figure is also scored and pocked, much like wrought iron, adding to the metallic effect. You really have to see this guy in person to appreciate the work.

I do wish he was a smidge bigger. Yea, I know. He’s the interior skeleton of a slightly larger than normal human male. So he’s not going to be quite as big as a figure with skin and muscle on him, but I would have personally preferred a little more height.

Paint – ****
The paint work here isn’t complex, but the potential to over do it is there, and other companies have certainly had less restraint. The temptation to try to do too much is hard to resist, but that wouldn’t make this figure better.

I’ve said before that the paint can improve any sculpt, and here it adds to the appearance of the metal body. Had they gone with something too shiny, that iron works style texturing wouldn’t have looked right. Instead, they’ve matched the color with the style of sculpt perfectly.

Articulation – ****
Other companies that produce robots or figures in armor usually throw in the towel when it comes to articulation. The pistons, gears, and other small mechanical devices makes it impossible to have useful joints, or so most people think.

Hot Toys doesn’t believe it though, and they continue to prove that it’s possible to engineer joints that work with even the most complicated robotic sculpts. Here, the pistons move smoothly at each of the joints, especially the jaw, ball jointed neck, shoulders, wrists, elbows, waist, knees and ankles. While it might appear that there is no way these joints could have much range of movement due to the complicated nature of the mechanics, they actually do. It’s really quite impressive!

Even the toes are articulated, and the fingers have multiple joints. There’s a joint at each knuckle, and a joint at the base of the finger that allows them to spread wider or come together close! Getting the fingers in just the right position can be a bit frustrating, and they can be a little loose at times, but you have to be impressed with the overall workmanship.

They also seem much more stable and sturdy than the similar joints on their earlier endoskeleton. Hot Toys is improving, even when it seems like they’ve already hit perfection.

Actually, they do still have one joint on these figures that could use a little improvement – the hips. They do move in and out from the plane of the body slightly, but not as much as I’d really like. But deducting for that after seeing all the other exceptional joints just doesn’t seem appropriate.

Accessories – *1/2
While the other Terminator related figures from Hot Toys have been loaded with accessories, this guy only comes with his T-700 base, made to look like a factory platform. It’s a nice looking base, and includes a spot to connect the wire arm that could attach around his waist. I’ll be skipping the arm however, and just standing him on the base, since he has no trouble staying upright on his own. The hole for the arm is hidden well enough to make this possible.

Light up Feature – ***
Like the later model that came out first, he has light up eyes. These are activated with a small, well hidden button on his back. The two small, red LED eyes are bright and clean when lit, and the wiring for this feature doesn’t get in the way of the articulation or appearance. The batteries are relatively easy to swap, and he comes with a set already installed.

However, one of the eyes is slightly brighter than the other, and I noticed that the batteries seem to be dying pretty fast. They are minor quibbles, but enough to pull this down a bit. I haven’t had that issue with my Iron Man figures from Hot Toys, or the first T-800, and I didn’t expect to have it here.

Fun Factor ***
Even with the small fingers and tiny joints, this guy is remarkably sturdy. He feels much less likely to break when you’re posing and handling than the earlier T-800 endoskeleton does. Hard to believe it, but somehow Hot Toys continues to improve.

That being said, breaking the smaller joints and even some of the pistons would be pretty easy if you don’t take some basic care. He’s sturdy enough that an older kid who loves the license could get some great poses out of him, but the under ten crowd would be like Sarah Connor to this guy.

Value – **1/2
I commend Hot Toys on finding a way to drop the price on this figure, especially since he’s similar to their earlier release. A bennie ain’t cheap no matter what though, and by dropping the accessories to drop the price, the value ends up washing out at average.

Things to Watch Out For –
While these joints are sturdier than I expected, you still have to take care when posing him. The fingers are especially tricky, but that’s part of the price you pay for this type of realism.

Overall – ***1/2
With three key four star categories, this guy was bucking for a four star overall. I held off slightly though, because I do really, really miss any accessories, even at the lower price point. I can’t argue with the sculpt, paint or articulation, but we’ve seen this figure – almost – already once before, and I really wish we’d gotten something a little extra this time around. Hot Toys did that with their Iron Man line, where they knew that the MKII figure needed something extra, since he was so close to the MKIII (in terms of the sculpt). This time around, they cut back on the price rather than give us anything extra, and I can appreciate the sentiment…but the lack of accessories still hurts this guy for me.

