Snoopy is the pet beagle of Charlie Brown in the long-running comic strip, Peanuts. Appearing in the comic strip since the 1950s, Snoopy has become one of the most iconic and recognisable characters from the series.
Name: Snoopy and Woodstock set Line: Vinyl Collectible Dolls Manufacturer: Medicom Toy Released:2011 Price: Then: 3,990 Yen, Now: roughly 9,000 Minimum. Scale: (Snoopy) 11.5 cm in height, (Woodstock) 4.5 cm in height. Accessories: None
This particular figure hadn’t really been on my radar to purchase. I knew of its existence, But never went out of my way to pick it up. That all changed after watching the Peanuts movie fairly recently, seeing my wife and son both like Snoopy too, I thought why not pick up one of the best-looking collectible figures available from Medicom.
SCULPTING
It’s always going to be hard to turn a 2D drawing into a 3D figure, but I think Medicom have done a pretty good job. Snoopy and Woodstock look best from the side, front on, not so much. From the side, they definitely evoke that distinctive Peanuts look, so I guess you could say that’s their best side. Lots of very smooth surfaces and hardly any texture matching what you would assume the character would have if you turned a drawing 3D.
PAINT
Snoopy and Woodstock are both cast in the colours they are meant to be; normally, that’s my personal preference for most figures over painting them, so that is already a big plus for me. What paint there is, is kept to a minimum. It’s nice and very neatly applied, up to Medicom’s usual high standards.
ARTICULATION
Snoopy has very basic articulation; his head is a ball-joint and his arms are swivel joints. It’s not really too much, but once you play around with Snoopy a little bit, it’s nice to have the option to change up the basic pose even if it’s just a slight variation.
ACCESSORIES
I could technically count Woodstock as an accessory, seeing that Snoopy is the biggest draw of the set to me. He’s got one swivel joint where his head meets his neck. He’s sculpted just as excellently as Snoopy and it’s neat he’s included as he really rounds out the set.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
None that I can see, except maybe Snoopy’s white plastic; could yellow if placed in direct sunlight and his neck joint might become loose over time if regularly posed.
PRICE
I paid a fairly decent price seeing I bought mine off Ebay, pretty much the same price as he can go for on Amazon JP, which was around $90.00 AUD including shipping, from Japan. That’s not too much of a mark up when compared to some of Medicom’s other products, considering I was fairly late to the party. With this particular set, I would try and pay as close to retail price as you can.
OVERALL
If you are a fan of Peanuts or Snoopy you really need to have this figure set in your collection, it’s an excellent representation of Snoopy and Woodstock, I haven’t seen anyone else make a figure that comes close to looking as good as these two do.
Marvel Studios Captain America: Civil War continues the story after the events of The Winter Soldier and Age Of Ultron. After a series of unintentional accidents where the Avengers actions have lead to collateral Damage, Iron Man and Captain America take different sides on deciding what direction should be taken to oversee the Avengers actions. Leading to a climatic battle between the two sides, Scarlet Witch joins the side of Steve Rogers battling against her former teammates.
Name: Scarlet Witch (Civil War Version) Line: Movie Masterpiece Series Product Code: MMS370 Manufacturer: Hot Toys Released: 2016 Price: $199 – $250 USD Scale: 1/6 Accessories: Various hands and items as well as a display stand
I’ve already reviewed the first version of Scarlet Witch from Hot Toys here. I’ll be repeating myself a little bit as this figure has a few things in common with that release. However, it does improve on some of the lacking aspects of the previous release (quality of hair, boot articulation etc.)
This is the first Scarlet Witch figure that I bought for myself, I waited for one to come up for the right price and promptly made my purchase and soon enough she was on her way from Japan via EMS and the price wasn’t half bad either.
Even if I’m a little behind on the release schedule (Scarlet Witch was released in December 2016 after all!), the wait was worth it, now that I have her in hand.
LIST OF PARTS
Inside the box you get the following items:
One Scarlet Witch figure Seven interchangeable hands One necklace Four Scarlet Witch power flame effects One Tiny Ant-Man figure (in running pose) One display stand
SCULPTING
This is the same head sculpt that came with the first two versions of Scarlet Witch and some collectors aren’t happy about that. It’s almost like they expect Hot Toys to make a new head sculpt with every new release. I’d rather they do what they are doing now, where they nail the head sculpt the first time and keep using it, just keep improving the paint application with each new release.
They have done a great job capturing the likeness of Elizabeth Olsen, so why ruin it by trying to improve on perfection? The body is pretty much the same too, but the hands and boots are not.
PAINT
I don’t think there’s anything new I can really say here as far as paint applications go. Hot Toys continually put out the best mass produced painted figures in the market, no one can come close to surpassing them yet, they are all still struggling to keep up and it’s not just the heads, it’s the whole package! A lot of companies don’t bother to paint things like hands or bodies properly, not Hot Toys, it’s things like this that make them the best.
The care and attention to detail is second to none. Civil War Scarlet Witch is another shining example of this. The paint application on the face is extremely realistic and brings an unparalleled level of realism to the figure and excellent job by JC Hong and his team.
The head sculpt maybe the same, but the paint apps aren’t, I feel out of the three heads released thus far, this is the best version to date, just something about it looks a little stripped back, but it somehow makes the sculpt look even better, perhaps Scarlet Witch was just hiding under too much makeup the first time around.
They’ve even fixed up the flat flesh tone issues that the first Scarlet Witch had (the hands now having gloves on them helped in this instance.) Hot Toys have brought their usual paint application A game with this figure.
ARTICULATION
Scarlet Witch uses what I guess we can call by now the standard Hot Toys female TrueType body, which appeared around the release of Jill Valentine, Baby Doll, and Resident Evil Alice figures. Which we haven’t seen a release of it by itself yet, either, but we can only hope and pray for that!
It’s a great base body and has a few different leg, arm and bust variants to make it quite versatile. This particular version has the following articulation:
You can get Scarlet Witch into a good number of poses and she’s not hampered too much by her clothes, like the first figure, the only part where she struggles are her boots, this time, though, it’s not a bad thing that she has extra added articulation where the ankles are, instead of solid boots, its that said articulation makes her a bit more unsteady on her feet ( I think the shin/calf part of the boot makes the ankles become a little looser than they should be), but at least this version of Scarlet Witch can now do much deeper stances, I’d recommend using the stand for her, however. Otherwise, it’s all good, nice and tight joints, she is a pleasure to pose.
OUTFIT
Yet another category Hot Toys by default excels in. They have mass produced 1/6 clothes down to a fine art. Now there are other companies that are catching up. (in my opinion, Blitzway are the closest) But Hot Toys still consistently nail it with each new release and keep pushing that envelope more and more.
I’m very impressed with Scarlet Witch’s outfit as a whole. The long red coat is the stand out for me, it just looks amazing, it’s incredibly detailed and it also has some wire in the ends so it can be posed flared out and even some tiny buttons to keep it pinned to her body at the waist!
I also like the look of the corset and ‘leather’ tights visually, for whatever reason, I find this outfit very appealing compared to the previous releases, even if it’s a bit more subdued than say, her Avengers outfit. So kudos the film’s costume designer and Hot Toys for replicating it in 1/6 scale.
ACCESSORIES
You aren’t getting a lot of accessories with Scarlet Witch. A few extra hands and four “power effects” it’s a little bit more I guess then the first Scarlet Witch and the extra “power effects” are great and add a little bit more variety to your display options.
I feel the choice of hands is great, there is enough variety to get a lot of cool looking poses from Scarlet Witch and I did have a lot of fun trying different combinations out and playing around trying to get the best poses out of her.
The included mini Ant-Man is a nice touch as well.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
There aren’t really too many things to watch out for with this figure, handle her carefully and read the instructions are two good pointers. Also, take care changing the hands out, I haven’t had a problem with the female figures wrist joints yet, unlike some of the males ones, but it never hurts to heat up the hands a little to make them a touch softer, if you want to be extra careful!
PRICE
I paid about 24,000 YEN for Scarlet Witch and I’m pretty happy with that, beats the local price here ($340 -$ 360 AUD, you are kidding me!) Obviously, shop around and try to get the best price you can, but don’t delay too long as she appears to be quite popular. (When the price is right of course!)
OVERALL
This is my favorite Scarlet Witch figure from Hot Toys to date. If you haven’t picked up a Scarlet Witch figure yet, I’d say go out of your way to get this one. Otherwise just choose the one with the costume you like the most, either way, you won’t be disappointed. I feel this version has the best paint applications on the head sculpt and best rooted hair (out of the three releases) too. She’ll look great with the rest of your Avengers figures and better still look great with Quicksilver too.
The AT-AT Drivers are the pilots of the Imperial Forces AT-AT Walkers, first seen in The Empire Strikes Back during the battle of Hoth. Working in teams of two they control the AT-AT Walkers driving and firing controls. Their uniforms are designed to protect them in harsh frozen climates if they are forced to abandon the AT-AT Walkers during combat.
Name: AT-AT Driver/Pilot Line: Star Wars Black Series Manufacturer: Hasbro Released:2016 Price: $19.99 USD Scale: 6 inches in height Accessories: E-11 Blaster Pistol
This is pretty much my first and only Star Wars Black Series purchase so far, I did dip my toe in ever so slightly a few years back and picked up Greedo which I had for a little while, before selling off, but I never took him out of the box and had a good look at him properly. So when Hasbro finally announced the AT-AT Driver I was looking forward to owning the figure and promptly placed my pre-order with BBTS.
The figure was released late December last year and I had my pile-of-loot shipped in January so he didn’t make the cut in my “best of” list. This was still one of the figures I was hoping that Hasbro would include in their Black Series of 6″ toys and I’m glad to have finally got my hands on him.