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

Where to Buy –
You have a number of great online options:

– Urban Collector has a great price at $106.

– Alter Ego Comics has him at $108.

– Corner Store Comics also has it at $108.

– Show Piece Collectibles doesn’t have the T-700, but they have a great price on the T-660 at just $168. Most other sites are pre-selling this guy for around $200!

Related Reviews:
Check out Hot Toys previous Endoskeleton, the T-800.

You’d have to be living under a rock, and it would have to be a pretty big rock at that, to not realize that May is the movie month for 2009. There’s some potentially great films coming out later this summer, including G.I. Joe, Harry Potter and Transformers 2, but May has four big ones hitting us that are all required viewing.

One of the four is Terminator: Salvation, the fourth film in the story of Skynet and the destruction of the human race. Opening on the 21st (a Thursday), this film takes us back…uh, forward…in time to the early days of the war, before the T-800 was developed, when the first T-600 and T-700 Terminators were terrorizing the Resistance.

The current brouhaha over the movie has to do with the MPAA rating. Most assumed it would be R, just like the first three films in the franchise. The trailer certainly appears to have R-like tendencies. But recent rumors have it at a PG-13, and this has caused quite the stir. Some have said that the Terminator:Salvation toy line is part of the reasoning for Warner Brothers to push for the lighter rating, in an attempt to get at least some kids indoctrinated in the film franchise. But plenty of R rated movies have had toy lines in the past, and if you swing by your local Toys R Us right now you can find Watchmen action figures, clearly a movie not intended for kids. The mere existence of a toy line does not indicate the rating, but it does tend to indicate the amount of whining some parents may do.

Playmates Toys, probably best known for there long running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and World of Springfield action figure lines, picked up the license for the Terminator: Salvation toys. They are producing action figures in three scales – 3 3/4″, 6″ and 10″. I’ve already covered several of the 6″ figures over at my site, and I’ll be hitting up at least one of the 10″ versions as well. This week here at QSE I’m looking at four of the 3 3/4″ figures, including the T-600, T-700, T-R.I.P. and Marcus.

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

Terminator: Salvation – 1/18th action figures

Just to keep things straight in the review, the T-600 is the huge endo with the skin and clothes, Marcus is the much smaller endo with skin and clothes, the T-700 is the dark endo, and the T-R.I.P. is the brighter silver endo pictured below. Although I can’t be sure, I’m assuming the T-R.I.P. is a T-800 prototype of some sort.

These figures are about 1/18th scale, also often called 3 3/4″ although most figures in this scale (like Star Wars or Indiana Jones) are generally closer to 4″ tall.

Packaging – ***
The packaging matches the larger scale 6″ line, with good golor and bright graphics, but it comes across a tad cartoonish. I like the inclusion of a little personalization on the front bubble (there’s a very small bio of each character), and showing the whole series on the cardback is good. The big downside is the ridiculous number of twist ties for this scale figure, with arms, legs and even torsos often strapped in place.

Sculpting – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
I was pretty hard on the non Endoskeleton 6″ figures in this series, and with good reason. Even the Endos were pretty mediocre, but in this smaller scale, I’m liking the whole bunch a lot better.

One of my major grips with the 6″ T-600 was the extremely cartoon-like styling of the skin covered head. Some folks ragged me, saying of course it was cartoonish, because it was supposed to look fake. The 3 3/4″ figure makes my point for me though – it DOES look fake here, just like it should, but doesn’t look like it could double as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bad guy. Both this version and the 10″ version have the proper look to the skin, while the 6″ fails completely. Considering how much smaller this figure is, that’s no small feat.

However, he still has one issue in common with his larger brother – he’s huge. He stands just over 5″ tall, making him about 8 feet tall in true 1/18th scale. Both Marcus and the Endos are almost 4″ tall though, so it isn’t *quite* that bad, but he’s still gargantuan compared to them. I don’t think the fake skin, no matter how realistic, would fool anyone into thinking a T-600 was a person.