SCULPTING
I’m no Star Wars expert when it comes to Imperial armour and the tiny nuances when comparing what’s on the screen to toys and figures. But to me, this looks like a pretty good effort from Hasbro and looks quite good when compared to say the 3.65 AT-At Driver with the removable helmet. (That figure’s helmet looks horrible FYI) I think the proportions look about right and there’s plenty of nice details all over the figure. Plenty of creases on the clothes and nice smooth surfaces for the armour.
The Helmet itself is definitely the standout and that life support chest piece is a close second. (Seeing these are the main components of the AT-AT Driver armour in my opinion, I’m glad they’ve nailed them.) The only thing I don’t like is where the chest armour meets the hips as it cinches in and makes the AT-AT Driver look like he’s got some voluptuous proportions and once you notice it, it can’t be unseen, that’s for sure.
PAINT
There’s not too much paint on the AT-AT Driver. It’s mainly used for little details like the life support system on the chest or on the helmet. Overall I’d say it’s generally nice and neat, however, there are some stray spots on other parts of the figure. I really think the paint does a nice job of bringing out the details on that chest piece. I’d say the paint application is up to Hasbro’s usual standard (say when compared with the Marvel Legends I have for example.)
ARTICULATION
The AT-AT Driver has the following articulation: Ball-joint/swivel head, hinge/swivel shoulders, hinge/swivel elbows, hinge/swivel wrists, ball-joint waist, hinge/swivel hips, swivel thighs, double-jointed knees and hinge/swivel ankles which can pivot as well.
All in all, it’s a good amount of articulation and one of the highlights of the Black Series from the beginning. You can get the AT-AT Driver into plenty of poses without too much trouble, even if the hoses that are attached to the helmet and chest armour make the head a bit hard to move around too much and the strap/loop things on his legs affect the articulation there too.
I enjoyed playing with him while taking the photos this is a pretty fun figure to play with and to pose.
ACCESSORIES
The AT-AT Driver comes with the ever present E-11 Blaster Pistol that almost every Imperial trooper and pilot tends to come with. Just like the smaller 3.65 Inch figures, the blaster is a bit warped right out of the package. Besides this common issue, it looks good and fits into the AT-AT Driver gun holding hand with little-to-no difficulty and is a snug fit.
Child Birthing Hips You Say?!?!?
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
None I can think of, besides the minor nitpicks mentioned above.
PRICE
I paid $19.99 USD for the figure from BBTS and I’m quite happy with that. I’m assuming that’s around the normal retail price and for the quality of the figure not too cheap, but not too expensive either. I don’t tend to buy many figures in person these days after all when the Internet is so convenient.
OVERALL
I’m not going to be buying every figure released in the Black Series, I’m going to be very selective with what characters I buy, so my collection at the moment is very small (just the AT-AT Driver right now). Much like my Marvel Legends purchases, it will just be my favorite characters. With that said, I’m very impressed with this figure, it’s a very strong effort from Hasbro and the price point is great too. I’m assuming you’d have to be an Imperial Forces completist to pick this guy up, but he does look quite nice next to the Snowtrooper. I’m very happy with him and if you end up buying one for yourself, I’d like to think you’d be too.
Kenner’s line of ‘Aliens’ Space Marine toys was fairly short-lived. After only 1 & 1/2 series of figures, the Marines were dumped in favor of Predators instead to do battle with the Aliens. What marines we did get, however, were quite cool and in most cases had action features to add more play value. Drake, a character that appeared in the Aliens film franchise, also received a figure in this toy line.
Name: Drake Line: Aliens Manufacturer: Kenner Released: 1992 Price: Then: $10-$16. Now: $10 – $26 MOSC or less if loose Scale: 4 -5 Inches in height Accessories: Smart Gun, Bayonet
I really can’t remember why my brother and I decided to collect the Kenner Aliens toys when we were kids – being a toyline based off an MA 15+ series of movies – but they did look cool. The Alien designs were nice and there were a variety of figures.
But you can’t just have Aliens… You need Marines as well! Regardless of what collectors at the time and collectors now think of this toyline, I still like what Kenner did with about 90% of the figures they made.
When my brother and I first saw these figures, normally each one of us would choose which ones we liked best, my brother owned Drake so from a nostalgia point of view, I don’t really have that same connection as say Ripley or Hudson figures which I personally owned.
SCULPTING
For the most part, I’d like to think Kenner did a good job of taking the source material and putting their own spin on it. Apparently, there was going to be a cartoon to tie in with the toys so that would make sense changing the characters a bit. Drake has all the key elements: blonde hair, tank top and camo pants. All things the character had in the movie, even if it looks nothing like actor Mark Rolston. Still, overall I think it’s a great looking figure.
PAINT
The paint on most of Kenner’s toys and figures tend to be quite neat. Drake is a pretty good example of this, but there is a little slop around his hairline. Otherwise, it’s all very neat and expertly applied, as always, if you are able to get a good look at what you are buying you can pick one with a good paint job.
ARTICULATION
Drake technically has about six points of articulation, swivel head, arms, legs and waist, however besides the arms and legs the rest will all move when using Drake’s action feature, where you rotate his waist, it moves his upper torso with the head staying in place, so it looks like he’s maneuvering his Smart Gun around at different targets. (You can still move his head independently if desired.)
This is a pretty cool action feature and really captures the action from the movie quite faithfully, however, it does limit Drake as he’s essentially stuck in the one, unchanging pose.
ACCESSORIES
Drake only comes with a bayonet which can be attached to the end of his Smart Gun, it makes sense that you would want to keep aliens as far away from your person as possible and this would help to do that, but just the Smart Gun by itself would be enough, I’d like to think. I guess it’s just thrown in there for extra play value.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
None that I can think of; Drake is rock solid. What would you expect from an early 1990’s toy? Just make sure your one has a good paint job before you buy it.
PRICE
I was happy with the $10 + shipping costs; however, I wouldn’t pay too much for this figure, as he is not worth any large amount of money.
OVERALL
Drake is a pretty solid figure, even if he is sculpted in the one pose. His action feature is fun and really adds a great amount of play value to the figure. He may not be the most important character in the Aliens franchise, but memorable nonetheless. If you are looking to complete your Kenner Aliens collection, Drake definitely needs to in there.
In The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an unstoppable cyborg killing machine sent back in time from the year 2029 by the artificial intelligence network, Skynet to terminate Sarah Connor, the woman who will give birth to the future’s Resistance movement leader, John Connor. The original Terminator movie was released in 1984 and is considered one of the best sci-fi films ever made. It featured terrific action sequences, a well-written story, and incredible special effects for its time.
Name: T-800 Endoskeleton Line: Quarter Scale Series Product Code: QS002 Manufacturer: Hot Toys Released: 2013 Price: Then: $399.99 USD, Now: $570 – $730 USD Scale: 1/4 Accessories: Plasma Rifle as well as a display stand
You’d think being a Terminator fan I would have bought this figure the day it was released, well I didn’t, main reason being, where was I going to put this beast? I had seen my friend’s Enterbay Battle Damaged T2 T-800, and was obviously impressed with the sheer size and amount of detail on the figure. (Not really impressed by Enterbay’s choice of materials or their ‘hit and miss’ factory paint application.)
So at this point the thought of potentially owning the Hot Toys 1/4 scale Terminator Endoskeleton was in the back of my mind, I did come very close to picking it up the year before when I was in Japan as the price was still very good and brand new in box, I couldn’t complain. But alas, I had no space in my suitcase by this point and nowhere to put it.
However, the year after I was better prepared for such a potential purchase. Two suitcases devoted to mainly toy purchases, you can’t go wrong! ( I ended up sandwiching The Endoskeleton box with Hot Toys Godfather’s box in the one suitcase, another great deal on that one too!)
So finally I had this figure in my collection, but I still have no way to display it properly, so it just sits in its box for now. This review was the first time I was able to take the figure out and have a good and proper look at it and a good play around. Which probably worked out better that way as it makes it almost like I bought it brand new and hadn’t opened it before. Still, that sense of wonderment and excitement you get from your first couple of Hot Toys’ figures was definitely there as I removed this figure from the box, it’s easily one of Hot Toys best figures they’ve released so far!
LIST OF PARTS
Inside the box you get the following items:
One 1/4 T-800 Endoskeleton figure One Plasma Rifle One display stand
SCULPTING
One of the best aspects of 1/4 Scale figures is the amount of extra detail that is applied to each figure, being much larger in size you can really take in the subtle skin texture on a figure, for example. But, this review is about the Terminator Endoskeleton. The extra detail you get to appreciate here is all the tubing, pistons and other mechanical like details of the Endoskeleton design in general, and boy is it detailed!
This is easily one of the best versions of the Endoskeleton in any scale and unlike Sideshow’s statues, for example, they haven’t given it funny looking teeth.
This figure just oozes awesomeness! The only very minor nitpick is that on the neck, there’s a very obvious mold line in the middle at the front. But, besides that, the sculpting is great!
PAINT
I’m going to assume the Endoskeleton parts have all be chromed or vacuum metalized, however, this isn’t some shiny ‘fresh off the production line’ T-800, this one has been out in the battlefield for a bit and has a fair amount of wear on the surface of that chrome. The overall effect is quite nice. But, it’s that shininess that sets the figure apart from other Hot Toys releases of Endoskeletons and makes it really stand out.
ARTICULATION
I don’t know if I even want to try and work out just how much articulation this figure has! But there sure is a decent amount and a lot of it well thought out and also well hidden, that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb either. Being a mechanical looking skeleton, it’s quite easy to hide some joints and other joints, obviously being just part of the design.
Things like the neck and hips are restricted a bit by the pistons and hoses, but overall he’s very poseable. You can at least get him in all the Terminator type poses you would want, and without the aid of the display stand as seen in the photos, but, I wouldn’t recommend leaving him displayed without the stand, however! The last thing you want is this expensive big figure taking a tumble!