The work on the clothing is better than on the larger scale figure too, another plus in his favor. He has less clothing (the pants are ripped up a bit more) which helps quite a bit. There’s a few weird, unrealistic rips (did someone take a bit out of the hood?), but it’s still an improvement.

The T-700 and T-R.I.P. look to have the same sculpt as the larger versions, but as you might expect, when you shrink down a sculpt the detailing improves. There’s still soft areas, particularly with the T-700. Because the paint is so dark, and because there’s no wash to bring out the detail, much of it is lost visually.

Both of the Endos are about 4″ tall, making them fit in much better with other modern lines in this scale (like Star Wars) than the other Playmates 1/18th line on the shelf right now, Star Trek. That’s good news, since one of the biggest attractions to this smaller scale is putting figures from different licenses together. They’re still a smidge shrimpy, but it’s not a major issue.

My biggest issue with both Endos in this category is the forearms. They are long to begin with, and because of the lack of a wrist joint, the hand and forearm become one piece visually, making them appear even longer. It throws off the proportions somewhat on an otherwise solid job.

It’s worth pointing out that both are sculpted with open mouths, a complaint I know lots of folks have had with the Endos in all the scales. I don’t mind, but you might not be as forgiving.

Of the various scale Marcus figures I’ve seen so far, this one is my favorite. That doesn’t mean he’s great, but he’s an improvement over the other versions out there.

The likeness isn’t great, but half the face is damaged, showing off the underlying endo parts. The detailing on these robotic sections is quite good, although they look nothing like a T-700, which is what I assume (perhaps incorrectly) he is.

I did have a couple sculpt issues, however. The biggest one is a weird warp to the lower half of the left leg. I don’t think it’s just from the insert tray (although it could be due to a bad package design), because there’s no gapping at the joint on either side. The leg looks like it is actually designed to bend slightly off to the side, and it makes it tough to get him to stand properly.

They cheaped out a bit on his hands too. The left and right hand are both sculpted as though they are exposed endoskeleton, but the right hand is painted flesh colored with a painted glove. It stands out, even at this scale.

Finally, the boots are a bit wonky. The idea is that one has the pant leg tucked in, while the other has the pant leg hanging down over half the boot. Unfortunately, the sculpt doesn’t really translate. Because of the way the edge between the pant leg and boot is sculpted on both sides, they both look like the leg is tucked in, making it look like he’s wearing two different boots.

Paint – Marcus **1/2; the others ***
Again, keep in mind the scale here. The detailing is quite good, especially for a mass market line.

The T-R.I.P. is the basic silver, but has a nice wash to bring out the sculpting. He also has very cool eyes, painted with some sort of reflective paint. Notice how on both he and the T-700, the eyes look lit up in the photos, but they aren’t. Unlike the larger versions, there’s no plastic tubes to bring light down to the eyes, but the bright paint appears to glow even in normal room light.

As I mentioned in the Sculpt section, much of the detail work on the T-700 is lost since the paint is so dark. However, that dark contrast makes his glowing eyes stand out even more.

The paint work on the T-600 is a little less cartoonish than the larger scale figure, and there’s a wash used on the pants to make them a little less goofy looking. Thankfully, the pelvis is actually painted the right color too! The same wash on the endo parts brings out the finer details there, making this version a huge improvement over the 6″ figure.

Marcus also has a solid paint job, although he has fewer details. The overall figure (both clothing and endo sections) lacks any wash, making him look a bit cheaper than the other three. The cut lines and general quality of the paint work is decent, but he lacks some of the visual pop of the others. He’s reasonable considering the price point, but nothing special.

Articulation – T-700, T-R.I.P., T-600 ***; Marcus **1/2
These are fairly well articulated for this scale, with just a few issues holding them back.

Marcus had the most potential, but the wonky legs end up hurting him. He is the only one to have a ball jointed neck, and it works quite well. He also has ball jointed shoulders (pin/post style), pin/post elbows, and cut wrists, making his arms quite poseable. He adds in a cut waist, single pin knees, and T hips.

With just the T hips and single pin knees, there’s not much you can do with the legs, and because of the warping of the right one, he has trouble standing. This ends up pulling him down slightly over the other three.