OUTFIT
Well, it’s an Endoskeleton, so there’s no outfit to speak of.
ACCESSORIES
You get one Plasma Rifle and that’s about it. If you bought the Special Edition version of this figure, then you got two Plasma Rifles, which would be pretty sweet. But, one is enough for me.
As expected, the usual focus on detail and craftsmanship is ever present here. I was impressed back in the day with the 1/6 scale version of the Plasma Rifle that came with the original 1/6 scale Endoskeleton, But the larger scale means more detail and the ability to appreciate that detail more so as the scale is increased.
I can’t fault the rifle, with the exception of perhaps the colour as movie stills and some props lead me to believe the rifle is silver and black, but I actually prefer the all black/grey/gun metal grey colour, I think it makes the rifle look that much nicer in hand.
The other accessory is the display stand, I really don’t like the look of it, I think it looks quite boring and lame actually, I would have preferred some kind of simple black cover as an option and be able to swap out between the two. But, the paint and sculpting on the base aren’t up to the high standards of the Endoskeleton itself and that’s a little disappointing.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
The only real problem I can think of is, that I reckon the arm and/or ankle joints might loosen up over time, especially the arm or arms holding the Plasma Rifle, even if it isn’t that heavy, those arms look like they would have trouble over time. Other than that, finding space for the damn thing!
I’m not devoting a whole shelf in my cabinet just for the terminator, but if I were to get one of those large acrylic boxes, I’d have found my solution to the problem, so alas, the Endoskeleton stays in its box for now.
PRICE
I was lucky enough to pay around $350 AUD for this guy back in 2014 thanks to the many second-hand toy stores in Tokyo. The plus side to it being second hand is you are encouraged to inspect the item before you pay, so if there are any problems, hopefully, you can spot them!
I was happy with the price and it was my big splurge on that trip as I hadn’t really bought anything notable up to that point of my holiday.
OVERALL
If you are in the market for some 1/4 scale goodness, then you can’t go by this amazing figure from Hot Toys, even though I don’t buy many 1/4 scale figures (This being my only purchase in the scale so far) I needed this guy in my collection at some point, as I am a big Terminator fan and besides 1/1 scale stuff, it doesn’t get and bigger or better then this!
If you can find one for a decent price these days, all the better as the prices only seems to go up for all 1/4 figures, be it Hot Toys or Enterbay. If you are a Terminator fan and have the space and the budget I’m sure you already have this, if you don’t I wouldn’t sit on your hands too much longer as it lives up to the hype. It may have one or two minor nitpicks, however it is still truly an extraordinary figure to have and own!
Triggerhappy is wild and unpredictable, apparently too busy laughing uncontrollably to look where he’s shooting and loves the sound of his guns blasting away. He transforms into a Cybertronian Starfighter and is partnered with Titan Master Blowpipe.
Name: Triggerhappy Line: Transformers Titans Return Manufacturer: Hasbro Released:2016 Price: 24.99 AUD Scale: Roughly 14.5 cm in height Accessories: Two Blaster Weapons, Blowpipe mini figure, Tech Spec card
I didn’t really want to get sucked into buying anything from Hasbro’s Titans Return line initially. Even after the reveal of Skullcruncher, I thought the design looked amazing but, I didn’t want to commit if they were just going to drop the ball like Combiner Wars did.
Unfortunately for me, I came across Triggerhappy in Big W out at Rouse Hill last month and after staring at the toy in package for about 30 seconds I knew I was picking it up then and there.
Now I’ve managed to pick up some of Takara’s offerings (Skullcruncher, High Brow etc.) you can pretty much say I’m all in. If Triggerhappy didn’t do it, Trypticon, certainly would have.
SCULPTING
Hasbro have done a great job here, Triggerhappy is absolutely covered in detail! Plenty of raised sections, paneling etc to make him look quite good, in both robot and plane mode. I really like the head design too, finally, a Triggerhappy toy has a cartoon-accurate face!
PAINT
There’s not too much paint on Triggerhappy, it’s mainly just used for small details. I’m fine with that, they just help to break up the solid blocks of dark blue and grey. What paint we do have, is nice and neat overall.
ARTICULATION
Triggerhappy has a lot of ball joints, swivel joints and hinge joints, which makes him really fun to play around with. Most importantly the shoulders and hips are ball joints, this really helps you achieve some great poses. If I had one complaint, it’s that his feet don’t pivot so it makes it hard to stand him up properly, the further apart his legs get.
ACCESSORIES
Triggerhappy comes with two guns and the Titan Master mini figure, that turns into his head. The guns are pretty cool with plenty of detail, they can even be combined together to make a larger gun the mini figure can sit in.
The Titan Master mini figure is all kinds of cool! He’s got articulated head, arms, and legs, the only thing I don’t like about the Hasbro version is that Hasbro doesn’t tend to paint the faces of them, whereas Takara does!
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
I can’t really see anything to watch out for, except you could misplace the mini figure if you aren’t careful!
PRICE
I paid about 24.99 AUD for Triggerhappy. I normally don’t purchase toys from stores locally, but I’ll make the exception if I want to try and get one with a good paint job. For the price, I’m quite happy with what you get in the blister card.
OVERALL
Triggerhappy is a great addition to the Titan Returns Toy line. He’s what you would expect when you take an older toy or character design and update it, it’s good to see this happening not only in just the masterpiece line anymore, as I really think Hasbro are doing an excellent job with Titans Return so far! It will be interesting to see if Takara plans to release their own version and how much it will differ from Hasbro’s.
Marvel Studios smash hit Avengers: Age Of Ultron was the next big adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by not only introducing us to Ultron but also bringing us a number of new Avengers too. Scarlet Witch being one of them. Even if she initially wanted to destroy the Avengers, she and her brother Quicksilver soon realised the error of their ways after Ultron revealed his master plan to them and they joined with the Avengers to help in defeating him.
Name: Scarlett Witch Line: Movie Masterpiece Series Product Code: MMS 301 Manufacturer: Hot Toys Released: 2016 Price: $199 – $266 USD MISB Scale: 1/6 Accessories: Various hands and items as well as a display stand
I’ve been pretty sparse with my Hot Toys reviews, but with good reason, firstly, I don’t buy every figure anymore or as many figures as I used to and secondly, I was waiting for my pre-orders to come in and ship them all together to save on shipping costs and that day finally came recently, with a bundle of Hot Toys making their way to me in good time from the always excellent folks at Animarket.
Tonight I’m reviewing Scarlet Witch (with Quicksilver to follow very, very soon) but truth be told this isn’t my figure it’s actually my brothers, he’s more of a Scarlet Witch fan than me and when you live in the same house it makes it a lot easier to fill out collections when you aren’t buying every single figure yourself.
With that said, the more I worked with her during the photo shoot the more I liked the figure, so I might pick up the Civil War version for myself, seeing I know my brother isn’t getting that one. But we’ll see what happens as I keep my pre-orders a lot looser and a lot more commitment free then in the past, as the options online are quite plentiful if I happen to change my mind.
Now onto the review of Hot Toys Age of Ultron Scarlet Witch!
LIST OF PARTS
Inside the box you get the following items:
One Scarlet Witch figure
Eight interchangeable hands
Two necklaces
Two Scarlet Witch power flame effects
One Ultron Heart
One display stand
SCULPTING
One of the main focus points on any Hot Toys figure is going to be the head sculpt, with every new figure announcement there is always heated discussion among fans in forums and Facebook groups about how good or how bad the likeness is to the actor or actress.
Scarlet Witch was no different. However, most sane collectors agreed that the prototype was close and just needed some slight tweaks to make it a home run.
Thankfully, Hot Toys have done just that, in my opinion. It was already a strong likeness to Elizabeth Olsen, (as Scarlet Witch) but now I feel it’s been refined just enough to make it close to perfect, the only thing they can do to make it better, is to refine the paint applications with each continued release.
(Like for the next two upcoming Scarlet Witch releases which use the same head, much like they are now doing for Hawkeye and Captain America’s Steve Roger’s Head.)
Which I’ve got to say, doesn’t bother me one bit, make an excellent head sculpt to begin with, there is no reason (or point) to constantly remake it when you don’t have to, that’s just smart business and a welcome change as far as I am concerned.
PAINT
I don’t think there’s anything new I can really say here as far as paint applications go. Hot Toys continually put out the best mass produced painted figures in the market, no one can come close to surpassing them yet, they are all still struggling to keep up and it’s not just the heads, it’s the whole package! A lot of companies don’t bother to paint things like hands or bodies properly, not Hot Toys, it’s things like this that make them the best.
The care and attention to detail are second to none. Scarlet Witch is another shining example of this. The paint application on the face is extremely realistic and brings an unparalleled level of realism to the figure and excellent job by JC Hong and his team. If I had one nit pick, it would be that on the translucent hands, the flesh tones look a little flat when compared to the standard hands, otherwise, it’s what you would normally expect from Hot Toys.
ARTICULATION
Scarlet Witch uses what I guess we can call by now the standard Hot Toys female TrueType body, which appeared around the release of Jill Valentine, Baby Doll and Resident Evil Alice figures. Which we haven’t seen a release of it by itself yet, either, but we can only hope and pray for that!
It’s a great base body and has a few different leg, arm and bust variants to make it quite versatile. This particular version has the following articulation:
You can get Scarlet Witch into a good number of poses and she’s not hampered too much by her clothes, the only part where she struggles are her boots, the ankles are restricted a bit by the plastic, if the boots were a little softer, I think there would be no issues. So wider stances are a bit of a no-go for her. Otherwise, it’s all good, nice and tight joints, she is a pleasure to pose.