The T-600 has a cut neck, which is fine since he’d be a pretty stiff guy in person. He has the same style shoulders as Marcus, with single pin elbows and cut wrists. That means his forearms can’t move inward and outward from the body, making his arms a little less poseable. He finishes off with the same cut waist, single pin knees, and T hips. He really needs some sort of cut joint on the legs to improve his overall posability, but he stands great on his own in basic stances.

The T-700 and T-R.I.P. have identical articulation. Neither has any neck joint, but like their skin covered cousins, they have pin/post swivel shoulders. They also have pin/post elbows, which allow for the arms to move inward, very useful with these figures. Unfortunately, they lack cut wrists, making it tough for them to hold the large gun properly.

They have simple pin hips, much like the T hips on the other figures, and single pin knees. Perhaps it’s surprising because of the tiny feet, but they stand great on their own in a number of poses.

Accessories – ***
Most figures in this scale come with one accessory, maybe two if you’re really lucky. Three of the four here have two plastic accessories, plus one paper accessory.

The T-700 comes with a large scale rifle, which can be held in either hand, although straddling it across is hands is the best way to keep him standing. Unfortunately, due to the lack of wrist articulation mentioned earlier, he can’t really hold it properly in both hands, but he can approximate the look.

He also has a beat up and bent steel girder that he can use to pound on various resistance fighters, or Stormtroopers, your choice. Like the gun, this can fit in either or both hands. It’s a pretty small girder, but it’s a nice change of pace from the steel pipe that was in the 6″ series.

The T-R.I.P. comes with two guns, but both are pistols, one much smaller than the other. While I’m betting we see these actual guns at some point in the film, I really would have rather gotten a larger cannon style weapon. He can hold both guns at once for some rip roarin’, shootin’ tootin’ poses.

The T-600 has the same large Gatling style cannon that his 6″ cousin carries. The ammo back pack is removable, as is the ammo clip. The gun fits tightly to his arm, and looks great in most poses.

Also like the 6″ scale, each comes with a Topps movie trading card. They are high quality, high gloss cards, but they are identical to the ones you get with the same characters in the larger scale. On top of that, you know my general disdain for paper extras. This kind of stuff almost always ends up in a junk box.

Fun Factor – Marcus ***; the rest ***1/2
Figures in this scale are always one thing if nothing else – fun. Because these are more in line in both style and size with other current 1/18th lines, these can easily be added to any display or play scenario with the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Narnia. Kid’s would probably end up frustrated with Marcus’ weird legs, but the other three would make for terrific bad guys, and are sturdy enough to stand up to normal sandbox play.

Value – ***
These guys will run you around $7 at most stores, about a buck cheaper than many other well known licenses in this scale. On top of that, you’re getting a reasonably good set of accessories, adding to the value. Slightly better articulation, and these would have gotten another half star here.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. You’ll want to check those paint ops carefully when picking them off the peg of course, but once you have them in hand, you should be issue free.

Overall – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
These are quite a bit better than the 3 3/4″ Star Trek line from Playmates, also on pegs right now, and they’re a bit better than I’ve seen most folks giving them credit for. They aren’t amazing by any means, and the work from someone like Mezco in this scale (who did the Hellboy in the photo) blows them away, but the two clean Endoskeletons will fit in pretty well with most other modern 1/18th lines. Marcus doesn’t do much for me, especially with the wonky legs, and the huge, towering T-600 looks like he belongs in another line. But if you’re looking for a basic Endo to go with your Star Wars figures, you should grab the T-R.I.P. or the T-700.

Scoring Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2
Paint – Marcus **1/2; the others ***
Articulation – T-600, T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; Marcus **1/2
Accessories – ***
Fun Factor – Marcus ***; the rest ***1/2
Value – ***
Overall – T-700, T-R.I.P. ***; T-600, Marcus **1/2

Where to Buy –
Plenty of local retailers should have these, including Toys R Us and Target. Expect to pay around $7 each. online options include:

– Entertainment Earth has them by the case of 12 for $91, or about $7.60 each.

– For the UK folks, Forbidden Planet has them individually for about 6 GBP each.