OUTFIT
Yet another category Hot Toys by default excels in. They have mass produced 1/6 clothes down to a fine art. Now there are other companies that are catching up. (in my opinion, Blitzway are the closest) But Hot Toys still consistently nail it with each new release and keep pushing that envelope more and more.
I’m very impressed with Scarlet Witch’s Jacket and multilayered dress the tailoring is great and they don’t look oversized at all, plus the darkened effects on the end of the jacket look fantastic.
The stockings or leg warmers are a bit annoying as they don’t really have a way to stay up, so from time to time as I changed poses I did have to pull them up and adjust them, but it was never a big deal, once you pose her up, they aren’t going anywhere.
ACCESSORIES
You aren’t getting a lot of accessories with Scarlet Witch. A few extra hands, some “power effects” attachments and “Ultron’s heart”. Compared to other releases it’s not much, but then there’s only so many things they could have given us, maybe a few more magic effects in different sizes?
(BTW the magic effects were a little tricky at first to figure out which way they went on, seeing the instructions are pretty useless, but once figured out, you’ll never get confused by them again!)
Ultron’s heart is a nice inclusion, but not really needed and will be left in the box by me.
I feel the choice of hands is great, there is enough variety to get a lot of great poses from Scarlet Witch and I did have a lot of fun trying different combinations out and playing around trying to get the best poses out of her.
You also get what I’m calling the “standard Marvel display stand” which at first I didn’t think I’d like, but now I have a group of Avengers assembled I have actually come to like the stand a lot more now.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
There aren’t really too many things to look out for with this figure, handle her carefully and read the instructions are two good pointers. Also, take care changing the hands out, I haven’t had a problem with the female figures wrist joints yet, unlike some of the males ones, but it never hurts to heat up the hands a little to make them a touch softer, if you want to be extra careful!
PRICE
I paid $199 USD from Animarket, which worked out to be not too bad seeing after the deposit upon placement of the order when you finally have to pay the remaining amount it sure makes it a lot less painful on the bank account. Especially when you can have your orders shipped in one big box together (with plenty of bubble wrap and padding too btw) works out to be a pretty good deal, I have to say.
Also, because I refuse to support the local sellers as they do not know how to pack an order properly, let alone a simple thing called “business ethics”. Unfortunately, most Australian sellers of Hot Toys figures don’t know or have these two simple things, a shame really, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
OVERALL
I was indifferent about Scarlet Witch at first, after having a play around and posing her up for this review she really started to grow on me a lot. Even though this isn’t my figure, it has really brought me around to potentially buying a Scarlet Witch for myself. But if you only want one in your collection I would strongly suggest this one as she looks great with Quicksilver, but it really comes down to what costume you prefer the most as to which Scarlet Witch figure you should buy. She definitely looks great on a shelf with her fellow Age of Ultron Avengers!
Marvel Studios smash hit Avengers: Age Of Ultron was the next big adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by not only introducing us to Ultron but bringing us a number of new Avengers too. Quicksilver being one of them. Even if he initially wanted to destroy the Avengers,he and his sister Scarlet Witch soon realised the error of their ways after Ultron revealed his master plan to them, and they joined with the Avengers to help in defeating him.
Name: Quicksilver Line: Movie Masterpiece Series Product Code: MMS 302 Manufacturer: Hot Toys Released: 2016 Price: $185 – $260 USD MISB Scale: 1/6 Accessories: Various hands as well as a display stand
Having just reviewed Scarlet Witch, how could I not review Quicksilver too? He was my favorite character in Age Of Ultron, even if he didn’t make it to the end credits. His banter with Hawkeye was quite amusing, I do have to say.
A lot of Hot Toys fans didn’t have high hopes of Quicksilver being made, I myself hoped they would make him, but the only thing that’s for sure about Hot Toys, is nothing’s for sure (to paraphrase Sting) and after Hot Toys posted a picture on their Facebook page of the “complete Age Of Ultron set of figures” and Quicksilver wasn’t there a lot of people weren’t happy, thankfully after a short time, they updated that picture to include Quicksilver and all was right in the world.
Finally, I have Quicksilver in my hands and even although I’m heading over to Japan soon, I wanted to at least get a few more reviews out before I left and I just felt inspired to do so.
Now onto the review of Hot Toys Age of Ultron Quicksilver!
LIST OF PARTS
Inside the box you get the following items:
One Quicksilver figure
Eight interchangeable hands
One display stand
SCULPTING
After the initial pre-order announcement for quicksilver came up, much like Scarlet Witch’s head sculpt being a close match to Elizabeth Olsen, the head sculpt was a very close likeness to Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Even the test shot photos shared by Hot Toys master painter JC Hong showed an excellent portrait and paint application.
Of course, there were still a few nay-sayers, who for whatever reason just couldn’t see the likeness in the sculpt. Thankfully these people were ignored and what we have is pretty close, if not even more so improved from the prototype.
I’m very happy with what I have in hand and hopefully, my photos have done the head sculpt justice too, it’s an excellent representation of Quicksilver from AOU, in fact; all of the previously released characters from the Avengers so far have been immensely improved from their previous versions.
Needless to say, I’m happy with the head sculpt and you should be too.
PAINT
Once again another great effort here, the paint really helps bring the figure to life and makes that sweet head sculpt even better. Even the paint on the hands is up to the expected standard we’ve come to know and love, he may be lacking accessories, be he’s not lacking craftsmanship and quality.
ARTICULATION
Quicksilver has a little bit of a Frankenstein’s Monsters body in a lot of ways. Hot Toys have built up a vast catalog of arms, legs and torsos with each new figure they needed to make new parts for. Which means now they have a lot of parts to pick and choose from when putting together a body for a figure.
His arms are similar to the Advanced Truetype put out years ago, his torso similar to Indiana Jones or Hawkeye (with the shorter neck that torso has) and his shins are from the Tony Stark body they developed. So it truly is a bit of mix and match, but it works quite well I have to say.
Quicksilver has the following articulation: Ball jointed neck, Ball jointed torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, double jointed elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball jointed waist, swivel/hinge hips, double jointed knees and ball jointed ankles.
And it’s the ankles where he tends to fall down – literally. I had heard from other reviewers that Quicksilver had really loose ankles so I was curious to find out if I had the same issue.
Unfortunately, I did, but the fault lies in design. For whatever reason Quicksilver has the same long foot pegs that came with the T-800 (MMS/DX) which is fine if you have long boots to help hold the legs, not if you have nothing but the balance of the figure to hold you up and it didn’t help the ball joint was loose in the shoe too.
I changed out shin and ankle joints, matching the height but reducing the ball joint length, the ball joint was still a little loose in the shoe, but not as bad as he was at first. Still, I shouldn’t have to do that straight out of the box and I can’t help but wonder what Hot Toys green horns would do in that situation.
OUTFIT
Here’s another category that should be an obvious win, but once again its a bit of a let down. Quicksilver’s outfit maybe basic, but it still is executed quite well, I love the look and feel of the running pants, they have even used a similar material that you would find normal running pants made of. (Hopefully, it does attract too much lint!)
However, the shirt, although looks great, I find it a touch too thick and it’s difficult to move Quicksilver’s arms and torso. Not to mention it can cause the hands to pop off too. But, that is remedied once you change hands a few times and the hole for the wrist peg stretches a bit on each hand.
ACCESSORIES
You get some different hands and that’s it. But, they are all pretty appropriate, I guess. You get relaxed hands, fist hands, grabbing hands and running hands, two pairs of each, left and right. Considering all Quicksilver did was run and punch, you couldn’t expect much more than that. They are all sculpted and painted to the usual high standard we come to expect from Hot Toys.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
There is really not too much to look out for, besides loose ankles and the always-present fear of snapping a wrist peg, I find these larger male wrist pegs more susceptible to snapping than any of their older stuff, so of course, they then use it for everything!
Always be careful with Hot Toys wrist pegs, it takes 5 seconds to heat them up for an easy swap out, especially when it looks like if you broke one of Quicksilver’s ones you’d have to take off his shirt to change it out. Yeah, no thanks.
PRICE
I paid $185 USD from Animarket, great price and as per usual great customer service. Best to shop around and get as good of a price as you can seeing Quicksilver isn’t one of the main Avengers or characters from AOU.
OVERALL
I was quite excited when Hot Toys finally announced Quicksilver from Age Of Ultron and now I have him in hand, I’m still quite pleased with the finished product. He has a few flaws, but I’m still happy to have him in the fold. Really up to you if you need him in your collection or not. Personally, I did, hence why I bought him, plus he adds a little more depth and flare to my Avengers line up, even if he just looks like a guy out for a jog.
I collect G1 Transformers and Dino-Riders as well as random toys from my childhood. I collect Hot Toys 1/6 scale figures and I also like Japanese soft Vinyl toys (Sofubi) as well.
I am a very big fan of 1980's toys, As most toys released during this period are in one word: Awesome.
I have been collecting for a number of years and have been collecting Hot toys from their very first movie masterpiece figure.
I have experienced almost every aspect of being a toy collector, from being a customer, to seller, to wholesaler, to even working as a distributor for 1/6 scale brands. I have a fair amount of experience with 1/6 scale products, some of my colleagues even call me a Hot Toys guru.
I also do a fair amount of kit-bashing of figures, custom clothing, scratch built figures, customized figures etc.
I enjoy toy collecting very much and toys in general is something I have a great passion for.
Blog Mission
What I intend to bring you are reviews on current released figures, retro reviews and articles on various details and facts to do with toys.
My main goal is to make this blog interesting, entertaining and informative.
Copyright Permissions
All articles and photos are copyright Mike's Toy Blog.
Any text or photos can not be used on another site without permission or a link back to my site.
Any photos used after permission is granted must not be edited in anyway and appear exactly as they appear on this site, including any watermarks.
